Save the Date—Lots of SBCO Events Coming in 2026
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has a busy schedule planned for the new year. We invite you to help us provide local children with the food, clothing, enrichment activities and post-high school scholarships they need to succeed. Through your donation of time and/or funds, together we can make a big difference in the lives of many local young people.
2026
Jan. 3: Kids’ Closet spring session opens
Jan. 20-26: Teen Closet spring shopping days
Feb. 23: College Scholarship applications due
March 14: Food Drive (monetary donations begin March 2)
March 21: Remodeled Home Tour (online ticket sales start Feb. 14; in person sales March 16)
March 30: Kids’ Closet spring session ends
April 13: Annual Meeting and Election of Officers
April TBD: Recycling Event
May, early to mid-month: College Scholarships awarded at school ceremonies
July TBD: Teen Closet fall shopping days
September TBD: Kids Closet fall session opens
Oct. 12: Fall Meeting and Golden Goose Fashion Show
Oct. 19: Holiday Adopt Donation Campaign begins
Nov. 1: Make a Difference Annual Donation Campaign begins
Nov. 14: Walk for Kids
Nov. TBD: Recycling Event
Nov. 16: Holiday Adopt Donations due
Nov. 20 & 23: Thanksgiving Baskets delivered
Dec. TBD: Kids’ Closet fall session ends
Dec. 12: Holiday Adopt gifts delivered
Dec. 31: Make a Difference Annual Donation Campaign ends
Exact dates subject to change. Please check the SBCO website, community-outreach.org, for updates.
SBCO Thanksgiving Baskets Brighten the Holiday for Local Families
Mona Sullivan
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has two teams working on providing Thanksgiving baskets to local families. The SaddleBrooke Ranch team, consisting of 18 volunteers, including six students, delivered 40 baskets to San Manuel High School. Ranch volunteers included co-chairs Anthony Signorelli and Tim Bowen, Lu Legel, Susan Knight, Vida Kaczmarek, Jeff Kaczmarek, Gretchen Annan, Marie Mantoura., Don Cox, Charlie Weimer, Mike Johnson, Rich Lovett, and Dianne Signorelli. The SaddleBrooke Ranch team delivered their baskets on Friday, Nov. 21.
The SaddleBrooke team provided 62 baskets to Oracle. SaddleBrooke’s seven volunteers included co-chairs Mark Liefke and Mona Sullivan, Michael Pillman, Eileen Snearly, Len Hamer and Golden Goose truck drivers David Hill and Barry Emmons and The Kids Closet van drivers Karen and Mark Adamson. The SaddleBrooke team prepared and delivered their baskets on Monday, Nov. 24.
The volunteers from both teams filled laundry baskets with the food items typically needed for a Thanksgiving meal, including apples, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, potatoes, onions, green beans, corn, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie, Cool Whip, and a large turkey. Laundry baskets are used because they provide a sturdy container that can then become a useful household item. Then the volunteers delivered the filled baskets to the designated locations. In all, SBCO provided a turkey and all the trimmings to 102 families in San Manuel and Oracle.
A $10,00 grant from SBCO provided scholarships for five children enrolled in the Oracle School District Kindergarten Preparation program for the 2024-25 school year.
SBCO Grant Supports Early Childhood Education in Oracle
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Educational programs are an essential part of SaddleBrooke Community Outreach’s (SBCO) efforts to provide local kids with opportunities to succeed. And supporting early childhood education is no exception. It’s one of the best investments that can be made in a child’s future—and that of a community. Research shows that providing a high-quality education for children before they turn five produces significant long-term benefits.
Research shows that young people who were in preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school, to own homes and have longer marriages. They also are less likely to repeat grades, need special education or later get into trouble with the law. Early childhood education also makes good economic sense. A Federal Reserve Bank official estimates that adjusting for inflation, preschool delivers a 12% return on investment.
Preschool delivers such great results by promoting enthusiasm for lifelong learning—right when children are most eager and able to learn. It helps children develop socially as they make friends, learn how to share, cooperate and respect others. They also acquire patience as they learn to wait their turn.
In preschool, students experience successes and failures in a safe and fair environment. This helps them develop the coping strategies needed when facing greater life challenges.
Through opportunities to listen, follow directions, attend to tasks and participate in group activities, preschoolers develop the critical life skill of concentration. Over time, preschoolers gain confidence, optimism, and self-esteem—which encourages them to explore their talents, skills, and interests.
By helping to build a strong foundation for a child’s emotional, social, physical and mental development, preschool is preparation for a lifetime. A preschool experience is especially valuable for those children whose families lack the financial resources to pay for it.
Based on demand, the Oracle School District (OSD) Kindergarten Preparation program doubled the number of children it accepted for the 2024-25 school year. The program, which is free of charge to all three- and four-year-olds who live in the school district, receives financial support from the district and the Oracle Schools Foundation. The state of Arizona does not fund pre-Kindergarten education. Doubling capacity raised the program’s annual cost to $99,000. SaddleBrooke Community Outreach granted a request from Oracle Schools Foundation for $10,000 to provide a $200 per month scholarship for five children for the 10-month school year.
Children enrolled in the OSD Kindergarten Preparation program are assessed at the beginning and end of the school year as well as monitored for consistent performance and behavior throughout the year. Skills assessed for achievement include identifying, writing, and reciting letters of the alphabet and numbers 1 through 100; writing their name, identifying colors and shapes, and gross and fine motor skills. Children’s self-management skills are evaluated, as well as their expressive language and social emotional skills.
SBCO is pleased to be able to support the development of preschoolers in the Oracle School District. It’s an investment that will pay dividends far into the future for these children, their families, and their community.
An enthusiastic team of Monday volunteers at Kids’ Closet enjoyed the sunshine while participating in the 2025 Walk for Kids.
SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch Residents Walked for Kids
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Walk for Kids was held on Nov. 8, 2025. Walkers, wearing their Walk for Kids 2025 t-shirts, completed either a long walk around Ridge View Boulevard or a shorter approximately one-mile walk. Tables were set up along both routes to provide water for human and canine walkers. SBCO welcomed students from the Mammoth/San Manuel High School to participate in the walk. The students always bring energy and enthusiasm to this event, even if participating residents of SaddleBrooke communities can’t keep up with them.
This year, several teams formed by activity groups and residential units within SaddleBrooke participated in the walk and had their photos taken. After completing their chosen walk, participants picked up drinks and snacks and visited with their friends and neighbors on a comfortable fall morning. In all, approximately 304 participants registered for the walk, including 59 local students who were given free admission.
SBCO thanks everyone—volunteers and participants—who helped to make this annual event a success. The Walk for Kids raises funds, but just as importantly it raises community awareness for SBCO’s efforts to provide local kids with opportunities to succeed through programs that offer food, clothing, enrichment, and education.