Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Community Connection CommitteeThe Community Connection Committee sponsors and participates in selected community events and provides liaison with other SLV organizations and with government officials. Events Redwood Mountain Faire, June 5, 10:30am–7pm, Roaring Camp Railroad, Felton. Benefits local nonprofits. Volunteers needed! Email or 338-6570 CERT Disaster Preparedness Training, Contact Liz Taylor-Selling (Mountain Community Resources) 335-6606 Candidate's Forums: before elections - contact Sherry Skold or 336-5700 Hammer-Marcum awards: bi-annually in spring - contact Nancy Macy or 338-7107 Halloween pedestrian safety, October 31, Boulder Creek. Contact Hilary Stanley, 338-2247 Liaisons Education/Cabrillo: Donna Ziel End of Life Coalition: Emmi Schambeck Event: Advance Directives Workshop Felton Library Friends: Michele Mosher, Nancy Gerdt; Sherry Skold FLOW: Alexis Krostue, Michele Mosher, Nancy Gerdt MCR Disaster Preparedness: Mary Hammer; Sherry Skold Political Connections (Electeds and County and State Agencies): Beth Benjamin and delegates as needed Reproductive Rights, Women’s Commission: Sheila De Lany Community Connections news Spring 2010 Help Make the Local nonprofits will benefit too! A "start-up funds" fundraising event for the Faire is coming C'mon back to The Roaring 20's!! (Costumes welcomed.) CASINO NIGHT! Black Jack - Roulette - Bingo - Texas Hold 'Em Tickets available at BC Golf & County Club, Coldwell-Banker Realtors in Boulder Creek or online at www.redwoodmountainfaire.com
Redwood Mountain Faire Update With the goal of bringing back the wonderful feeling that the Redwood Mountains Fine Arts & Crafts Faire and Music Festival brought to several generations of San Lorenzo Valley folks, year after year for 16 years – and to provide funds for nonprofit organizations along the way, the Steering Committee for the revival of The Redwood Mountain Faire is working overtime to bring it all together. The new RMF is envisioned as the ideal event for all ages, featuring local musicians and popular headliners on two stages – electrical and acoustic. As many as sixty booths will be set up, featuring juried artists and crafts artisans selling their own handmade items. There will be a variety of children’s activities as well. Delicious varieties of fresh foods will be available, along with beverages including local microbrewery beers and Santa Cruz Mountains’ famous wines. Already over 75 bands have applied to perform at the Faire! What a job for the Music Committee! Applications are now available for artists and artisans who want to have their handmade works at the Faire. Contact Bobbi via email. Applicants may also mail a request to: Having enough money upfront to cover costs is a huge problem, and we are turning to you for help. Donations are needed to help assure that these needs are met. The first Faire fundraiser, Club Waikiki, a great evening of food, music, dancing and prizes, took place on February 11th at Scopazzi’s in Boulder Creek. A Casino Night at the Boulder Creek Golf & Country Club is in the works for late March, and we hope you will plan to be there! However, a direct donation (tax-deductible!) to the VWC/Faire (PO Box 574, Ben Lomond 95005) could really make the difference in creating a quality event. We can already thank Fred Keeley (County Treasurer and former State Assembly Member) for his generous support, and are delighted that he will help emcee!! Another important issue is the need for volunteers before the Faire and on the weekend of the Faire, from set-up to clean-up. The VWC is specifically handling the sale of alcoholic beverages, to assure strict adherence to laws pertaining to their sale and consumption, especially preventing underage or excessive drinking. (The roads through and out of the Valley are already windy enough without adding muddled reactions behind the wheel!) We need help with this – especially people willing to take a four hour class to be certified to oversee the inspection of ID’s and the sale of beverages the day of the Faire, or to help with serving wine and beer the day of the Faire. Contact Nancy Macy (345-1555) to volunteer for this extremely important part of the event. Several SLV nonprofits will be helping with other tasks at the Faire or having information booths or things to sell at the Faire, but many volunteers will be needed, so let us know if you want to help! For information about the Faire, please visit the newly evolving website at www.redwoodmountainfaire.com, or contact the Faire Director with questions, suggestions, or offers to help, at director@redwoodmountainfaire.com. Thank you all for helping make it happen! Opening Doors to Community Naomi Brauner, Interim Development Director for Community Bridges, has some exciting news that will prove helpful to SLV and Santa Cruz are residents alike. Two important resource organizations, working with Mountain Community Resources here in the SLV, the Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County and Community Bridges Live Oak Family Resource Center will soon have a new home in Santa Cruz County Redevelopment Agency’s first ever green building. “The new center is a unique private/public partnership that will provide a permanent home for reliable and expandable programs serving families, youth, seniors, and volunteers in Santa Cruz County. In exchange for a 30-year, rent-free lease at the building, the two non-profits are collaborating to raise $1 million for a capital reserve fund. So far, we have raised 90% of our $1 million goal! Help us reach our final 10% by March 31st! We invite your help to enable both nonprofits to open doors to more members of the community — doors to opportunity, education, support for families and youth, and a renaissance in civic engagement.” Naomi has asked us to let you know that your help is needed in this last fundraising effort. You can either make a donation online. Or send a check to “Opening Doors to Community” to Opening Doors Community Bridges, 236 Santa Cruz, Aptos, CA 95003. To learn more about how you can participate, please call 831/688-8840, ext. 207, or visit the website. VWC Congratulates Roberta McPherson, a Community Hero
Each year the Community Assessment Project (CAP) selects outstanding members of the Santa Cruz County community to honor as “Heroes”. These are special people who help move Santa Cruz County toward the achievement of CAP’s annual goals. Roberta McPherson is a winner in the Social Environment category for her leadership in establishing and maintaining the Equity Committee of the San Lorenzo Valley. Roberta served on the VWC Board and was VWC President for many years, providing skilled and thoughtful leadership. The “Community Understanding and Equity Committee of the San Lorenzo Valley” (aka: The Equity Committee) was founded in 1998 by a group of local residents concerned about activities they had witnessed or heard about that were prejudicial against people of color, making it uncomfortable for them to live in this community. The group brought their concerns to then SLV Unified School District Superintendent, Drew Myer, who provided a meeting space and encouraged the group, along with the principals of the SLVUSD schools, to work together to find a solution. Soon the National Coalition Building Institute was selected to provide training to our local students, as they do with people all over the world. They seek to help people learn how words and actions affect others, as well as themselves. Initially, cohorts of students at SLV high School were trained. Now, high school students are selected for training to become trainers of their peers and of younger students. All High School Freshmen receive training and experienced high school students also train Middle School student leaders and all 7th graders. Training is now beginning with 5th graders at SLE. Two trainers are also now working at White Oaks Charter High School. A variety of programs and performances featuring a variety of cultures have also been brought to the campuses through the Committee’s efforts. Roberta is clearly pleased with the success of the program (on campus it’s called Students Making a Difference - SMAD) and reports that teachers have noticed a change in students’ behavior over the years since the program has been in place. However, she is concerned about the Equity Committee being able to continue the same level of training and related multicultural events into the future because of limited funding. Over the years monies have been provided by various organizations, including the Valley Women’s Club (for years the VWC’s Mayan Goods Sale helped provide funding), the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, private contributions, and other funding sources. But the primary funding source has been the SLVUSD, which was able to support the training for a new cohort of students in the 2009-10 school year with $1500. However, there may not be sufficient funds to continue the same level of support next year, as the state’s education budget continues to suffer. Therefore, the Equity Committee and SMAD continue to look for ways to support their work. Their recent event, “Re-Run Runway for Tolerance” Fashion Show was just one example of their creative fundraising. Roberta and her husband, Fred (a past Hammer-Marcum Award recipient), have lived in the Valley since 1967. They have been married for 40 years, and have one married daughter and two grand children. Those interested in contributing to the Equity Committee may send a check to the SLV Foundation for Education, c/o Roberta McPherson, P.O. Box 544, Boulder Creek, CA 95006. For further information, call Roberta at 338-0815. Calling All SLV Poets! The Annual San Lorenzo Valley Poetry Reading is returning for it’s sixth year, so it is time for you to start putting those words and images in your mind down on paper. Originally started by Felton FLOW, the Reading has been “adopted” by Felton Library Friends, and is one of the most popular gatherings in the Valley! This year it will take place on Wednesday, April 28, from 7 to 8 pm, at Felton Community Hall. SLV residents from age 4 and up are encouraged to submit poems for consideration by April 6th. Poems to be read will be selected by poet Amber Cloverdale Sumrall, the 2010 Gail Rich Award winner. This year’s theme is PLACE, so wrap your thoughts around that concept. Poems will be selected from each of the following age categories: 4-8 years (dictation OK), 9-12 years, Teens 13-1, and Adults 18 and over. Send your poem on or before April 6 by email. Please include your name, age, and phone number. One poem per poet, please. For more information, email, or call 335-9553.
A Great Way to Make a Difference “In Case…” The San Lorenzo Valley has long had active groups providing vital help in dealing with emergencies. Local Fire Departments are, of course, on the front line. The Red Cross provides emergency shelters. Valley Churches United Missions provides immediate, direct aide, from sand bags to food. Mountain Community Resources organizes neighborhoods for emergency response and helps with long-term impacts. It’s an amazing community effort! Now, the emergency response program operated by MCR is under the auspices of the CERT program, the Community Emergency Response Team, a FEMA program started after 9/11. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. CERT training includes disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations. It’s a great way to connect with people in your community and provides very valuable skills – and you can participate! A new series of classes begin March 3, continuing Wednesday evenings through March, and concluding with a Saturday class on April 3. Classes are provided by Liz Taylor-Selling, SLV CERT Instructor at Mountain Community Resources, and by Felton Fire Disaster Preparedness Captain, Ray Soler. The 23-hour class series is open to adults and teens at no cost. Classes are taught at Felton Fire Station, and all materials are provided. For more information and/or to sign-up for classes, contact Liz (email or leave a message at 335-6606), or Ray (email or leave a message at 335-4422). Local CPR and First Aid Classes are also available once a month at Felton Fire. For information and/or to sign up for classes, contact Ray Soler. The classes are on Saturdays and last all day, 9am to 5pm. This is an excellent opportunity! CALPIRG Legislative Scorecard: How Did Our Representatives Do? The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) compiles an annual legislative scorecard for all members of the California legislature to educate the public about their representatives’ voting records. The 2009 scorecard focuses on 14 key consumer votes in the legislature. It turns out that the 2 lawmakers who represent the San Lorenzo Valley both got perfect scores. Assembly Member Bill Monning measured at 100%, as did State Senator Joe Simitian. In case you’re interested, the bills that CALPIRG used to compile the scorecard covered a variety of issues, including mortgage reform, health insurance reform, nuclear safety, loan modification programs, financial privacy, and identity theft. Community Television of Santa Cruz County Has Great E-Newsletter and So Does Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Email Community Television to ask to be put on the Community TV email list. It’s a great resource and you will find you are watching our local nonprofit TV stations far more! For a timely newsletter on our local arts scene, with exhibitions, classes and workshops for all ages, contact Linda Levy (336-3513) at The Mountain Art Center, or visit their website. Don’t miss the “New Beginnings” exhibition at the Mountains Art Center in Ben Lomond through March 27th – over 30 talented artists share work in jewelry, glass, ceramics, paintings, prints, digital paintings, baskets, wood, sculpture, textiles, and more! Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sundays, 12-6 pm and admission is free.
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Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)