“RowLA’s programs for middle school and high school girls are up and running (under strict covid protocols) in Marina del Rey! If you know of any girls interested in rowing, please reach out! You can message us here or email us at info@rowla.org. More information is also on our website at www.rowla.org.“

Click here to learn more about RowLA.

Fortified with coffee, doughnuts and fruit, with clouds and fog looming overhead, 300+ community volunteers headed off to their assignments. They were part of Rebuilding Together’s National Rebuilding Day, still affectionately known as Christmas in April here in the mountains.

The work took place at several locations from Arrowbear Lake to Crestline. The team of volunteers at each site was overseen by a House Captain, a licensed contractor who, not only planned the project and ordered the materials, but also made sure everything went smoothly on the big event day. “We want to make sure we get the job done professionally and complete everything we start,” said Sue Parks, Rebuilding Together Board Member. “If that means going back another day, then so be it! Wayne (Palmer) insists on having a licensed contractor at each site so that the homeowner gets a professional job.”

A delicious lunch made by volunteers is brought to each project. Bottled water and drinks are available all day.

At the end of the long day, the volunteers made their way back to the Mountain Communties Senior Center in Twin Peaks where they had registered in the morning. They were greeted by the delicious aroma of spaghetti sauce and garlic bread, prepared by members of the Mountain Sunrise Rotary club under the direction of Thacker Whyte. Palmer expressed thanks to the Rebuilding Together Board and all the volunteers. “God bless every one of you,” he said. “We’ll see you next year.”

Click here to learn more about Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities. 

“MAPS Charities originally evolved from San Fernando Valley M.A.P.S. and was joined by its West Side (Los Angeles) equivalent soon after. Decades old, these two M.A.P.S. chapters, in their initial formation, were networking organizations created to bring together Marketing and Admissions Professionals for Seniors, hence M.A.P.S. For many years now, this narrowly designed target market has expanded to include ALL professionals in a vast cross-section of services rendered to seniors, from home care and home health to elder law and estate planning attorneys, from senior residential placement to geriatric care managers, from moving transition providers to real estate agents and brokers and so many more!! Additionally, several nonprofit organizations in our community also participate in and support MAPS Charities.

MAPS Charities was born from a need to reach out and help a senior population almost completely overlooked. The charity focuses on disadvantaged seniors and their families. It reaches into the community for resources and services unique to eldercare. We rely on fundraising events, solicitations and other means of obtaining funds to meet our mission. Our charity provides resources, services and programs to disadvantaged seniors and their families to allow them to remain safe and independent.”

Click here to read some testimonies on those helped by MAPs.

Watch this video about the healing well to learn more about them and how they are loving on their community!

Festival Ballet Theatre  received a grant for the expansion of the Community Outreach and Donated Admissions for Disadvantaged Children Programs.  The mission of Festival Ballet is to enrich Orange County’s artistic and economic vitality, to inspire love and appreciation for dance and to invigorate ballet through exhilarating performances, a nurturing environment for dancers and choreographers and stimulating educational outreach programs for children and adults.  Festival Ballet Theatre received a  grant from the Leo Buscaglia Foundation in 2015 and 2019.