Santa Maria Sun / News

Hobnobbing with Helen

BY HELEN ANN THOMAS

Pressing forward for United Way Judy Markline is chairperson of the 2009 Women's Fund campaign, pictured here before a Jan. 9 research planning meeting at Cafe Monet in Santa Maria. PHOTO BY HELEN ANN THOMAS

Food, glorious food.” That refrain, from one of the songs in the musical Oliver, reminds us that food can sometimes be hard to come by and that basics like rice, beans, and bread are beyond glorious when you are hungry.

Thanks to the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way, hundreds of pounds of food were gloriously collected and delivered to the Salvation Army and the local Foodbank in December.

“During December, we wanted to do something extra to help the community,” United Way Resource Development Officer Raynette Cornejo told me. “We knew that the Salvation Army was desperate, and we got in touch with them.”

Long story short, the Salvation Army, which serves around 175 lunches daily, was in serious need. And so the beans and rice collection drive came into being. During a two-day period, donors were able to drive up to the United Way office and deliver these staples.

They chose rice and beans because they’re not perishable, they don’t require any special storage conditions, they’re easy to buy, and they’re highly nutritional. United Way collected about 3,200 pounds of food for the Salvation Army.

United Way also worked with FedEx on a food drive. Cornejo said that this past Christmas season, while she was working with the company on a workplace campaign, FedEx expressed an interest in doing something special.

Readying for research Didi Reynoso is vice president and community development officer of Los Padres Bank and chairman of the Research Committee of the Women's fund. PHOTO BY HELEN ANN THOMAS

United Way helped organize a food collection campaign (they designed and provided flyers and info). FedEx told their regular accounts about the food drive, which resulted in a whopping 2,000 pounds of food for the North County Foodbank.

Wait! There’s more! United Way helped with a third major food drive during the holidays. The Food Pantry in Lompoc, run by Catholic Charities, needed to stock its empty shelves. The Santa Maria United Way office coordinated the food collection efforts in Lompoc, which resulted in the collection of 1,500 pounds of food.

United Way has been on a roll this past year with new programs, initiatives, and impact on the community. In June, at a tea at the Santa Maria Inn, the newly hatched Women’s Fund presented $55,000 to three charities that benefit women and children.

Lawnae Hunter spearheaded the success of the Women’s Fund’s first year. This year’s chairperson, the effervescent Judy Markline, told me they’ve already topped last year’s donations.

“We received a $68,000 contribution from someone in Lompoc,” Markline said. “To date, we have also received over $50,000 in donations from our members.”

Raising the bar in fundraising Raynette Cornejo is the resource development officer for Northern Santa Barbara County United Way, pictured here in her office. PHOTO BY HELEN ANN THOMAS

Some of this money is eligible for matching funds from the Orfalea Foundation (Kinko’s founders). “It looks like we will be able to give away three times as much money in our second year as we did in our first,” proclaimed an ebullient Markline.

Good news from the Humane Society

Charitable giving at the Humane Society was up in December with holiday donations, end-of-year giving, significant animal sponsorship gifts, and a large grant from the Smith Family Foundation, according to Executive Director Kelly White O’Neill.

Magic at the Santa Maria Philharmonic

Some lucky bidder will be the honorary conductor of the national anthem at the opening of the 2009-2010 Santa Maria Philharmonic concert season. The post will be auctioned off at the Philharmonic’s “It’s Magic” fundraiser and dinner on Jan. 24 at the Santa Maria Country Club. Magician Rick Ferguson will entertain. For ticket info, call 925-0412.