Newsletter October 22, 2024
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Help Needed
Items Needed
Next Potluck
Projects Updates
Update of Funds Received
Thank You September Donors
Where the Money Went
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Many of our clients’ refrigerators look like the one on the left! You are helping their fridges to look like the one on the right! Thank you!
Our 2024 Thanksgiving Basket Project is “goobling” along full steam ahead. The "special edition" newsletter last week brought us a number of additional sign-ups for food and volunteering. There is still time to sign up on SignUpGenius (see link below with all the instructions!) There are still some items waiting to be sponsored. We invite you to click on the SignUpGenius link below and see which items you may be able to donate. South SLO County Womenade is purchasing a number of the items (at the bottom of the list) but we really need your help to complete the baskets.
We’ve developed a sample communication that we hope you will share with friends and family on your social media and emails. Thank you to everyone who put it out on their social media last week:
Sample Facebook Message:
"Hello friends! It’s time for the 6th annual food drive for South SLO County Womenade. Food insecurity has increased, and so have their numbers. We are gathering food for almost 200 families this year (160 last year). If you'd like to help, you can sign up to donate food using the link below and drop it off at various locations 11/11 - 11/14. They’ll send you drop off locations after you sign up. They also need help packing up the food and delivering it to agency locations on 11/21. It's a lot of fun and a great way to meet new friends as well."
There will be a separate collection and signup form for food for the Winter School Break in late November right after the Thanksgiving baskets are done.
Keep your eyes open for any sales for the items! Sign up early! Share in the comments if you see good buys anywhere.
Help Needed – contact us at sslocwomenade@gmail.com
Freezer and refrigerator space for the cold items for the Thanksgiving baskets from 11/18 to 11/21
Adopt an Elementary School for Weekend Food Bags – thank you to so many people who have stepped up to adopt an Elementary School for Weekend Food Bags. We are now able to continue our program for our schools from last year.There are still a couple of additional schools who are in need.
A project leader for a diaper drive
Items Needed
A family in need of a refrigerator
A student in need of a bicycle for transportation to school
Toilet paper
Diapers
Pack n Plays
Cooking Oil
Laundry detergent
Next Potluck – Mark your Calendars
Wednesday, October 30th at 6PM at Candace Guldeman’s home
524 Mesa View Drive, Arroyo Grande on the Mesa
It’s the day before Halloween – Costumes are welcome!
Mark your calendars!
Projects updates
We Love Educators Volunteers for Teachers - To provide LMUSD educators with hands-on volunteer help in the classroom. Lisa Arakaki – project leader
We Love Educators Volunteers for Teachers – To provide South SLO County educators with hands on volunteer help in the classroom.
A number of people have signed up to volunteer to help but there’s always room for more. Thank you to the people who have signed up to volunteer for teachers! School is now in full swing. Lisa Arakaki has developed the form below that you can fill out and send to her.
You don’t have to be an educator (although that can be very helpful). We need both former educators and lay people to volunteer. You can specify what you’re comfortable doing. Teachers work with volunteers to get the best fit according to their specific classroom needs. Email any questions to Lisa Arakaki, project leader at weloveeducatore@gmail.com
Laundry Pop-Up – Belinda Benassi
The next Laundry Pop-Up will take place on Saturday, November 16th at Washboard Laundromat, 111 S. Halycon Rd., Arroyo Grande Hours: 10 am - 12 pm. Each month we only need about 3 volunteers. Belinda Benassi leads this program and could use a few more volunteers.
To offer opportunities for volunteers to sign up in advance for the event site and dates of their choosing Belinda put together this Sign-Up Genius https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B44AEA82DAAF9C52-50105745-2024.
Nipomo Food Distribution – Rosemary Cleaves, Sue McCutcheon, and Mary Anne Morgan - project leaders
The October Food distribution was on Tuesday October 8th at the Nipomo Elementary School (always the second Tuesday of the month). We gave food to 350 families, and fortunately we didn’t run out this time!
We work with the SLO FoodBank and Nipomo Elementary School to make the Food Distribution happen. Thank you SLO Foodbank and all our fabulous volunteers! Let us know if you want to be on the substitute list. The next distribution will be on Tuesday, November 12th.
In Kind Receipt
Please complete and submit the in-kind receipt to help us track how much you are contributing in donor offered items: This is a jpeg that you can copy, paste and print.
UPDATE ON FUNDS RECEIVED
9/1//24 TO 9/30/24 $5,271.27
1/1/24 TO 9/30/24 $103,233.54
2/1/2019 TO 9/30/24 $601,723.92
Thank you to our September donors!
Linda and Bradley Wilbert,Rosemary Cleaves , Donale and Alison Slymen, Fran Norris, Sheila and Richard Semana, Karen Kolba, Marilyn Mullany, Mary De Jong, Joann and Stan Benson, Wendy Castleman, Katherine Hendricks, Cory Gonzalez, Elaine Stewart, Olive and Mike Shu, Paula Tripp, Lynda Burnsed, Ann Tompkins, Sandy Richardson, Deb Sherry, Gwen Carton, Lisa Murdoch, Barbara Crawford, Lola Zybura, Jane Larkin, Susan McCutcheon (2), Jean Leavitt, Christine Mateer, Rosemary Cleaves, Gee Gee (Joyce) Southward, Andrea Chavez, Mary Anne Morgan and Madeline Fay (2), Marcella Gelman, Phyllis Sims, Diane Nielsen, Gail Applegate, Caity McCardell, Carol Chenot, Ann McDowell, Dana Robertson, Anita Shower, Jessica Griffiths, Debra Jackson, Gertraud Garner, PayPal Giving Fund, Kathy Forenza, Debra Kabarsky, Lisa Fraser, Donna MacCarley, Robin Pisz
WHERE THE MONEY WENT
Casa Solana – Renée Poirier – Executive Director
Casa Solana was able to provide a gift bed for the second month to a woman in her 30's who is a burn survivor. She has been homeless and struggling with alcohol. We were able tohelp her get her disability paper work started so she can begin paying her own rent soon. $800 1 month bed
Nipomo Family Resource Center – Advocate TBD
Parent is requesting assistance with paying for her car tags so she can take children to school. $171 DMV
Client took time off from work to bond with her niece Rebecca. She has applied for family Paid leave but the process is taking too long. In need of rental assistance for October. Still waiting on benefits. $200 750 Grande Associates
September food bank $77.70 SLO Foodbank
SLO RTA 10 Bus passes $340 SLO Bus passes
Oceano Family Resource Center – Advocate Stella Medina
Single mother of 3 children living at 40 Prado (Open CWS) in need of gas card to get her kids to school and to work. $100 Chevron
Child has a condition knows as coloboma of the iris, which requires annual follow ups. Child is without health insurance because parents income was over the limit by $100 last year. Family needs support with paying this bill. $125 Dr. Cameron Parett
Single mother of 3 recently got sick and lost wages (no sick time left) this has impacted her budget for the month of October. Needs help with rent. $200 Alan Chestnut (landlord)
Homeless family living in their car in need of a gas card to get their children to school and doctor appointments. $100 Shell
Arroyo Grande Family Resource Center – Cinthyia Ortiz-Corona
Single mom struggling with finances & limited benefits as she is slowly getting back into work due to mental health issues. $250 BCG Management
Father was recently hospitalized for a month and half. This had a significant negative impact on the family’s income. Behind on water bill two months. $240.65 Nipomo Community Service District
Family of five struggling under single income due to childcare responsibilities. Requested support w/ bike for youths commute to school. $138.92 Walmart
Nutrition Team – Mary Anne Morgan leader
Food for food distributions at Nipomo Elementary School and Lopez High School Food Pantry and Thanksgiving Baskets $988.61
5 Cities Homeless Coalition – Janna Nichols Executive Director
Client is currently homeless and living in her vehicle. The car has been having some mechanical issues and has been unsafe to drive. Client requested assistance with the cost for diagnostics as well as a smog certification to bring registration into compliance. 5CHC was able to assist and after obtaining an estimate for repairs, 5CHC will assist with a portion and has given client additional resources to cover the full cost. $158 Beach Front Auto – Vehicle Diagnostics and Smog Cert
Client was rehoused last year after fleeing an abusive situation. She has been struggling with her mental health and has been unable to work - she has fallen behind on her utilities and reached out for assistance to catch up. 5CHC was able to refer to other resources to help with her electric bill and was able to use Womenade funds to catch up on her trash bill. Client has been connected to Mental Health resources, recently received a housing choice voucher to subsidize her rent, and is in the process of applying for disability. $294.51 South County Sanitation
Client is currently homeless in South County. He has recently been accepted to the Cabins for Change program and will move in when the next unit becomes available. In the meantime, he was able to find a job, pending passing his background check. He requested assistance with the fee for his Live Scan to secure employment. He started his new job last week! $57 Mail Plus – Live Scan
Client is currently homeless and living in her car. Her car was impounded and she reached out to 5CHC for assistance getting it back. 5CHC was able to negotiate with the impound yard for a lower rate and assisted with remaining portion that client was not able to pay. She has since been connected with a Case Manager, completed an intake and screening, and is on the waitlist for shelter. $275 John Boys Towing
Lopez High School – Keith Gledhill- Principal; Aurora Munoz – Admin
Spirit Day - Student Participation Acknowledgment- School Gear $20
Wolf market supplies for PBIS $39.19
Lopez High School Wolf Den – Heidi Boatman
Guy's size 12 black low top for a student who is working at McDonalds to help his family $59.26 Vans
Fan for girl student's bedroom. Although she has a window in her room, she is afraid to open it because of where she lives in Santa Maria.$25.84 Miners
Six pairs. Shoes for family in need. The family is in rough times and they all needed shoes.3 pairs were purchased for 50% off! $304.31 Vans
Families in Transition – Wendy Bruse Coordinator of After School Programs, Deicy Trejo –
Unaccompanied youth needed support with Public bus pass. Did not want to ask his caregiver due to seeing expenses are tight this month. $37 SCT 31 day bus pass
Single parent needed support with a bus pass to get his son to school. He doesn’t have a vehicle, and depends on rides and can’t afford it due to the increase in his rent. $37 SCT 31 day bus pass
Unaccompanied youth requesting bus pass to transport to school, aunt works full time in SLO and cannot take them to school. Student is currently looking for employment to support the need. $37 SCT 31 day bus pass
Student in need of bus pass to help alleviate the cost of fuel his mother is spending on gas. They are staying in their car and she is on disability. What little funds they have is spent on fuel and food. $37 SCT 31 day bus pass
Pregnancy and Parenting Support – Cami Statler Executive director
No expenses this month
Lumina Alliance – Heather Mullin, Development Director
Client fled from her abuser in September after a physical altercation. She came to our shelter, and during her stay, she and her advocate worked together to identify areas of need. Not having a safe mailing address was a concern of hers, so her shelter advocate assisted her in paying for a P.O. Box. This P.O. Box provided a sense of safety as the abuser no longer had access to important documents or mail. $68 RTA bus pass
Mission Hope – Katie Crafton – Oncology Social Worker
Man in 40’s with metastatic lung cancer needing help with rent. $250 Rent
Woman in her 60's new diagnosis of ovarian cancer and struggling to pay her water bill. Currently without water at her home and needs it turned on to be able to maintain a sanitary living situation. $100 Water District
The Link – Advocates – Mesa Middle and Judkins Middle -Yuliana Molina; Paulding Middle - Fernando Alvarado
Single mother of two pursuing a nursing degree through Cuesta needs help with her internet bill. Recently there was a hold up on financial aid disbursement from her school which interrupted her budget capacity to keep the internet service in place. Typically with the help of financial aid she is able to cover her internet bill but Womanade is stepping in to cover this brief gap in funding. Paulding student needs internet to complete his homework. $276.44 Internet bill
Mom and student live in SLO. Mom drives student to and from school in Nipomo. Mom is a single parent, low income. Mom requesting assistance with RTA bus pass for 3months for her student. $70.50 3 month bus pass
Single mother of three was recently housed after 4 months of being homeless. Mother needs help paying for her cell phone bill, between being out from work due to Covid and paying her motel stay she’s finding it difficult to make ends meet. This funding would give her some breathing room to allocate funds towards purchasing furniture for her new home, including mattresses for her children. The mother is hopeful for the future after being housed as well as proactive in improving her situation for her children. The family anticipates being able to pay the remainder of the bill due to a change in their living situation. They were recently housed and will no longer need to be paying for Motel stays, alleviating this bill will allow the mom to stay connected with the resources she utilizes to keep advocating for her family. She is currently looking for a second job, and she's been very forthcoming and consistent about her son and some of the issues he faces in school. $300 phone bill
SLO County Office Of Education CSPP –(California Pre-School Programs) – Shannon Pimentel Program Coordinator
no expenses this month
Department of Social Services – Jannine Lambert – Division Manager
No expenses this month
County Nurses – Meryl Castro – County Nurse Supervisor
SAFE has given two of our south county moms gas gifts cards ($50) and rent assistance ($250) as well! Another mom received clothing collected by Womenade when she unexpectedly gained a lot of weight due to medications required for a new medical issue. We also received a dresser donation which is going to family that needed clothes storage for their 3 boys! Womenade also donated diapers and wipes to the county nurses for their clients!
C.A.R.E.4Paws – Libby Williams-Cabral – area administrator
A 12 yr old cat named Butterscotch was injured when a neighbor dog dug under the fence and attacked him. After this very scary incident, this sweet boy was left dragging his rear leg behind him and with his family being very low-income, they could not afford these unexpected vet care costs. With the help of the Womenade Grant, we were thankful to assist with this veterinary emergency. Other resources from other donors also used to help with the care. $250
A very low income family’s cat sustained spinal injury in car accident.The vet was able to provide supportive and pain management care in the animal hospital. $250
A 1 yr old dog name Chase was hit by a car.The owner of the dog could not afford the x-rays and surrendered the dog to the animal shelter. The dog’s mom, Chelsea, is a single working mom with very low income. There were many fractures but with Womenade’s help they were able to save the dog from being euthanized. The mom is saving up to pay back the remainder of the vet cost. $210.59
People’s Self Help Housing – Joanna Domínguez - Director of Resource Development
The resident is disabled and she is going to have a baby in the next month. She has applied for assistance from many organizations to help with purchasing necessary items for her baby. She still needs a baby monitor, breast pump, bottle supplies. This worker is requesting $300 Target gift card so she can purchase these $300 Target
Client is a disabled single father. He recently had to spend money fixing his vehicle. Unfortunately a tire and the windshield had to be replaced. His only source of income is SSI. After fixing his car he was left with very little money for home toiletries and food. Client is requesting assistance with a food card worth $300. Walmart
Client is the mother of 2 young boys. Her husband is a seasonal worker and the only provider. Sadly, he was sent home for the week due to testing positive for Covid. Without his income she will not have enough funds to cover all daily expenses. Client is requesting a gift card of $400 to be able buy food, toiletries and any other need. If assisted, her family will be fed and have all their daily needs met. $400 Walmart
Client had some unexpected expenses re: paying her rent. She did pay rent, but this affected her being able to pay for other food and household expenses as she is on a very tight budget with a narrow margin to address household expenses. She receives limited FS and is on a fixed income $250 Target
Client suffered a stroke last year. Recovery is being successful but slow. Client is a welder by trade, but unfortunately with the stroke his vision was affected. This month the client had to take some time off to let his vision rest but was left without the income. He is requesting partial rental assistance of $500. He did work some hours and will be able to pay for the rest. If assisted he will be able to keep a roof over his head and his family housed. $500 Rent
Resident is a single mom with 4 children and has allowed her water bill to get ahead of her and owes over $1,400. She is working with DSS for childcare to return to work but this too will be challenging with 2 school age and 2 toddlers. She has previously worked in- home-services but further coordination, budgeting and supportive services needed to her and with other providers. $500 Avila Beach CSD
The resident's power was shut off. Community resources including Salvation Army doesn’t assist when a utility is shut off.This assistance will allow the social worker to pay the power bill and get the electricity back on today $368.29 PG&E
The resident has to pay her registration for her motorcycle. She relies on this transportation to get to work. She often works the graveyard shift therefore there are often no buses running when she needs to go to work or she is able to get there but then there are no buses when she goes home $300 DMV
HOW TO DONATE:
To make a donation write a check to South SLO County Womenade and mail to:
Our bank asked that checks be made out with the full legal name on the account.
South SLO County Womenade, 1793 Farroll Rd., Grover Beach, CA 93433. We encourage you to become one of our monthly or regular donors. This can be easily done through your bank or charitable foundation. Please remember that if your company has a matching grants program to include us. As you make or update your wills, please consider adding a legacy gift to us for our future sustainability.
or go to our website sslocw.org
Our email is: sslocwomenade@gmail.com
Our website is: sslocw.org
Our EIN# 27-0809744
Phone number: (805) 270-5751