We had a terrific meeting at Catherine McClenahan’s home last Wednesday evening and a few notes follow so that those of you unable to attend are up to date on TWC happenings. A beautiful home, a gracious hostess, unbelievable volunteers who brought absolutely delicious food and a full moon all conspired to create a perfect evening.
Our brand new TWC Coordinator, Nancy Hanson, took meeting notes. Thank you Nancy for keeping us on target and for agreeing to do a host of duties for us. It is beyond appreciated.
Meeting Attendees: Isabel Freeman, Toni Colvin, Sue Forbes, Paulette Rapp, Deborah Kashinsky, Patty Colvig, Catherine McClenahan, Ildy Lewis, Linda Mann, Lisa O’Laughlin, Geraldine Flaxman, Nancy Hanson, April and Ashley Hinkle, Karen Sherwood and Linda Ilsley
We chatted about a lot and appreciate all the excellent input from those present. It never fails to amaze me how productive these meetings are and the creativity and enthusiasm of TWC volunteers.
The Bin: We created a sign-up sheet for ‘bin duty’ since we’re going to have an ‘Open Bin’ every Friday between 10:30 and Noon and notices are now running in The Messenger. Our Bin Goddess, Lisa O’Laughlin, will continue with her incredibly generous every other Friday schedule and TWC volunteers at the meeting signed up to help on many of the Fridays between now and the New Year. There are still lots of dates open for helping, so please drop me a line if you’re interested in helping. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is a great community outreach time and good fun and if everyone knows we’re open for business every Friday, more folks will get in the mindset of us being there and contributing, I’m sure. This is also a perfect time for TWC volunteers to drop off any donations they may have been hauling around in their cars, such as non-perishable food items, etc. Karen and Deborah Kashinsky were there this past Friday. Remember to stop on by and say hi if you’re at the Farmer’s Market.
Laundry/Sorting of Donations: We often have donations that need a little freshening and this includes infants’ and children’s’ clothing as well as bed linens and towels. If you would be willing to help with this, please drop me a line. Ildy, Isabel and Linda Mann volunteered to help Karen and I with this chore and we couldn’t be happier! Karen is happy to make small repairs to donations so if the repair isn’t major, we’ll still be able to use it because of her skill with a needle. If anyone else would like to help in this way, let us know.
Cookbook for Incoming Families: Annie Gabbert wasn’t able to make the meeting due to her husband’s work schedule, but she will be our cookbook coordinator. The recipes are slowly coming in. Remember all recipes should ideally be simple and a family favorite, have a few lines explaining its importance to your family, a recipe name, accurate ingredients, cooking time and temp and how many it should serve.
Isabel wrote the following about her chocolate cake recipe that I thought was just perfect: “Here’s an easy chocolate cake recipe with no clean up because it’s made in the pan. It always gets raves and can also be used to make 12 cupcakes or easily doubled for a larger cake. It’s been a birthday party favorite at my house for 3 generations.”
Perhaps at a later date we could create a Topanga Women’s Circle Cookbook as a fundraiser, but let’s start small and do an initial one for the families we serve. April brought along a sample cookbook from a recent wedding she’d attended. Wedding guests had contributed favorite recipes and a book was created for the bride and groom (and for all the guests to take home)!
TWC Cards: All ideas and photographs are welcome. We will continue with our Mother’s Day Fundraising Event but how about doing cards for the Holidays, Birthdays, etc. Deborah Kashinsky shared the proofs of some beautiful cards she has created for TWC. These can be sold individually or in bundles and are just exquisite. Can’t wait to share them with all of you. April emailed us some photos of collages she’s done and they’re pretty terrific, too.
Classes for Moms: We’re still working on this and talking with the powers that be at Venice and Westwood. Whatever we do will start after the Christmas break so put your thinking caps on. Yoga, cooking, health, nutrition, etc. These are all ideas. Ildy would love to teach a cooking class that subtly combines good nutrition with simple and tasty recipes. What ideas do you have?
Yoga Mats: Westwood Transitional Village is looking for yoga mats. Any ideas?
Sewing Kits: All of this chat of classes led to Patty Colvig talking about sewing kits for the families. At each set-up, how about including a basic sewing kit? She talked a bit about perhaps getting local Girl Scout/Brownie troops involved with putting these together. Karen thought a clear, sturdy zippered bag would be perfect for holding thread, needles, scissors, etc. A little start-up kit that would have items for quick repairs/sewing on buttons, etc. Your ideas would be appreciated.
Ink Cartridges: Remember, Sophie Kipner established a connection for us so that all donated cartridges go to a recycling center where we are paid for what we send their way. If any of you work in an environment that generates a fair number of cartridges, please collect them for us, as well as any you use at home. Stick in a plastic bag, though, so you don’t get ink over everything! We’ll take care of the mailing.
Feed the Fish: We’ll have our fish bowl at each meeting. Deborah reminded our group that any donation, no matter how small, would be appreciated.
Food Drives: Patty Colvig reminded the group that if you’re entertaining, especially over the holidays, include a TWC non-perishable food drive request in your invitation! We will get lists together of the foods we like to provide for the families we serve and this way you can give your guests a little guidance if you feel they need it!
Christmas: It’s coming up…only two more months, eight weeks (YIKES!). In the past, Kelly Radinsky and Mariposa School have done so much for the children in the Transitional Living Center at Venice Community Housing but Kelly mentioned earlier in the summer that things were a little different at Mariposa this year and she wasn’t sure if it would be possible to continue with this gift drive. Put your thinking caps on, TWC volunteers, and send all ideas our way. We will again be giving a gift to each child and their siblings at The Bessie Pregerson Child Development Center at Westwood as well as the children at the TLC at Venice.
Please send Karen (kfswood@gmail.com) and Linda (linilsley@gmail.com) any ideas or suggestions you may have.
Next Meeting: We will need to have another meeting in November…around the 8th or 9th (or the following week at the latest) to discuss the holidays. Please, please, please send me all ideas you may have about toy drives, etc., before then.
If you’d like to have the next meeting at your home and can accommodate about a dozen or so cars, let us know.
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