As always, for ease of understanding and because it eliminates the need for me to smoothly transition from one thought to another, here's what's going on!
Next Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 16
We would really like to have a big turn-out for this meeting as we will have loads to discuss regarding Christmas. Krista Stilley, the young, enthusiastic and amazingly focused and effective director at Westwood Transitional Village has expressed interest in attending one of our get-togethers and Karen and I thought this would be a perfect one. We will meet at my house (2670 Topanga Skyline Drive) at 7 PM. Reminders will be sent out, but please try and clear your calendars so you can attend this gathering.
Donation
This has been a very good year (with Zev's contribution) for TWC and with that in mind, Karen and I talked to Cynthia Freeman (Isabel's daughter and our Community Partners [CP] guru), about the idea of gifting monies to Westwood Transitional Village to help with their back-to-school expenses. When we were doing a set-up a few weeks ago, Krista stopped by to see our progress and was chatting about how their discretionary funds were running super low because of the expense of getting kids all their school supplies (and new shoes!). Krista knows that TWC operates on a shoestring budget so she was in no way asking for anything from us...just stating a fact. Karen and I mulled this over and then contacted CP, asking if a 501(c)(3) can give monies to another 501(c)(3) and their answer was yes. So we gifted Westwood Transitional Village $1,000 and their response and gratitude has been heart-warming. This may not be something we can do with any regularity, but we could do it this year and so we did. Our Advisory Board agreed that this gift was a good thing and to quote Wendy Skolfield's mother, Mimi, "Money like manure starts to stink if it's not spread around."
Monday, September 26 Set-Up
Karen was joined by Paulette, Ildy and Pia for this set-up and while doing their work, the Metro Board for the Los Angeles Salvation Army (who were having a meeting at Westwood) stopped by to see the work that Topanga Women's Circle does. I don't know the exact numbers, but there were at least 10 board members, as well as our volunteers in the small apartment. To say that they were blown away is an understatement. Karen was excited to share the reaction of the group with me and it was gratifying to receive this level of appreciation for our work. As you can see from the pictures, they did a terrific job. Have a look at that striking red rug in the living room. Last week, Karen and I found several on sale at Target for $12.99 and I think you'll agree that it really helps 'pop' the room. If you happen to see similar rugs on sale when you're out and about, please grab them for us (as many as you can) and we'll reimburse you. They make a huge difference.
Volunteer Request
TWC friend and Topanga Chamber President Bruce Royer suggested to Karen and I that we may want to consider putting an insert that explains just what TWC is in their "Guide to Topanga" which goes to press in a few days time. We agreed that this would be a great way to get the message out to the entire community about who we are, what we do, when and where people can contribute to our group and how they can contact us. Bruce also suggested that perhaps Jennifer Babcock of Jennifer Babcock Design and Chamber Vice-President, could help us with this. She has given us a greatly discounted rate and we've provided her with the copy and photos so be sure to check out our contribution to this Topanga publication that has area business contact info and good local maps.
Now onto the volunteer request part of this! Three thousand of these guides will be mailed and we are looking for four volunteers to help slip our insert into each guide. Bruce will be there working alongside us so if any of you could help, please contact Karen or me ASAP. It will most likely be another week or so from now. We don't yet have the date. Thanks!
Open Bin
Don't forget we will have our weekly Open Bin this Friday, September 30th from 10:30 to Noon. Patty Colvig and Karen or I will be there so combine a trip to our local Farmer's Market with a donation to TWC and encourage your friends and neighbors to stop by and see just what we're up to.
And speaking of our Open Bin, get a load of our resident Bin Goddess Lisa O'Laughlin and her darling Teddy Bear. They were there last week and while it was a quiet morning for donations, we did get some clothing sorted and bagged. We did get a nice donation of teen girl's clothing from Bouboulina, so a big thank you goes out to them.
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