End of Summer/Back to School Meeting

Welcome to all who were able to attend the lively, and always fun TWC gathering after a slight summer recess. Though we did have a few set-ups in July and August, it was mostly quiet...which was a welcome break after the extremely busy prior months. It was particularly nice to meet our new volunteers and a special thanks goes to Debra Silbar for being such an incredible recruiter!

Firstly many thanks to Leslie and Steve Carlson for hosting our September meeting, something they've done for the past four years, this being the first time we didn't need the heat lamps. It was like an east coast evening, warm and unusually humid and just perfect for sitting outside...waterfall tumbling behind us and Koi jumping! Steve did a stellar job grilling the salmon and, as always, they made us feel so comfortable and welcome in their most magical setting. Gorgeous, big boy, Osso, was beautifully behaved and was super easy with a house full of ladies.

Good chatter over dinner

And the other end of the table!

Some things don't change and one of our volunteers commented (was it Gail Thomas?) that the best dining in Topanga routinely happens at these potluck dinners. What a great group of cooks...imaginative, nutritious and delicious with just the right amount of naughtiness (the desserts were divine!).





















Perishables Committee                                                       Non Perishables
Randi Gottlieb, Chair                                                            Patty Colvig, Chair
Andrea Palella                                                                       Geraldine Flaxman
Bonnie Graves                                                                       Piper Norwood
Randi Gottlieb                                                                       Deborah Ackrich
Debra Silbar                                                                           Randi DenBesten
Wendy Skolfield
Sue Forbes

Shopping Committee                                                           Pull Committee
Teresa Rosati-Royer, Chair                                                    Karen Sherwood, Chair
Karen Sherwood                                                                     Mary Morley
Piper Norwood                                                                        Piper Norwood
Randi DenBesten                                                                    Carrie Rheinfrank
Emma Murray                                                                         Emma Murray
Janaki Welch                                                                           Nancy Hanson
Deborah Ackrich
Linda Ilsley

Fundraising Committee                                                       Set-Up Committee
Debra Silbar, Chair                                                                 Lin Ilsley, Chair
Karla Morrison                                                                      All TWC volunteers
Janaki Welch
Teresa Rosati-Royer                                                                      
Lin Ilsley

Saturday Morning Bin Goddess Committee
Nancy Hanson, Chair
Rebecca Franco                 Deborah Kashinsky
Cynthia Scott       and        Lizzie Scott
Catherine McClenahan      Pat Lester
Linda Mann                       Gail Thomas
Carrie Rheinfrank              Terry Welles
Ann Grant
                                   

A quick thank you to all our volunteers, especially those of you who help with so many set-ups and work quietly behind the scenes shopping and pulling and Bin Goddessing and fundraising. It is so appreciated. Here are a few extra thank you's going out to: Debra Silbar for bringing a breath of fresh air and some lovely new (younger) volunteers to us who have been so generous thus far and for kickstarting our fundraising committee with energy and ideas; thanks to Cynthia Scott for popping over from work to deliver fresh flowers when we're working our magic in Westwood; Bonnie Graves for her homemade ice cream sandwich sale; Pat Lester for her fabulous, magical way with a needle and thread...potholders, American Girl doll clothes, etc; Rebecca Franco for her lovely welcome cards; Eden Ackrich (and mom Deborah) for thinking of TWC and working towards helping those in need for her Bat Mitzvah project; and all who are so generously donating to our Giving Fund Challenge Grant (more details to follow!).

We touched briefly on Christmas and what we will do which is Christmas for the kids at Venice Community Housing which is usually around 10 children. We will put the wish list out in November and plan on wrapping and delivering before the middle of December. A great way to contribute is by asking friends and colleagues for $25 gift cards to Target which we will give to each family at the Bessie Pregerson Child Development Center at Westwood Transitional Village, as well as a beautiful hand crocheted throw hand made by Project Linus. We also like to include a gift card to each new move-in family.

Fundraising Update: 

• Giving Fund Challenge details will be coming but the match grant has already grown to $6,000!
• We're going to have a raffle in the New Year with...drum roll... a Thanksgiving  2017 week long vacation in Cabo, donated very generously by Teresa and Bruce Royer! Details to follow.
• We'll still be having our annual Mother's Day Fundraiser with our beautiful handmade cards
• Perhaps a fundraiser with one special entertainer or a variety show using some of the great talent we have here in the Canyon
• After our Giving Fund drive has been completed, we will be contacting Sheila Kuehl's office, perhaps looking for matching grants.

So, loads of things on the horizon and lots to be excited about. Here are some photos of the beautiful homes we've created in the last few months for those in transition, including many Veterans and their families.

Color coordinated!

Welcome place setting with welcome card and a $25 gift card to Target

Darling boy's bedroom with fabulous bedding donated by
Randi DenBesten

This is a full fridge for a large family move-in

Bonnie Graves and little Sophie putting a lot of thought
into a little girl's bedroom

Bonnie Grave's little boy, Sawyer, hauling things (enthusiastically) upstairs to one of the bedrooms.
This little guy never stopped!

How welcoming is this for a little girl

Welcome flowers, a beautiful lamp and a lovely message.

 A serene master bedroom

Another fabulous boy's bedroom.

And Another Year...

Somehow, even though my children are grown and grandchildren are headed that way too, June always signals the end of another year to me.  Sure, December 31 holds some meaning as well, but there is something about the end of a school year that gives me that slightly heady feeling that it's vacation time!  And so each year, in early June, we gather at Rocco's for our annual volunteer thank you dinner. While we chat about accomplishments and goals for the year ahead, we also just kick back and enjoy one another's company in a familiar Canyon setting. Two TWC angels, who prefer to remain anonymous, refused to let TWC pay for this event and quietly went and settled the tab. We are so lucky to have so many remarkably generous volunteers who never fail to impress me with their kind and open spirits. Next year, we hope to have the dinner a little before the end of the school year to avoid graduation parties and vacation conflicts.

We did manage to discuss a few things at the party and here's a brief run-down

• Mother's Day was another huge success and we will continue with this tradition again next year! Noelle Berman prints the beautiful vellum inserts for us and we are so appreciative. Our booth at the Farmer's Market was successful and led to a discussion of...
• First Friday's. This is an idea the Topanga Farmer's Mkt is considering where local crafts people, artists and charities could set up a booth. One idea for TWC is to make all occasion cards, birthday, sympathy, congratulations, new baby, etc and sell them for $5 each. Maybe Noelle could print these inserts for us too!
• Thanks to Courtney Karp, who though a new Canyon resident has joined our merry band, hosting the annual Christmas non-perishable food drive that Patty Colvig started a few years back(Lower Encina) and working the booth at the Farmer's Mkt. 
• Elaine Hanson deserves a big thanks, too, for printing the fliers!
• Karla Morrison continues to make strides towards improving TWC's visibility with Sheila Kuehl's office.
• Thanks to Rebecca Franco for making the new welcome cards for each family. We love leaving them with a little note and a $25 Target gift card. Our gift cards will soon be gone, so if ever you have friends who want to know how they can help, suggest a $25 Target gift card!
• In early September we will have to make the decision as to whether or not we renew our space at the storage facility in T.O. or can anyone think of a safe, secure, clean and dry Canyon space we could use for free? Catherine McClenahan offered her property as a location for a storage container. We will need to crunch some numbers as to the cost of a container, delivery, leveling, etc as opposed to a year's storage facility rental (which runs around $4,500).
• A set builder friend made a generous donation to TWC (from a set that was being broken down) of towels, lamps, throw pillows, etc and suggested the studios might be a good source of donations for us.
• Nancy reported that the Bin Committee was going strong and doing a great job with inventory, bundling and organizing.
• Patty continues to manage the Non-Perishables group and is finding that purchasing Visa cards with TWC funds for NP purchases is working out well.
• A reminder to the Perishable Committee that you are free to spend as much as you want for set-ups but if you want reimbursement, TWC can only spend a maximum of $50 per set-up. The generosity of the folks in this committee (Bonnie Graces, Andrea Palella, Wendy Skolfield, Debra Silbar, Sue Forbes, Randi Gottlieb...and I know I'm forgetting someone!) is amazing.
• Karen introduced Judy Richards to us all and she talked about her fascinating group, Granny Squared, a community-based project that has collected thousands of crocheted squares which she has made available to TWC for stitching together to create colorful and warm bed covers for our intake families. Isabel Freeman would like to help Judy with this and Deborah Ackrich offered that her girls might be interested in helping as well.
• When responding to emails sent to the whole charity, please do not hit reply all and also please try and avoid bringing anything extra to the set-ups without first checking with Teresa or me.
• And finally, we're hoping the number of set-ups will slow down for a bit after our extraordinarily busy spring.

And now some photos from the last few months! For those of you who haven't taken part in a set-up before, each apartment that we turn into a home for a new family is a blank slate.  Each is different, depending upon what donations we've received, the make-up of the new family, number of bedrooms, etc.  But one thing remains the same...they always look warm and welcoming. These photos should give you an idea!

We load our cars and head down the mountain!

A blank slate.  Institutional, not too homey...we're ready to change that!

Arrival...lots to unpack, boxes to break down and loads of willing hands to help.

Parent's Bedroom.  This must feel so good after being in a shelter.

And another parents' bedroom...showing just how different they can be

A little guy's room.

We always try and include books for the children, as well as age-appropriate toys

More books, toys and artwork!

I love the way each table is set differently and how we always leave that
welcome card and gift certificate for each family.

Another beautifully set table.

And another!

A full fridge from a v. generous volunteer.

Bright colored living room rug and throw pillows is so welcoming.

Bright green for this apartment!

Pat Lester made this little doll carrier AND
the doll clothes. She is TWC's master crafter and
seamstress making everything from doll clothes to potholders!

All finished!  It was a big apartment and we needed every one of these volunteers.
Junior volunteer, Lizzie Scott (with mum, Cynthia) is a
great addition to our team!

Mother's Day 2016

It's time to order your 2016 Mother's Day Cards.

This is Topanga Women's Circle most important fundraiser of the year and

for only a $25 donation we will mail a beautiful, personalized card to ANY mother

(mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins & friends) who you would like to 

recognize or to a special lady whose memory you would like to honor.

For timely mailing of cards

(Mother's Day is May 8th this year),

all orders must be placed with us by May 1st at the latest.

We are happy to mail the card with your special message or you can

place an order with us for cards that you would like to personalize and mail yourself.

We will also have a beautiful selection of cards available for sale at the

Topanga Farmer's Market on

April 22, 29 and May 6.

Two simple ways to pay:

Either go to our website: topangawomenscircle.org and click on the

'How You Can Help" Contribute Button.  We take Amex, Mastercard, Visa or Paypal or

Send your check for $25 for each card payable to:

Community Partners fbo Topanga Women's Circle

c/o Linda Ilsley

2670 Topanga Skyline Drive

Topanga, CA  90290
Any questions, or for further information, contact Linda at linilsley@gmail.com

If we are mailing the card for you, please include your name as you would like it to appear on the card, your personal message and the name and address of each recipient.

Photo choices follow.  In addition to these lovely photos, we also have a large selection of beautiful flower photos. If you would like us to choose a card for you, that too is fine!

We have some tried and true images below in addition to some lovely new ones.  Of special interest are the silkscreen images by TWC volunteer, Linda Bolhuis.

Impressionism:  Pansies

Goddess of Compassion

Raindrops and Roses

Linda Bolhuis Silkscreen 1

Linda Bolhuis Silkscreen 2

Linda Bolhuis Silkscreen 3

Mother Tree

Poppies and Amish Barn

Orange Butterfly and Lantana

Mother and Child: Nepal

Poppies

Hummingbirds at  Home in Topanga

Artichoke

Lupines, Old Canyon, Topanga

Lavender

Pride of Madeira & Butterfly

Topanga through Mustard

Giverny

Irish Cows

Irish Horses

Pure Joy

Study in Pinks