What a magical evening we all had at Patty Colvig's Party Palace. While many were unable to make the meeting due to travel,
school and other obligations, we still had a terrific turn-out. Noelle Berman very kindly took meeting
minutes on her brand, spanking new iPad.
Her first note, which I echo, was ''Patty
Colvig hosted the meeting in her beautiful home. Patty is so warm and welcoming and the tone of generosity
was set! ''
First things first…the food. WoW!! From
Rumaki and Pigs in a Blanket (rock on 60s and 70s!) which everyone devoured
with an, ''OMMYGOD I love these…and I haven't had
these since forever'' It was,
as always, an amazing assortment of food: yummy grilled veggies, sumptious cheese
platter, THREE chocolate cakes that were all amazing and countless other fabulous creations. This group knows how to cook! And the wine…that definitely helped
relax everyone after their busy days.
Talked a little about Smart Meters and discovered many of
us were still on the fence.
All were welcomed to the meeting with new member packets
given to Holly Baumann, Patricia Mitchell and Julie Rosendo.
All three of these ladies have contributed greatly to TWC since
joining. Holly and Julie have done
a number of set-ups and Patricia is involved with some residents at Westwood
Transitional Village and sharing her life coaching skills with them, giving
them a perspective that doesn't come from within the System. The program is in
its infancy but we look forward to her reports. She had a suggestion to improve our visibility and that was to show our promo film at the beginning of the Topanga Film Festival. Something to aim for, right?! Any other new(ish) members who have not received this little packet which includes
approximately 10 copies of the flyer that was included in the Chamber of
Commerce mailing and some 'business cards' please let Karen or me know and
we’ll get one to you. These are
great to hand out to people who
are curious about just what it is that we do. On the backs of the b. cards, you can write your name and
contact info.
Each year our Mother’s Day Card Fundraiser does better and
better and the success is due to all of you. We don’t ask for member dues and your contributions are
strictly voluntary, so fundraising is an important part of all charities,
including ours. The response to these cards remains strong. This year we raised close to $4,000. Starting early seemed to be key. Next year, let’s aim for 5! Julie
Rosendo mentioned how the friends she sent cards to were moved to tears by the
message inside. Annie Gabbert’s
Mom loves her cards so much that she sent TWC a donation. Many of you bought multiple cards…some
of you as many as 14! April had a link on her FB page for ordering cards and I
kept putting links to our website and ’How to Pay’ on my page. I had many friends around the country
who made straight donations and some who chose cards.
One of the moms of a Fourth Grader at Topanga Elementary
(who bought a card) suggested that we could let the whole community of Topanga
know about these cards (perhaps a big article in The Messenger?) and hopefully
sell many more.
While we really did have some great visibility with our
Farmer’s Market Friday Open Bin, Leslie Carlson asked us if we could move it to
another day because of increased congestion and lack of parking. We are going to have a new Open Bin
time of Saturday mornings from 9 to 10:30. We had a sign up sheet out at the meeting and at the end of
this blog posting you can see what dates are still open. Whoever volunteers will always have
either Karen, Lisa, Nancy or myself there to help. You won’t have to do it alone!
Nancy will place an ad in The Messenger which will let the
community know our new day and time.
We continue to thank our self-proclaimed Bin Goddess, Lisa O’Laughlin
for coming up with the Open Bin idea.
A goddess indeed! There is always an experienced TWC member at the Bin with
the Volunteer who signs up, so don't be shy or worry that you can’t do it. It’s fun, easy and a great way to
support TWC. Tell all your friends about our new Open Bin day and remind them
we accept non-perishable foods and new or LIKE NEW items. Noelle adds: Keep those Bin Wenches Busy!!!
Isabel had a great idea: Bring the fishbowl to the Open Bin for donations. People wonder how they can help. Bingo, feed the fish!
Karen has always welcomed donations (via prior arrangement
ONLY) at her home. Lately, though,
there have been some random drops with a load of stuff which she has to deal with, much of it unusuable. CALL FIRST!
Late July early August will be VERY BUSY. We have
had notice that Venice Community Housing’s Transitional Living Center (tight
quarters always) will have many turnovers this summer. And Westwood never seems to slow down!
Please put your thinking caps on for fundraisers.
Cynthia Freeman, Isabel’s daughter, is our fantastic liaison at Community
Partners. We had a chat the other day and our obligation to CP will remain 9%
of our donations (or $2,000 annually) . It’s a tough time financially for
Non Profits. Raising money has become a priority. So please. Help us achieve our goal of making around $25,000 per annum,
either through donations, grant monies or fundraising.
And speaking of fundraising, I'm in NY right now and the emails from Holly and Lisa are burning up the wires. They are off and running and organizing a fantastic HUGE garage sale. In case you’ve missed their emails, here is the gist of it all:
HUGE SUMMER YARD SALE
Saturday, JUNE 30 in front of the Flying Pig (same weekend as Reggae Fest)
You can drop priced items off at 7 AM the day of the sale (they need folding tables)
OR DROP-OFF at the following homes:
Noelle Berman: 20405 Medley Lane (A-frame home just behind the Tuna/Medley sign with red front door. You can drop off your priced items on her front porch: Home phone: #1866
Holly Baumann: 21909 Alta Drive (near the top, last left before heading over the hill...Left on Entrado, sharp right on Canon, wind your way around and left on Alta, Large, lit peace sign, first driveway on your left. Drop off priced items for sale by sign in driveway.
Suggestions for sale:
Costume Jewelry
Clothing (Adults) and shoes in good condition that you bought and which just aren't working for you, scarves (do you need as many as you have?)
Small Appliances: That bread maker/rice maker/ice cream machine that you just had to have and you haven't bothered with after the firs time...bring it on down!
Knick knacks, pictures, etc: You loved them in the 80s, but hey, tastes change.
Accessories
Tools (small)
Crafty stuff
Books...
Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
And who is going to man the lemonade stand/bake sale? Maybe a cooler filled with bottles of water, marked up in price?
All queries or ideas to:
Holly Bauman: hollyebaumann@yahoo.com and
Lisa OLaughlin: lisaol1@juno.com
Back to the meeting...
Patty Colvig brought up the good point that we are not a
Celebrity Charity. And this brings special challenges in receiving donations
from larger corporations.
Karen reminded us that we focus on family comfort and
necessities which have always been the priority of TWC. Our primary aim is till to create a
home for those who have been homeless.
Noelle offers for the TWC Volunteers to see a Movie at
Hollywood Forever this August as a Potential Fundraiser for 2013. On home
ground, she thinks a Movie Night at the Community House could happen in 2012.
We can copy the formula we see in Hollywood.
April Hinkley is creating a Facebook page for TWC. We are thankful for the young blood in
this group!! Next job is updating
our website with interactive links.
Members took home bags of Clothing donated by the
Desperate Housewives set to be sorted by size and gender. Thank you ladies! This is such an incredible help.
Lin has a meeting in England for the Video update.
Isabelle requests attachment in email. That will happen (if it's any
good!).
And finally, here's our Open Bin
Volunteer Schedule. If you see a
date where you can help out, please send Nancy Hanson an email (nancyhanson19@gmail.com) and she will add you to this list.
June 16: Noelle Berman
and Lisa O'Laughlin
June 23: Liz Dupuy
June 30: Isabel Freeman
July 7: Debra Skelton
and Lisa O'Laughlin
July 14: Patty Colvig
July 21: Mary Morley
July 28: _________________________
August 4: Julie Rosendo
August 11: Lisa
O'Laughlin (and any other time she is free she will step up to the plate to
help others)
August 18: _________________________________
August 25: _________________________________
September 1: Holly
Baumann
September 8: ________________________________
September 15: _______________________________
September 22: _______________________________
September 29: _______________________________
