Foothills Sentry January 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 10 January 2021 Over 75 third-grade students at Helen Estock Elementary School re- ceived new bikes on Dec. 11. The Bikes for Kids Foundation gave a bike and helmet to every third grader at the school. This is the fifth consecutive year that Bikes for Kids has selected an elementary school in the Tustin Unified School District. Estock was the only school in Orange County to be chosen for the program. Volunteers from the Aliso Viejo mountain bike club, DirtBags, raised funds for the bikes and assembled them in the school’s multipurpose room the previous night. During a socially distanced assembly outside on the campus, five students were randomly selected through a drawing to win bikes. Next, the organization gave away a few more bikes until Bikes for Kids emcee Bill Pollakov did it “Oprah style” and announced every third grader would receive a new bike and helmet, including the students who were livestreaming from home. A “spokes”person for the orga- nization said Estock’s students were so excited their heads were spin- ning! The kids wheelie love their new bikes! – Mark Eliot Scholarships offered for 2021 high school grads Assistance League of Orange announced that scholarships will be offered to high school se- niors graduating from an OUSD high school, or from another high school while residing in the OUSD attendance area, in 2021. Scholarships have been a part of the Assistance League of Orange philanthropy since 1948. Scholarships are offered to students pursuing any field of post-high school study at a uni- versity, community college, or trade school. General Scholar- ships are available, as well as four specialized scholarships, which have specific application requirements: the Eugenia Love Arts Scholarship is geared toward a student pursuing an arts major including music, dance, acting, drawing, painting or photogra- phy; the Alfreda Niewig Nursing Scholarship is intended for a stu- dent pursuing a degree in nursing or a health care profession; the ALO Memorial Scholarship for Special Needs is geared toward a student with a physical or mental handicap; and the Richland High School Scholarship is available to students who are currently at- tending Richland or have attend- ed Richland during the current school year. Qualified students may ap- ply online for both a general and a specialized scholarship at alorange.org , [programs], then [scholarships] beginning Jan. 15; applications close at midnight on Sat., March 27. Please contact Karen Goodwin or Tanis Nelson, at scholarships@alorange.org with any questions. Meet purrfectly petable Valkyrie. Like the Norse Goddess, she is a wish fulfiller, as long as your wish is to pet her. While she tends to be a little shy, and likes to peer out from her lair under the furniture, she will come if you call. And her fur is extra soft, jet black, even between her toes. She was an outdoor kitty for a long time, but now prefers the warmth of my indoor foster home, and – well, your home would be even better. For more information on how to adopt Valkyrie, or any of our adoptable cats, please contact OCSP Cat Rescue at (714) 815-4300 or ocsp.adoptions@gmail.com, putting the cat's name in the subject line. Email is always the fastest way to bring your new family member home! You can access an application at ocspcatres- cue.org . Looking for love ALO to celebrate 80th anniversary Assistance League of Orange will celebrate 80 years of phil- anthropic service to the greater Orange Community in February. While the pandemic has made it more difficult to interact with fel- low volunteers and the children, women, families and veterans they serve, the members have persevered, adapting existing programs and creating new ones to meet new and growing needs within the community. "Christmas is for Sharing," and program volunteers shopped and wrapped over 250 gifts to fulfill the wish lists –blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene items -- of veteran students and Guardian Scholars (former foster children) now at- tending Santiago Community College. Instead of parties and dinners for the families staying at Mir- acle Manor while their children are undergoing life-saving treat- ments, volunteers “adopted” two families, providing gifts for all. Assistance League volun- teers made the holidays a little warmer for the sheltered women of WISEPlace. Hand-made blan- kets, some crocheted and some fleece, plus new robes and slip- pers were gifted to the 47 women. Approximately 200 donated coats and new socks were given to OC Veterans Assistance program. Sixteen live 6-foot Noble fir trees and one faux tree, replete with stands and skirts, were provided for the housing units for young adults at Orangewood Children’s Home. Volunteers also delivered 150 boxed lunches to hospital staff at St. Joseph, in thanks for their frontline service. Gift bags containing warm blankets for the men, and shawls for the ladies, new socks and a treat were given to 75 seniors at the Orange Senior Center, as well as much-needed paper supplies. El Modena’s Senior Class honored frontline COVID units at St. Jo- seph’s Hospital, Orange County Global Medical Center and Chap- man Global Medical Center. Gathering donations from Class of 2021 families, senior class officers packaged gifts bags to honor their fellow “Vanguards.” Recently, a Vanguard senior lost her father after a bat- tle with COVID. The family learned first hand how hard the doctors, nurses and entire staff are working for our community. ElMo’s Class of 2021 says thank you to all our COVID Units!” Program Chairs Angela Fasbender and Claire Kocek with "Christmas is for Sharing" gifts. Funds for Cannon Street widening sought The City of Orange submitted widening Cannon Street to the Orange County Transportation Authority, in answer to a call for projects seeking Measure M2 funding. The Cannon Street widening from Santiago Canyon Road to Serrano Avenue project meets OCTA’s criteria for arterial capac- ity enhancement. The City is requesting funding for fiscal year 2021-22 for the engineering and planning phase of the project, which is estimat- ed at $825,000. The total grant amount would be $618,750 with a 25% city match requirement of $206,250. Measure M2, approved by vot- ers in 2006, is a 30-year multi- billion dollar program extension of the original Measure M (ap- proved in 1990) to fund improve- ments to the county freeway sys- tem, streets and roads, Metrolink and transit services for the senior and disabled community. At the California Raceway an- nual toy drive, Assistance League, the chosen recipient, collected 96 toys that were dispersed for dis- advantaged children of Friendly Center, Youth Center of Orange, Miracle for Kids and Orange- wood. The organization’s Special Assistance program has handled a record number of struggling fam- ilies requesting assistance with utilities, rent and food.