Foothills Sentry May 2024

Page 9 Foothills Sentry MAY 2024 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 5 / 31 /2 4 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket Get Tickets at CommunityFoundationOfOrange.Org 2024 GALA Thursday, June 6 Community Foundation of O ange 6:00 – 9:30 PM Honoring ve Orange L The Assistance League of Orange community shared the “Spirit of Giving” at the Embrace Orange Gala, held at the Balboa Bay Club on April 14. The 2024 Community Circle Award was presented to Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez to thank him for his ser- vice to the Orange community and to the United States. The event, coordinated by nu- merous member-volunteers, in- cluded silent and live auctions, a dinner with premium wines and live music. Assistance League of Orange thanks its many gener- ous donors. Without their help, the league would not be able to serve the community of Orange as extensively as it does, with over 13 philanthropic programs, benefiting students, veterans, se- niors and the disadvantaged. For information, see alorange.org . Assistance League member Vikki Murphy, Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez and former Orange Mayor Mark Murphy Sweets and greets offered at OC Central Dems meeting Elks host GRIP soccer camp The OC Central Dems will have sweet offerings for its Wednes- day, May 22 meeting, with an ice cream social at 6 p.m. The meet- ing begins at 7 p.m., with a deep dive into the youth vote by hearing from youth voters. A Brookings Institute analy- sis of the 2022 midterm election exit polls underscored that young voters, especially young women, drove the Democratic advantage in 2022. In preparation for the No- vember election, the group is en- gaging with young voters to learn The Gang Reduction Interven- tion Partnership (GRIP) Soccer Camp is held annually during the Orange Unified School District spring break. GRIP is a program for students between 8 and 12 years old, pre- selected to participate in the pro- gram as they may be determined to be at-risk of gang involvement and drug use during a time when they have very little adult supervi- sion. The kids that attended the soccer camp had to earn their way to the about the interests that drive them to vote; what are the talking points they relate to; what do they want Dems to know?; to do? At this meeting, attendees will hear from young Dems from around the county. Central OC Dems includes Tustin, Tustin Hills, Orange, Villa Park and sur- rounding communities. Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at St. Paul’s Episco- pal Church at 1221 Wass St. Cen- tral OC Dems is not affiliated with St. Paul’s. See OCDems.com. camp by their actions and achieve- ments. Once in the program, the kids make and set goals, and must show improvement to stay in the program. This soccer camp helps them to do that! The Elks Drug Awareness Team cooked and served tacos, rice, beans, chips, water and candy to 50 kids and staff at the GRIP Soc- cer Camp. The Elks Soccer Shoot Commit- tee donated two new soccer balls from the Soccer Shoot to be given as prizes. Villa Park cleans up for Earth Day By Jill Kuli Villa Park residents had a cou- ple of days head start on restoring our planet with several Earth Day activities on April 20. The City of Villa Park and Re- public Services partnered to offer a free compost giveaway at Villa Park High. At the same time, many students were involved with clean-up and restoration projects for their Campus Care Day. The Villa Park Community Ser- vices Foundation organized free paper shredding and electronics recycling in front of city hall. Thanks to a generous financial sponsorship by Kathy McCarthy of First Team Real Estate, boxes of confidential paper documents were destroyed on-site by Total Shredding. Much gratitude goes to Joe Sandoval, as hundreds of dysfunctional electronics filled his Junkluggers truck. Items such as TVs, laptops, printers, and LCD screens will be restored or dis- carded after any confidential info is professionally erased. The VPCS Foundation encour- aged everyone to pick up trash on the walkways and trails during the day. Free grabber tools were pro- vided. Many thanks go to the stu- dents from the VP High Interact Club and the Orange/Villa Park National Charity League who scoured the Villa Park Town Cen- ter and disposed of trash, as well as helped with lugging documents and electronics from citizen’s ve- hicles for destruction. Residents were given free fold- up cloth shopping bags and free seed packets from the foundation to grow their own vegetables. To- matoes were popular, but beans, onions, and cucumbers were also favorites. And, kids loved the free Earth Day stickers. City events such as Earth Day could not come together without the hard work and dedication of our superhero maintenance man, Mike Knowles. His pre/post ef- forts for Earth Day were very much appreciated, but his daily efforts to preserve “Hidden Jew- el” are truly remarkable. Want to know more about the VPCS Foundation and support its many free community activities? See vpcsfoundation.org. Nominations announced for 2023 Tustin Man and Woman of the Year By Mark Eliot The committee for the 2023 Tustin Area Man and Woman of the Year (TAMWY) announced that five men and six women have been nominated for the honor by local nonprofit groups. The nominees for Tustin Area Man of the Year are Roger Carl- son, Tustin-Santa Ana Rotary Club; Jef Maddock, Tustin Cham- ber of Commerce; Jeff Meyers, Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts; Tim O'Donoghue, Tustin Kiwanis Club; and Ed Reynolds, Tustin Community Foundation. The nominees for Tustin Wom- an of the Year are Sheryl Fran- ke, Tustin Area Woman's Club; Christine Gregg, Soroptimists International, Santa Ana-Tustin; Sharon Hirahara, Tustin Cham- ber of Commerce; Erin Kociela, Tustin-Santa Rotary Club; Kelly Meyers, Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts; and Lisa Telles, Assis- tance League of Tustin. The TAMWY program has been held for more than 60 years. Tustin-area individuals are rec- ognized for their dedicated work, leadership and outstanding vol- unteerism in the community. Nominations for the award come from local nonprofit organiza- tions or previous winners. The annual awards dinner will be held on Friday, May 31, at 6 p.m. at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, 1751 S. Elk Lane. Dinner tickets can be purchased via Tu- stinCommunityFoundation.org. Sponsorships are also available. Additionally, the TAMWY committee will recognize an outstanding high school senior from the Tustin Unified School District. Student musicians from Beckman High School will per- form at the event. The Tustin Man and Woman of the Year will become lifetime members of the TAMWY organi- zation. They will receive special awards, pins, and city and county proclamations at the dinner. They will ride in the Tustin Tiller Days Parade as guests of honor in Oc- tober, and have their names per- manently etched on a brick walk- way in the plaza between the Tu- stin Library and Clifton C. Miller Community Center at the Tustin Civic Center. For more information, con- tact Kim DeBenedetto at kmow- ers22@gmail.com or Mark Eliot at markeliot86@gmail.com . Left to right in front, Elks Mike Cash, Larry Saunders, Kathy Cole, Paloma Cortez, Rachael Schultz and Mike Duff; back row, from left, Kevin Wagner, Exalted Ruler JC Cortez and Bill Neessen Assistance League embraced Orange