Bike giveaway helps children in foster care.

Project Bicycle Love, a local non-profit, is pleased to announce the 3rd annual Christmas Bike Giveaway is underway. In partnership with Coastlands Real Estate Group, this project will provide over 140 children in the foster system with a brand-new bicycle at Christmas. Started as a grassroots project two years ago the need was so large that Project Bicycle Love incorporated this year to serve more children. In the past two years they have given away almost 200 brand new bikes and helmets to kids in the Ventura County foster care system.

Project Bicycle Love works with the County of Ventura as well as local group homes, foster agencies, and foster families to get the names of kids/teens who could benefit from a new bike.
More information about the project can be found at www.bicyclelove.org.

Is it more fun to pet Charles or Santa?

Kids & Families Together and Heart 2 Heart are conducting their 10th Annual Holiday Donation Drive for the Annual Holiday Gift Away event on Saturday, December 7, from 10am-1pm in Ventura. They will be serving over 200 children with their caregivers in the Ventura County community. Currently seeking donations of pajamas from infant to adult size, blankets, games, art supplies, gift cards for the teens, and drawing items for our give-away. They are there to show the children they care about them and appreciate the caregivers who open their homes to these children. It takes a loving village to raise these children.

The event will be a family fun day, including a picture with Santa, games, arts/crafts, a movie, treats, and each child will be gifted with pajamas, toys, and other donated items for the family!

They are very grateful to our business and community donors and our numerous volunteers who have helped make this event possible! If you would like to donate or volunteer, please visit https://www.kidsandfamilies.org/ or contact Jeni Futvoye, Community Resource Manager at 805-643-1446 ext. 108, [email protected].

They will schedule a donation pick-up or donations can be dropped no later than December 5th at office: Kids & Families Together, 864 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura. Donations can also be purchased from Amazon wish list:  http://a.co/a64QVFd and they accept monetary donations, checks payable to Kids & Families Together, Resource Family Support.
With your help, we will create a wonderful and cozy holiday season for foster/resource, kinship, adopted children with the families we serve.

The event was dedicated to what the Soroptimists provide to the community’s women.

by Juliann Laufer

Whew! What a wonderful event that was hosted by Soroptimist International of Oxnard on Sunday, October 27!

Almost 200 attended that meant filling the Ballroom at the Courtyard by Marriott – Oxnard/Ventura close to capacity for the 6th Year extravaganza. The event is dedicated to their Comfort Kits (gift bags for mastectomy patients service by St. John’s Regional Medical centers in Camarillo and Oxnard) and, generally, to programs the Soroptimists provide to the community’s women and girls.

The tables were decorated in pink in observance of October – Breast Cancer Awareness month with lovely rose centerpieces that went home with one lucky winner from each table. Festooning the two sides of the room were Raffle Opportunities using the ticket-in-the-bag for only your favorites. There were Silent Auction offerings with bid sheets and many bottles of wine (and maybe a bit of the hard stuff, too!) to choose your preferences. The club displayed their activities board, their STOP Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery accomplishments board and, most importantly, the contents of a Comfort Kit.

And the pièces de résistance: the decorated mannequins, in all their glory, were spread across the entire back wall of the room! The line-up started with “The Luck of the Irish” ended with “Harley Girl” with many exotic and well designed manikins in-between. Was your favorite patriotic? What about beachy? Or were you one of the bidding contestants for the candy adorned “Cancer Sucks” creation?

If you only went for the food, augmented by the open bar, you would have left happy! The Courtyard did a marvelous job from the meal to the unobtrusive service and topped it all off with dessert!

The Keynote Speaker was Dortha Chu, M.D., Ph.D., City of Hope, Santa Clarita who dispelled many myths about cancer in general and delivered much needed confidence about the cure rate for breast cancer, her specialty. Color her banner: Get Your Mammogram! She was followed by Alicia Zaragoza, NP-C, CN-RN, St. John’s Regional Cancer Center Nurse Navigator. She recalled stories of happiness from receivers of the Comfort Kits in Oxnard and Camarillo.

Perhaps your attendance was predicated on how could you help the patients. They covered that too! The Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Tom Holden, offered the audience an opportunity to sponsor a Comfort Kit or two with a show of your bidder’s paddle. More than 70 Kits earned sponsors!

The 6th Annual Bras for a Cause® is a WRAP! See you next year!

Although our chapter is in Oxnard, Soroptimist is a worldwide non profit organization…and, there is a chapter in Ventura. The Ventura Chapter is smaller, but they attended and participated in the event. Both Chapters focus on:

1. Making sure every woman in Ventura having a mastectomy goes home with a care kit

2. Giving cash awards to those who have overcome obstacles and continued their education (Live your Dream) Candidates must be in Ventura.

3. March in Ventura – Stop Human Trafficking

4. Helping young girls in lower income areas learn how to apply for college and scholarships (Dream it be It!)

Soroptimist International of Ventura

P.O. Box 6133

Ventura, CA 93006

[email protected]

Sherri Tarpchinoff Bennett, President 805-910-9620

Cyndi Damron, Membership 805-216-4728

Facebook www.facebook.com/SoroptimistVentura

Website: www.soroptimistventura.org

Juliann Laufer Soroptimist International Oxnard can be reached at [email protected]

907-250-0549

Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere addressed the attendees with Chief Executive Margarita de Escontrias at his side. Photos by Michael Gordon and Bernie Goldstein

On Nov. 15 a ribbon cutting, and grand opening was held for the Snapdragon Place Apartments, Phase II, Cabrillo’s newest affordable housing complex in Ventura.

Cabrillo is developing the project in partnership with the Housing Authority of San Buenaventura, which will serve as the property management company.

“This development offers new homes for working families, homeless individuals and Veterans to live comfortably and not have to worry about paying extreme rents beyond the families’ earned income,” Cabrillo’s Director of Real Estate Development Eduardo Espinosa said.

Snapdragon Place Apartments, Phase II, is a newly constructed development of 22 units with four one-bedroom homes, 10 two-bedroom homes, and eight three-bedroom homes. The development will share a community room with Phase I of Snapdragon Place Apartments, which was completed in 2015.

The grand opening began with a Presentation of Colors by the Ronald Reagan Det. 597, Marine Corps. League, Ventura County. Speaking at the event was Cabrillo Executive Director Margarita H. de Escontrias, Cabrillo Board President Dave Sabedra, Espinosa, Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere, Housing Authority of San Buenaventura CEO Denise Wise, and Ventura County Behavioral Health’ Director Dr. Sevet Johnson.

Ventura County Chamber of Commerce CEO, Stephanie Caldwell performed the ribbon cutting ceremony, and a luncheon, catered by Main Course California followed.

Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation has received a $150,000 unrestricted operating support grant over two years to be used for overall operational expenses.

Currently, Cabrillo provides ESL classes, Homework Clubs, food pantries, community gardens, summer programs for kids, scholarships, and health and nutritional services to its residents.

The funding also will give Cabrillo an opportunity to increase staffing in the Real Estate Development Department and retain real estate expertise to enlarge Cabrillo’s development pipeline and manage more projects in varying stages of development, Bickerstaff said.

At this time Cabrillo is in predevelopment on two projects, a 42-unity farmworker development on Etting Road in Oxnard and a 50-unit development for seniors in Buellton. Snapdragon Place Apartments, Phase II will have its grand opening celebration on Nov. 15 as that property in collaboration with the Housing Authority of San Buenaventura finishes leasing.

“We are excited to be looking to the future with a focus on developing much-needed affordable housing in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and chipping away at the immense need for affordable housing here,” Cabrillo CEO Margarita H. de Escontrias said.

De Escontrias said, funds also will be used for board development training on best practices pertaining to board effectiveness and in the recruitment of board members with specific skills and expertise.

Cabrillo’s mission is to provide comprehensive housing services and community economic development activities that facilitate self-sufficiency for individuals and families who are most lacking in opportunity. Incorporated in 1981, Cabrillo’s early roots were in response to a farmworker community’s demand for secure housing. Although this continues to be important, today there is a more widespread need for affordable housing in this region. As such, Cabrillo now provides housing for low- to moderate-income residents and families, including farmworkers, seniors, veterans and individuals with special needs.

The Ventura College Foundation supports veterans through scholarships.

The Ventura College Veterans Resource Center and Ventura College Foundation honored veterans, active military and their families at the fourth annual Ventura College Veterans Appreciation Luncheon, Monday, November 4 held at the Cafeteria in the Campus Student Center on the Ventura College campus. California Resources Corporation, the state’s largest oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations in Ventura County, sponsored the event to honor and recognize the service of active military and veterans.

Speaking at the event were:
Dr. Kim Hoffmans, Ventura College President
Jordana Ybarra-Telias, Veterans Resource Center Program Coordinator
Anna Heaton, Ventura College student and veteran
Jesse Rodriguez, Ventura College student and veteran

“Anna and Jessie are two of more than 380 veterans at Ventura College,” says Ventura College Foundation’s executive director Anne Paul King, “Many of our veterans will be attending the luncheon.”

The Ventura College Veterans Resource Center offers personalized services to veterans, active duty military and eligible dependents through application assistance for college admission and course registration, academic counseling, access to veteran’s benefits, and a study area with computers, printers and scanners. Donations can be given during the luncheon.

The Ventura College Foundation supports veterans through scholarships that cover the cost of such items as parking and health fees, textbooks, transportation to and from school and general school supplies. “The idea is to award a scholarship large enough to replace a 10 to 15 hour a week job for a semester so veterans can focus on their studies,” says King. “Tuition can be taken care of through our two-year VC Promise program, meaning just about all college-related costs are paid for our full-time students.”

To learn about donating to the Veterans Resource Center, go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org or call the Ventura College Foundation at 805-289-6461

Susan Kucera spoke about her time with Jeff Bridges.

The Ojai Film Festival continues the tradition of focusing on environmental films with the 20th Anniversary Edition: Focus Earth. Throughout the ten-day festival filmgoers will find double screenings of eco-conscious indie films. A day of special events focuses on the environment, including discussions, seminars and panels about the planet we share. This full day of eco-films starts at 10 am on Sunday, November 10 and continues into the evening.

The documentary Living in the Future’s Past, described as a “beautifully photographed tour de force,” headlines the event. Susan Kucera directed the film, narrated and produced by Jeff Bridges.

In an interview with Clean Technica, Ms. Kucera spoke about her film and collaboration with Jeff Bridges. “What Jeff and I wanted to do was think about how we think. A lot of people watch the film and they go, ‘Aha! I see how everything works and it’s not so weirdly scary,’ which makes transition more interactive and more full of exciting possibilities.”

Dr. Sheila Laffey, filmmaker, producer and professor in the Santa Monica College Film and Animation Academy, highlights the festival’s Environmental Films as Educational Tools seminar series. Dr. Laffey will offer specific Eco-Shorts, plus animations and methods for classrooms and small group use on Sunday, November 10 at 1 pm.

In session two, Director Sylvie Rokab joins Ms. Laffey to present the eco-doc Love Thy Nature, narrated by Liam Neeson. In an interview with Eluxe Magazine, Ms. Rokabdescribes how she chose the title Love Thy Nature to convey the sense that loving (our) nature is so critical to our wellbeing, and the wellbeing of our world, that it might as well be a universal truth just like ‘love thy neighbor.’” She said, “We have a myriad of new scientific studies that show a contact with nature makes us healthier, smarter, calmer, more connected, and happier human beings…we are inextricably wired to nature – physically, neurologically, emotionally, and spiritually. And yet, in our increasingly urban and technological world, too many of us have completely lost touch with nature – living in grey cities, working in sterile offices, leading stressful lives, and eating toxic foods.”

Indie films in the Focus Earth series include Ay Mariposa, a stunning documentary feature about two women and a rare community of butterflies standing on the frontlines in a battle against the US-Mexico border wall. Ay Mariposa screens on Friday November 8 at 10 am and Saturday, November 9 at 1 pm.

In the inspiring new documentary, The Condor and The Eagle, viewers discover four Indigenous leaders who embark on an extraordinary trans-continental adventure from the Canadian plains to deep inside the heart of the Amazonian jungle. Catch it on Wednesday, November 6 at 4 pm or on Saturday, November 9 at 1 pm.

Another high point in our Focus Earth series hits close to home with The Perfect Firestorm: The Thomas Fire Story. This film chronicles the devastating wildfire that whipped through Ventura County and burned over a quarter million acres before firefighters finally contained it on January 12, 2018. This screens on Friday, November 8 at 1 pm. www.ojaifilmfestival.com