header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 28
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir


Like the song says: “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

William Oh is a pretty amazing kid.   The Golden Valley junior is president of the school’s Octagon Club, vice president of the Key Club, and serves as an officer on the ASB and as a council rep for the National Honor Society.  Oh, he’s president of the speech and debate club, too.   When he’s not dashing from one Honors class to the next, he’s thinking up ways to engage his fellow students in projects that will improve things on campus.  He recently spearheaded the school’s participation in an environmental campaign sponsored by DoSomething.org that netted Golden Valley  $5,000 in grant funding. The grant will provide monies for the purchase of a large tree that will serve as a campus landmark, plus several smaller trees and greenery to be planted throughout the school grounds. William’s Challenge: where to get the extra manpower and materials needed to loosen dirt, clear weeds, apply groundcover and give the school a thorough “ cleanup” to go along with its new greenery. William’s Solution: Make a Difference Day, America’s National Day of Volunteer Service.

For the second consecutive year, Make a Difference Day, which is organized locally by HandsOn Santa Clarita, will supply William with a number of community volunteers to bolster the group of 50 students he pulls together.   Members of the Make a Difference Day committee and representatives from Stay Green, a major sponsor of the event will meet with William and faculty to help identify trees and shrubs most suitable for the project.  HandsOn will supply extra gloves, water and supplies; Stay Green will provide extra materials and a few employees on the big day to assist with landscaping duties.  With the additional support from Make a Difference Day, William’s vision for a more green and beautiful campus will soon become a reality.

Make a Difference Day matches individuals and volunteers with a variety of “hands on” service projects – think painting, weeding, window washing and more – benefitting local schools and charities, and takes place here and across the country Saturday, October 27, 2012. Volunteer forces include individuals and teams from local business, churches, schools, scout troops and service groups.

Over the past 11 years, Make a Difference Day, the largest volunteer event in Santa Clarita, has attracted close to 14,000 volunteers and contributed an incredible 60,000 hours of combined service to schools and organizations including Carousel Ranch, the Boys & Girls Club, SCV Senior Center, SCV Historical Society, the Emergency Winter Shelter and Child & Family Center.

Often, it is the vision of one person that gets the ball of change rolling and Make a Difference Day can help in turning the roll into a goal.   Deborah Rocha is one such person.  Surviving a parent’s worst nightmare – the tragic death of her 15-year-old daughter, Samantha, in April of 2011 — Deborah refused to lose herself to grief.  Instead she used the intensity of her emotions to honor her daughter by founding Straightening Reins, an equine-based therapy intervention program dedicated to helping at-risk youth make positive choices. In a ranch environment, teens work with horses, goats, chickens and other animals.  They receive academic tutoring, leadership training and counseling for grief, loss, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure and more.  Debbie’s Challenge: finding the manpower needed to install fencing around a goat pasture and paint another fence surrounding the horse corral. Deborah’s Solution:  Make a Difference Day.

For the relatively new non-profit, participating in Make a Difference Day is providing added manpower to the 35 volunteers from Northpark Community Church and Masters College who will dig holes, install posts, affix wire, scrape, sand, prime and paint as they build one fence and paint another.  Rocha is also making important connections with schools and other non-profit agencies that are part of Make a Difference Day and with whom she can partner on programs and referrals.

Russ Kimura is regional park superintendent at Placerita Nature Center, home to Santa Clarita’s historic Oak of the Golden Dream.  The park and nature retreat offers numerous hiking trails, self-guided nature walks, docent/naturalist led hikes, a nature center museum and wild animal presentations.  The Center has applied for a grant to designate one of their nature trails as a “Brail Trail,” a trail featuring multilingual brail markers along the route.  A provision of the grant is that the trail be rich with a variety of native plants and shrubs about which future users of the dedicated “Brail Trail” will be able to “read.”   Russ’ Challenge:  Transplanting dozens of indigenous plants from throughout the vast park grounds to a 200 ft. section of the future Brail Trail.  Russ’ Solution:  Make a Difference Day.

Two years ago, dozens of Make a Difference Day volunteers spent the day clearing large rocks and debris out of Placerita Creek and stabilized its banks — efforts that allowed winter rainwaters to flow smoothly along the waterway as it traverses the park.  This year, volunteers from Chase, Yahoo Employees Foundation and Hyatt Regency Valencia will take shovels in hand to transplant the indigenous plants to both sides of designated sections of the trail.

Make a Difference Day was founded on the idea that neighbors helping neighbors is one of the best ways to keep a community strong. The more engaged a community is with its schools and the charitable agencies that care for, educate and heal its youth, elderly, families, pets and environment, the stronger those agencies and the community itself become.  Santa Clarita’s ranking as one of the country’s largest Make a Difference Day locations is not in jeopardy.  Close to 1,500 individuals have registered as volunteers for this year’s event, according to Seema Shah, executive director at HandsOn Santa Clarita. “Volunteers from age 6 on up will be deployed to 50 project locations to help fulfill the great ideas of 40 local schools and charitable organizations” Shah explained.

Local landscape professionals, Stay Green Inc., are Major Sponsors of Make a Difference Day this year.  Additional sponsors include Donaldson, ITT Aerospace Controls, Home Depot Foundation, Nexus and Hyatt Regency Valencia who hosts a Kick Off Rally for volunteers before they begin their projects.  Sandra Mitchell, anchor for KCBS 2 and KCAL 9 news emcees.  For additional information, please contact Seema Shah at 661.257.1997 or via email at makeadifferenceday@handsonscv.org.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NONPROFIT LINKS

NONPROFIT HEADLINES
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDEC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
The first Music Jam Session at The MAIN was held on Thursday, Feb. 22 and was a hit. Come out and join in for the next one on Thursday, March 28 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
March 28: The MAIN to Host Musicians’ Jam Session
Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman of the Office of Inspector General has issued a report entitled "Tenth Report Back on Implementing Body-Worn Cameras in Los Angeles County."
Office of Inspector General Issues Latest Report on LASD Body Cams
College of the Canyons women's tennis played to a convincing 7-2 conference win over Ventura College on Moica to strengthen its potential playoff resume.
Canyons Closes Out Ventura 7-2 in Final Home Match
Join the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce with the Latino Business Alliance at the Cinco de Mayo Networking Celebration on Tuesday, May 7.
May 7: Latino Business Alliance Cinco de Mayo Celebration
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is hosting March Meowness promotion where all cat adoptions are just $15 from now until April 9.
Adopt a Cat During March Meowness at Castaic Animal Center
California State University, Northridge is partnering with the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the Tataviam Land Conservancy to battle the impact of climate change in disadvantaged communities throughout the San Fernando Valley by establishing “urban forests.”
CSUN Partners with Fernandeño Tataviam Band to Build Urban Forests
Join the Santa Clarita Artists Association on Monday, April 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 23630 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, CA 91355, for the SCAA monthly meeting and guest demonstrator.
April 15: SCAA Presents Debbie Abshear Watercolor Demo
Residents are invited to join members of the Santa Clarita City Council for a special ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the addition of Santa Clarita's 38th park, Skyline Ranch Park, 18355 Skyline Ranch Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351, to the Santa Clarita parks system on Saturday, April 6, at 10 a.m.
April 6: Grand Opening for Santa Clarita’s 38th Park
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center is preparing for the annual fundraising event, Celebrity Waiter, with the theme “California Dreamin’” on Saturday, April 27 at Bella Vida, 27180 Golden Valley Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351.
Table Sponsorships Still Available for Celebrity Waiter Dinner
Springtime in Santa Clarita brings not only vibrant blooms and opportunities to embrace the outdoors with warmer weather, but also an array of free, family-friendly events and this Saturday is no exception.
Ken Striplin | A Fun, Festive, Egg-Filled Day
SCVNews.com