Appreciating grant
EDITOR: The Sebastopol City Council has voted to grant the Sebastopol Area Senior Center $25,000. This was the second installment of our request made last February to provide the center $50,000 of urgently needed working capital to enable us to continue operations. Mayor Glass and council members Carnacchi, Gurney, Hinton and Slayter along with City Manager McLaughlin and Assistant City Manager Gourley, recognize the value of the center to this community and graciously agreed to help.
The center is a resource to the increasing aging demographic (33 percent) in Sebastopol and provides vital services to our seniors. Though in a temporary financial downturn, the center has been operating very frugally. Generous donations of service, talent and time from staff, board and volunteers have kept the center going. Efforts are underway to get the center back on track towards financial sustainability, but we are not there yet; the additional $25,000 will significantly help.
With our limited budget each year: 7,800 meals are provided in house, and through our kitchen 23,000 meals are delivered by Meals on Wheels; 56 socialization sessions are provided for elderly with dementia; we enable 800 workshops/groups/classes; we provide rides to 700 – 900 elderly who cannot drive, making over 3,000 stops; and we offer meeting space to 18 community organizations that use our facility.
We truly appreciate this grant, and our city council for recognizing our need and our contribution.
Linda Civitello, Executive Director
Sebastopol Area Senior Center
Celebrating teachers and classified
EDITOR: Education is a force for good in the lives of Sonoma County children. Our teachers and school support staff constantly adapt to best fit the needs of our changing student population and prepare them for success a rapidly evolving world.
For this reason, the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) applauds the hard work of Sonoma County’s 3,700-plus teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 1-5. SCOE also celebrates the county’s dedicated classified school employees during the week of May 21-27. This week provides an opportunity to appreciate the important contributions made by non-credentialed employees, such as the bus driver who brings your child to school, the friendly face who greets her in the front office when she arrives and the person behind the lunch counter who serves her a warm meal.
A series of teacher appreciation posters on the back of Sonoma County Transit buses are now being displayed throughout Sonoma County. The posters include photographs of 13 educators chosen to represent their colleagues for this promotional campaign. The teachers are from local elementary schools and SCOE special education programs. (Last year’s teacher appreciation week promotion featured middle and high school teachers.)
The bus poster project was coordinated by SCOE and supported by community partners, including Clover Stornetta Farms; Community First Credit Union; Exchange Bank; Girard, Edwards, Stevens, & Tucker LLP; Kaiser Permanente; Ray Morgan Company; Redwood Credit Union; Redwood Empire Schools’ Insurance Group (RESIG); Santa Rosa Junior College; School & College Legal Services; and Sonoma Clean Power.
I believe it’s important for all of us to let Sonoma County’s teachers and classified school staff know that they are appreciated and valued. They are an essential part of our children’s lives and their work is key to the future of our communities.
Steven D. Herrington, Ph.D.
Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools
