September September 2017
www.MoonValleyTattler.com
VOL 37 No. 9
MOON VALLEY WOMEN’S CLUB: COMMUNITY HELP, RENEW ACQUAINTANCES AND MEET NEW FRIENDS BY SUSAN MERCER HINRICHS, REPORTER You might be new to the neighborhood and want to become involved with the community. Or you might have some extra time now that the kids have returned to school or that you’ve retired. Maybe you’d like to catch a recent movie with some nearby residents or play a round of bridge or bunco with them. If any of these activities sounds inviting to you, the Moon Valley Women’s Club may be your answer. In existence in the established Moon Valley neighborhood since 1970, the club has grown from its roots as a gardening club to a social-and-philanthropic organization serving friends and families in the area. In fact, once the current season gears up, starting with the MVWC kick-starter luncheon on Thurs., Sept. 14, one of the main activities the 240-some club members will become involved with is getting ready for their annual Yuletide holiday outreach efforts. The club’s annual auction “pretty much” funds the holiday drive and other activities, club vice president Roseanne Boyle says. They include: The organization’s annual Adopt-A-Family event, for families who have children attending Sunnyslope Elementary School, 240 E. Vogel Ave., just south of North Mountain. For that event, MVWC will donate gift cards and provide extra needed items
to the families of some 30 children who attend the school, working in conjunction with a school outreach coordinator. The MVWC provides assistance to underprivileged children attending Lookout Mountain Elementary School, 15 W. Coral Gables Drive, to allow them to attend extra-curricular events or fund scholarships for further education. In addition, the group also supports the De Colores women’s domestic-violence shelters around Phoenix with donations of everyday needed life items for shelter residents, along with giving transitioning families items necessary to re-establish a basic household. Continued on page 3
RE-PACK PROJECT BRINGS GENTLY USED SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO GLOBAL STUDENTS IN NEED B Y K A T I E C A R I S Re-Pack Project was an idea born when brothers Seamus and Nathan Simmons personally saw the great need of children in Africa. “We noticed the kids there did not have the school supplies they needed to get a good education, which means they would struggle to get a good job and be able to break the poverty cycle,” says Nathan. They thought back on their school in AZ and the year which had just ended. On the last day of school they watched piles of school supplies being thrown away before starting summer break. It was then they decided to collect gently used school supplies and re-pack them for others in need. Since its founding in 2013, a group of children, now forming their own non-profit, Re:Help Organization, collects school supplies for children in need around the world. This year the group of supporters, which reached about 30 Arizona children as well as children in other states, collected more than 15,000 items which were cleaned up and sorted into more than 100 backpacks for children in South Africa, Fiji and right here in Phoenix. Among the children helping, were Moon Valley’s own Annie and Molly Caris, Allison and Ryan Vanderwey and Addison, Colin and Olivia Aramian. These Moon Valley children not only helped collect and sort the school supplies, they also delivered them in person on a Travel With Kids trip to Fiji. “I’ve learned to appreciate
everything I have been blessed with in life, and the fact that I’ve had the honor of meeting these beautiful children every year, seeing the most genuine smiles and gratefulness on their face over something as little as providing school supplies, has changed my life for the better,” says Annie. In addition to the Re-Pack Project, the Re:help Organization, whose focus is “kids helping kids”, runs the Re-Tie Project, collecting shoes for children in need; and the Re-Wrap Project collecting gently used toys. If your child would like to be involved in Re:Help Organization, email Seamus Simmons at seamus@ travelwithkids.tv If you are interested in joining Travel With Kids for a family travel adventure trip where families immerse in the culture, history and nature of a country as well as participating in a volunteer project, visit www.travelwithkids. tv. 2018 summer destinations include Italy, South Africa, and Vietnam/Cambodia.