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Stories of Community Support
Operation Beanies for Service Members
Mrs. Miki Sessler of Huntington Beach, California, started "Operation Beanies for Service Members" in 2004, with the intent of having friends and neighbors either knit or crochet beanies for Iraq service personnel. The beanies would keep their heads warm, keep bugs out of their hair, and help the helmets fit better. Attached to each beanie is the name of the "knitter." The receiver is asked to have their picture taken wearing the beanie and return it to Miki, who then sends it on to the beanie maker.
Now, in 2007, this project has snowballed into a huge undertaking, as women all over the country are knitting beanies and sending them to Miki to mail to Iraq. She had 17 boxes of beanies and couldn't afford to ship them to Iraq. Bread for the Journey of Orange County contributed $500 toward the mailing.
Violins To Fill the Music Gap!
The Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) in Santa Ana has Ms. Kelly Wright, a local violin teacher, providing weekly violin classes to over 25 elementary and junior high students with limited financial resources. Most of the students come to the program having never touched a violin before and are eager to begin. The program is so successful and popular that Ms. Kelly has opened a new class for beginners and even now has a waiting list of interested students. With the growth of the program, Ms. Kelly found herself in an awkward position. The violins were loaned to the students for the duration of the class, but there were more students than available instruments. Bread for the Journey of Orange County stepped in with a $1,500 grant to provide enough violins for every child who needed one.
Websites for Heroes
Terry Gniffke is founder and CEO of Caliber Media Agency, a full-service agency that specializes in the World Wide Web. He's also a Vietnam veteran who knows how important it is for families to stay in close touch through the harrowing times of war. Recently, the government blocked military access to MySpace and YouTube, sites that helped soldiers and their families stay in touch with each other. Mike Sawtelle, founder of another local company, joined Terry in designing a way to provide password-protected websites for just $99 a year. These websites allow the military families to stay connected. Soldiers or their families can apply for a website online and will receive one as they are made available through contributions.
Bread for the Journey of Orange County donated $2,000 to Websites for Heroes, making twenty such sites available. For more information, see www.websitesforheroes.com.
Starting Musical Journeys with Petite Violins
Returning to California after her studies with Dr. Suzuki in Japan, Ms. Cynthia was committed to demonstrating Dr. Suzuki's belief that music has the power to make a difference in the lives of all children. After 14 years of a successful private teaching practice, she met Dr. Ana Jimenez at the Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC).
Dr. Jimenez had established the ideal environment in her Children's Center for Ms. Cynthia to develop an urban violin program which engages young children in significant musical accomplishments before they are old enough to be vulnerable to the negative influences in their community. The program is called the Santa Ana Suzuki Strings of OCCTAC and within two semesters, Ms. Cynthia had prepared 30 children with the skills needed to begin playing the violin; however, not all of their parents could afford the miniature instruments they would require.
Bread for the Journey of Orange County provided a grant of $2,000 to cover half the cost of purchasing ten violins. This provided Santa Ana Suzuki Strings at OCCTAC the leverage they needed to negotiate a discount from the dealer, and to kick-start a matching-grant program involving the parents for the remaining cost of each violin.
Spanish in the Morning ... English in the Afternoon
Eliseo Quintero is a very gifted teacher with the Orange County Children's Therapeutic Art Center. This is a small, private organization that serves the Mexican-American community of Santa Ana, CA. For quite some time, Eliseo has wanted to start a dual-immersion language program for pre-schoolers. This program, called Kinder Readiness, teaches the children their morning lessons in Spanish, then reviews the same curriculum in the afternoon, except in English. The program serves to connect the two languages, with the books, tapes, pictures, etc. making it easier for the children to learn both. Bread for the Journey of Orange County was happy to provide Eliseo with a grant of $2,000 to buy this curriculum and create the program he was dreaming of.
Angels are Flying Again!
Rick Cryder received one of the early grants from the Orange County Chapter of Bread for the Journey. He was creating beautiful glass angels to give to children in hospitals, as well as to the families who’ve lost loved ones in the 9/11 tragedy and in military service overseas. Since these lovely angels are never sold, only given away with love, Rick needed funding to acquire non-profit status. The following year, Bread for the Journey gave him a grant to help set up a program to create the glass angels in a juvenile facility.
Now the Orange County Probation Department has asked Rick to teach teenagers incarcerated at their youth guidance center. The price of materials is high, so Bread for the Journey promised to double whatever the Department raised, which was $1000. We gave Rick a $2000 grant for the machinery and tools he needs to work with these youngsters.
A Roof Over Our Heads
The Lighthouse Church of Costa Mesa has several rooms above their gathering hall. They also have an outreach ministry to house the homeless who are seeking jobs. Once on their feet, these men and women become interested in helping other homeless people find shelter and jobs as well. With only one finished room upstairs that was being used to house women, another was needed for the men who were in sleeping bags in empty hallways or unfinished rooms. Pastor Dale Fitch wanted to fix up one of the rooms for these men, but needed to replace four windows due to water damage, as well as bring the building up to code. He also needed to get four bunk beds, two dressers, a few lamps and some nightstands. Bread for the Journey of Orange County (formerly Irvine) gave him a grant of $1,600 to complete the work. The ministry will soon be able to provide temporary housing for eight fortunate men in this room.
“CASA Kids go Back-To-School”
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Orange County gives hope and a powerful voice to children in our community’s foster care system. By training community volunteers to serve as mentors and advocates for severely abused, abandoned and neglected children and teens, CASA ensures that these kids’ immediate needs are being addressed while guiding them toward resources and environments that will help them to thrive.
Bread for the Journey of Irvine recently partnered with CASA to help meet a very special need for these children. Each year, CASA holds a Back-to-School picnic for about 200 foster children and distributes school supplies — including a new backpack — to each of these vulnerable kids. Because of the importance of this event to both these children’s self-esteem and their academic potential, Bread for the Journey has proudly provided $1,500 to purchase backpacks for each child who attends this year.
The Back-to-School event is a special time for these children and their volunteer advocates. Each backpack will be filled with donated school supplies including pencils, pens, rulers, paper and more. It will be an exciting day as Bread for the Journey and CASA make something positive happen for these kids. It is a small gesture that will make a big difference in helping them start the school year off on the right foot!
A Wider World
In the City of Garden Grove, CA there exists a small neighborhood called Buena Clinton known to very few people. To most, it is thought of as an area of crime and poverty. In January of 2004, four boys in Buena Clinton, ages 10-11, came together and decided to form a group like the established teen leadership group at the Family Resource Center. They wanted to help serve their neighbors and have ID cards and T-shirts that would identify them as helpers in the community. With the support of Family Resource Center's recreation director, Thang Le, the boys and girls created the Buena Clinton United Helpers (BCUH). BCUH had its mission and guidelines, but still needed an identity that would increase their cohesion as a team.
With a $1,500 grant and encouragement from Bread
for the Journey of Irvine, BCUH received a shipment
of shirts, caps, and visors that boosted their pride
and brought them closer together. No longer were they
just a group of kids; they were now distinctive members
of The Buena Clinton United Helpers, all sharing a
single vision that is stated on their shirts: "Make
Buena Clinton a Better Place."
The Kids Who Care Club
Eight-year-old Reisha Shukla has opened her heart to all hospitalized children. With the help of her mother Anisha, she has started the Kids Who Care Club. Reisha had been in the hospital far away from home with only her parents as visitors. The walls of her hospital room were bare, and she felt lonely, until she received a quilt of cards made by her friends and schoolmates back home. So Reisha now wants to do the same for kids in hospitals that are having major surgeries by making giant quilt cards with the help of her sister Rhea and members of the Kids Who Care Club.
Bread for the Journey of Irvine gave them $650 to help create the website www.kidswhocareclub.org and to help the club become a nonprofit organization. Using this website, children can make cards for others, or people can tell Reisha of a child in need.
Toy Story
The Orange County Woodworker's Association is a group of mostly retired men who enjoy the art and skill of working with wood. They meet twice monthly to share fellowship and learn from guest artists/woodworkers who are invited to demonstrate their special talents and skills. Wanting to also give back to the community, they started a "toy project" some years ago, when a group of these men started building toys to give away at Christmas. Each year, more and more of them have joined the project until last year, when there were 3,000 toys made for needy children. This year, they have pledged 4,000, with 30 Orange County charities waiting to distribute these beautiful, sturdy toys. With most of the wood being donated, Bread for the Journey of Irvine wrote a check for $400 to get them started on the purchase of wheels, axels, hinges and other non-wooden parts.
Southern California Fires
In October of 2003, devastating fires burned across
sections of southern California, taking numerous lives,
destroying hundreds of homes and burning thousands
of acres of vegetation and trees. One of the areas
that was hardest hit was in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Within days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) was on the scene rendering aid to those who
had lost their homes and property. Knowing that FEMA
is on the scene for only a short period of time, an
organization called Rebuilding Mountain Hearts and
Lives was formed to coordinate more extended relief
efforts.
Bread for the Journey of Irvine got involved after receiving a call from Elizabeth Dimond, a resident of Rim of the World, requesting funds to start up a relief office. Bread for the Journey of Irvine contributed $1,000 towards her project. A letter from Ms. Dimond states, "(Bread for the Journey) has blessed us abundantly with your gift of $1,000 towards administrative costs to get Rebuilding Mountain Hearts and Lives into an office, with a phone and a few pencils! I have always known Bread for the Journey was a wonderful concept. Now I know first-hand how wonderfully it works!"
Volunteerism At Its Best
 Alex Miller, founder of "Komputers4Kids," and Ben Feinberg |
 David Beadles presents a check for $1,000 to Alex Miller as Judy Beadles and Joanne Tatham look on. |
In 2002, at an age when most teenagers are only thinking
about getting their driver's licenses, Alex Miller
of Mar Vista, CA., was coming up with ways to provide
computers to young people in foster and group homes.
Volunteer work seems to come naturally to Alex. From
the time he was eight, he has been involved in various
projects. In early 2003, between homework and football
games, the Venice High School senior incorporated
Komputers4Kids, a nonprofit organization based in
his bedroom. Alex has since enlisted a couple of his
buddies to work with him on this project. He works
about 15 hours a week calling for donations and doing
paperwork. Once a week these teenagers work on machines
they have received from corporations and individuals,
sorting through donated equipment, deleting old files
and installing operating systems and software.
Komputers4Kids made its first donation of five computers
to foster children in the care of the L.A. County
Dept. of Children and Family Services and to the David
and Margaret Home, a social service agency that operates
group homes.
The board of Bread for the Journey of Irvine, having
read about Komputers4Kids in the L.A. Times, contacted
Alex and set a date to visit his operation. During
that visit, the board donated three computers, one
laptop, several keyboards, a monitor and other assorted
computer accessories. Bread for the Journey of Irvine
contributed $1,000 to the organization for the purchase
of tools and materials. The check was presented to
Alex in his garage, where computers were in various
states of restoration.
Padres Promotores De La Educacion Leadership Network
An exciting and enthusiastic group of mothers in
Santa Ana, California, have formed a group called
"Padres Promotores de la Educacion." Their
purpose is to empower their community of primarily
Spanish speaking parents to become educational advocates
for their children. Jack and Joanne Tatham of Bread
for the Journey of Irvine and Marianna Cacciatore
of BFJ's International office met with this motivated
group along with an interpreter. They learned about
how the women are teaching Hispanic parents the ins
and outs of college entrance success for their teenage
children.
During their meeting, another pressing need was addressed
- that some college students cannot afford the fee
for textbooks. The women, along with Bread for the
Journey of Irvine, came up with a plan to start a
"book fund." BFJ of Irvine would open the
fund with a $750 grant and the students who receive
assistance would resupply the fund by raising money
at a local fair that attracts thousands of people
each year.
Incentives for Learning
Latina Health Access, a local advocacy group, has
created "Children's
Initiative," an inner-city pilot program at Roosevelt
Elementary School
in Santa Ana, California. In this innovative program,
children receive health education while learning about
themselves, each other and their community. Bread
for the Journey of Irvine presented Dina Villapadua,
a teacher in this program, $200 worth of $10 gift
cards at Wal-Mart. These will be used as incentives
for the children to reach their learning goals in
reading, math and social studies.
Angels Spread Their Wings
Two young angel recipients (see
complete story below) ......................................................Marianna
Cacciatore, Rick Cryder & Joanne Tatham deliver
angels
Last quarter, Bread for the Journey of Irvine gave
Rick Cryder a grant to conduct classes for prisoners
at Musick Honor Farm. He's been teaching them to make
leaded-glass angels that he then gives to hospitalized
children with life-threatening illnesses. Rick, the
"Angel Maker," has been called into service
again.
Joplin Youth Center is a juvenile correctional facility that provides residential treatment for teenage boys ages 13 to 17. The Orange County Probation Department operates this facility in the midst of oak groves in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. The maximum capacity is 64 boys, who are there serving the last 30 to 120 days of their juvenile-court sentences. The counselor there heard about the angel work going on at Musick and asked Rick to work with the boys at Joplin. Bread for the Journey of Irvine's board accompanied him as he presented his work. With funds left over from the Musick program, plus an additional $400 from BFJ, Rick could purchase the tools and materials necessary to begin with a class of eight boys. We're certain that the angels will bless their makers as well as their recipients.
Angels of Love
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 Jack Tatham, Judy Beadles, Rick Cryder and David Beadles |
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Rick Cryder works six days a week making leaded-glass, gold-plated angels that are not for sale. The angels are made in his garage with a few of his retired neighbors, then given away to children with life-threatening illnesses and to parents who have had to remove a child from life support. Rick and his friends sent 825 angels to New York, Washington and Pennsylvania last year in time to present them to victims' families at the September 11th anniversary services. Angels were also sent to the families of the deceased astronauts from the space shuttle, Columbia. On March 25, 2003, the Bread for the Journey of Irvine board of directors went with Rick to Loma Linda Hospital, delivering angels to children on the cancer ward. We thank him for sharing this moving experience with us.
Bread for the Journey of Irvine donated $500 to Rick's Angels of Love Ministry to help cover the expense of applying for 501(c)(3) status. Now this valuable service can continue in the form of a non-profit organization.
Teaching Love
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The Musick Correctional Facility is an "honor farm" for low-security-risk inmates with an average prison term of 63 days. While farming is the major work done there, the inmates also have opportunities to receive training in certain skills - such as adult literacy, cabinetry, and English-language proficiency - when funds are available. Rick Cryder spends one day a week teaching the men who volunteer for his class how to make "Angels of Love." They learn skills - such as glass cutting, glass grinding and soldering - that are used in the art of making leaded glass. The inmates learn a trade while doing a community service, since the angels are part of Rick's Angels of Love Ministry. He gives the angels away to children with life-threatening illnesses, or to parents who have lost a child.
Rick was bringing all of the equipment from his own garage each week, and still there was no way to accommodate all the men who wanted to learn to make angels. Bread for the Journey of Irvine gave $2100 to Musick Honor Farm for five glass grinders and additional tools that were needed to extend the program.
Conference Coffee
Fernando Leon's service project, called La Calle,
provides Been There, Done That conferences in an effort
to help kids stay out of gangs. He invites Latina
women who have "been there and done that"
- and who have then have gone on to become successful
- to share their personal stories with the younger
ones. In doing so, they offer hope and inspiration
to these younger Latina women. Bread for the Journey
of Irvine donated $200 for two large coffee dispensers
to eliminate the expense of renting them for each
conference.
It's Mechanical!
The Watts Labor Community Action Committee, located in a depressed area of Los
Angeles, works with young men to give them alternatives to gangs and violence.
They had acquired several used cars that they wanted to use to teach the art
of vehicle restoration. They had the students and the willing teachers, but
no mechanic’s tools. Bread for the Journey of Irvine donated
$416.83 worth of mechanic’s tools so they could start their class.
Reading Corners
(Rosa Pizano recipient, Judy Beadles Irvine BFJ secretary and Luisa Ruiz founder
of "Reading Corners")
Reading regularly to her own four children and their friends, Luisa Ruiz found
that she had become the neighborhood storyteller. Her apartment manager offered
her the use of a recreational room, and the idea took hold. She is now in charge
of a staff of volunteer readers in nine different areas of Santa Ana. Luisa
stresses the importance of family literacy, and now many parents are learning
right alongside their children.
Bread for the Journey of Irvine gave Luisa a small grant of $100 for supplies, and connected her with their friend, Gayle McCue. Gayle retired from teaching in 2002 and donated over a hundred children's books to Reading Corners. The League of United Latin American Citizens recently awarded Luisa the honor of "2002 Woman of the Year" for community service in Orange County.
Apprentice Carpenters
(Mike Baldwin - A friend of Irvine BFJ and James Cook (recipient)
The Watts Labor Community Action Center, run by Mr. Timothy Watkins, provides
alternatives to despair and dependency through self-help and mentoring programs.
Young men have been learning the trade of carpentry while building a kitchen
at the center, using tools borrowed from the workers on site. With a $700 grant
from Bread for the Journey of Irvine, enough tools were purchased for three
of these young apprentice carpenters to begin working immediately as independent
tradesmen.
"Been There - Done That"
Fernando Leon, founder of La Calle News, Inc., believes that "every child,
boy or girl, young woman or young man, has an inherent right to achieve their
full potential. It is the mission of La Calle to aid and provide enlightening
opportunities in order to achieve a better quality of life." With this
mission in mind, Mr. Leon offers the "Been There - Done That" conference
series for young at-risk women. Featured speakers are now successful women who
have "been there and done that" as it relates to domestic violence,
alcohol, drugs, gang activities, single parenthood and more. The young at-risk
women attend the conference for free. Bread for the Journey of Irvine gave Mr.
Leon a $270 grant to cover some of the expenses of his last conference. They
are also seeking additional ways to offer him support for the exciting, life-changing
work that he offers to his community.
A Transportation Tale
Due to an unusual set of circumstances, Bread for the Journey of Irvine found
itself in possession of a well-running used car. They decided to keep the spirit
of generosity flowing by donating the vehicle to the Orange County Rescue Mission.
The Rescue Mission helps families who are homeless, jobless, or have drug- or
alcohol-related problems. In southern California, it is especially difficult
to get and keep a job without a car. Now, one of the rehabilitated families
will be delighted to find their transportation needs met as they integrate themselves
back into the workforce.
Don't Ever Refuse a Wooden Nickel
It might be worth $157.30. That's what Bread for the Journey received from Wild
Oats in Irvine, CA. This community-minded grocery store gives a wooden nickel
to every shopper that recycles their grocery bags. The shopper deposits the
nickel into one of three barrels, each representing a non-profit agency in their
community. After 6 months, the wooden nickels are added up and turned into cash
for the agency, a gift from Wild Oats Market and shoppers who care about their
environment and community. Seems like a win all the way around.
Backpacks for the Learning Journey
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As a child, Rick Mojarro came from Mexico to live in a poor section of Santa Ana, speaking very little English as a student at Roosevelt Elementary School. Today he is the visionary, enthusiastic principal of Kennedy Elementary School in Santa Ana, dedicated to making a difference in the lives of local families. He is the founder and president of the Cornerstone Village Neighborhood Association, made up of parents and concerned citizens who have been credited with a lowered crime rate and an improved quality of life in the community.
One of the main challenges at Kennedy is the wide range of English-language proficiencies among the students - and their families - as they arrive here from Mexico. Mr. Mojarro received state funding to create a multi-level language-development curriculum; he now needed to "package" it so the children would identify with it and take it home to share with their families. Bread for the Journey of Irvine donated $300 and, in partnership with the department store Target, bought more than 30 backpacks in various colors to represent the various levels of the "take-home" language program. The kids loved the backpacks and decided to name their language development class "The Bread Club," in honor of Bread for the Journey of Irvine.
Remembering Grandpa
Matt Martino, 14, couldn't talk with his grandfather, Alfred Eye, when visiting
him in the hospital because Eye was in a respirator. Matt had a great solution;
he brought a white, dry erase board like the ones used in his classroom at school.
After that visit with grandpa, Eye wrote, "Could you bring enough for the
whole ward here so we can communicate with each other?" Matt ordered and
bought more white boards from his school. Some months later, Matt's grandfather
died and a while after that, Matt was involved in a project at his church on
resourcefulness and making a difference. Each student was given a few dollars
and, remembering the white boards, Matt used his as seed money to raise a total
of $600. He bought 300 more boards, and he and his mother, a nurse, put a picture
of Matt and his grandfather, along with their communication story, on the back
of each board and distributed them to local hospitals. Bread for the Journey
of Irvine was able to give Matt a check for $400 to continue his work of providing
white boards to the hospitals still requesting them. When asked what is the
best part of the experience so far, Matt says, "Being able to help families
communicate with each other!"
(Autumn 2001)
It Pays To Advertise
Bread for the Journey of Irvine was selected by Wild Oats Market, on Culver Drive in Irvine, to be among three charitable organizations that would receive "wooden nickels" that are given out to customers who bring their own cloth grocery bags. The customers choose which nonprofit organization will receive their nickel. To educate customers about their work, Bread for the Journey of Irvine placed cards and flyers - along with pictures and information about locally funded projects - on the Wild Oats bulletin board. After seeing this, one woman donated $1,000 to be earmarked for the Food Bank, a program managed by Josie Montoya that was supported by Bread for the Journey of Irvine in 2001.
Neighborhood Food Cooperative
In Orange County, in the shadow of Disneyland's opulence is an impoverished
community called the Jeffery Lynne neighborhood. The majority of the people
who live here are Mexican immigrants. Many of them work for minimum wage at
Disneyland in the garden, kitchen and in maintenance jobs. Josie Montoya, an
energetic and generous spirit who volunteers many hours helping others, told
us about Worldwide Opportunities, a Christian group that provides a food cooperative
program for an annual fee. Volunteers from the Jeffery Lynne neighborhood go
once a week, at an appointed time, to a local church parking lot. There they
can pick up an abundance of food to distribute to the people in their neighborhood.
Last year, with an annual budget of $1,000, they distributed 25,000 bags of
food to their neighbors. Bread for the Journey of Irvine donated $300.00 to
be used for annual dues for this community to belong to the food cooperative.
Lending Library for Literacy
Club Los Amigos, founded by Josie Montoya, is a Saturday morning bilingual literacy program for thirty children in the Jeffery Lynne neighborhood in Orange County. A small apartment has been donated and Josie has recruited volunteers to teach reading and writing skills. A Lending Library is being started through a donation of books from Scholastic Books, and the children will write reports on each book that they read. Bread for the Journey of Irvine has contributed $300.00 toward bookshelves, chairs for the children, and basic furnishings. The program will begin in February 2001.
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Contact us: Joanne & Jack Tatham |
 BFJ of Orange County Wayne Muller (BFJ Founder), Joanne and Jack Tatham |
Copyright
© 1999 - 2008 by Wayne Muller. All rights reserved.
This page updated by Brandy Sacks. For more information, please
email bjourney@pacbell.net
