The 12 non-profits of Christmas

Editor?s Note: Instead of giving your loved one ?a partridge in a pear tree? for Christmas, we?ve listed 12 nonprofits in need of your gifts this holiday season. The holidays are undoubtedly the most challenging time of the year for local nonprofits scrambling to help needy families find the food and necessities to make the season special. This list of nonprofits is the Journal?s way of honoring the tremendous contributions these organizations make to our community. This is only a small sample of the nonprofits in our area. We wish we could have included all of them. ? Carol Neilsen1. Salvation Army286 Sutter Street, Auburn (P.O. 4088 Auburn, Ca 95604)(530) 888-3990 Contact: Ken TokutomiMission: The Salvation Army is dedicated to caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving the unlovable, and befriending the friendless. Programs: Each year the Salvation Army in Auburn sponsors the Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner that feeds over 2,000 people. For Christmas, the organization provides toys and food for 200 working poor families. This year 100 bicycles will be given away to local children in need. Volunteer Bell Ringers help to raise funds this time of year to fill the coffers to continually support those in need throughout the year. Future plans and needs: An Emergency Shelter Master Plan is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 2004. To cover the cost of the plan ($37,500), an additional $5,000 is needed. The Salvation Army would also like to purchase a mobile kitchen in order to provide food service during disaster-relief efforts.2. Foothill Volunteer Center11566 D Avenue in DeWitt Center(530) 885-7706 Contact: Debbie NagleMission: The goal of the Foothill Volunteer Center is to help ensure healthy aging. They want to enable seniors to reside in their own homes until they?re ready to move some place else. The center serves seniors throughout Placer County. Programs: For Christmas the center sends out gift bags to homebound seniors. This year seniors received lap tables and ornaments, created by local Girls Scouts. The Meals on Wheels program serves 250 seniors a day, five days a week. In addition, the center has programs to provide transportation for seniors and home repairs. The Friendly Visitors Program provides weekly visits from volunteers. Currently the center has over 425 volunteers. Future plans and needs: The center is always in need of volunteers to give just one or two hours a week. The center?s future goal is to have its own building, so seniors can go to one place and receive all their services.3. P.E.A.C.E. for Families (Placer Extends a Caring Environment for Families)11990 Heritage Oaks Place Ste 12,Auburn(530) 885-0443 Contact: Arla Gibson Mission: PEACE for Families provides comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault throughout Placer County. Programs: PEACE has an adopt-a-family program for all of its clients during the holidays, which provides food, household items and gifts for 100 families. Throughout the year, PEACE runs a 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year confidential shelter for 25 battered women and children. Future plans and needs: PEACE has several families that need sponsors for the adopt-a-family program. Throughout the year, the center needs a variety of items for the shelter including cold medicine, toilet paper, non-violent toys, household items ? anything a family would use. The group is embarking on a new shelter campaign and are hoping to raise enough funds to break ground in January of 2005 in order to double the number of beds they provide. They are also looking at providing transitional housing for women once they leave the shelter.4. American Cancer Society Discovery Shop 2376 Grass Valley Highway in Auburn(530) 888-7434 Contact: Janie JohansenMission: The Discovery Gift Shop is a thrift shop that sells low-priced household items, clothes, children?s toys, furniture and more. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended shopping Thursdays and Fridays until 6 p.m. Proceeds help fund cancer research as well as provide assistance for cancer patients. The Auburn shop is affiliated with the North Valley Region Office and funds help provide transportation, wigs, and other assistance to cancer patients who can?t afford care. The store raises about $200,000 a year for the American Cancer Society. Future plans and needs: The store is in need of volunteers who can donate four hours a week of their time. Currently there are 36 volunteers and seven more are needed to fully staff the store. Donations are always needed and can be delivered at the back of the store in the Bel Air Shopping Center on Highway 49. Future plans include keeping the store open on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. 5. Auburn Area Animal Rescue Foundation11940 Masters Court in Auburn (P.O. Box 6492, Auburn, CA 95604) (530) 887-5577 Contact: Georgiana Lohman Mission: AAARF rescues, rehabilitates and places homeless animals into permanent loving homes. Programs: The pet adoption center is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. for pet adoptions. During the holidays and throughout the year the foundation tries to promote responsible pet adoptions. For example, not giving the gift of a living creature to someone else. They require that the intended guardian of the pet make the actual selection. The center encourages pet owners to spay and neuter their pets and to keep their cats indoors. Future plans and needs: The foundation currently has about 60 cats and kittens and about 24 dogs at the adoption center and in foster care. The center needs at least 15 new volunteers to help care for the animals during the week and to train to be adoption counselors.6. Seniors First13620 Lincoln Way, Suite 370, Auburn(530) 889-9500 Contact: Candace RoederMission: Seniors First provides Placer County Seniors with information and assistance in an effort to empower seniors to make informed decisions. They provide information about services and programs that help them remain living independently as long as reasonably possible. Programs: Seniors First can help seniors find anything they need from shelter, food, warmth, extra money in their budget, rebates, etc. Each year they promote the Senior of the Year project, which recognizes people 70 years and older who have had an impact on their community. Future plans and needs: Seniors First is currently seeking nominations for Senior of the Year. 7. Interfaith Food Closet2985 Richardson Drive, Auburn(530) 885-1921 Contact: Trish WallenMission: The Interfaith Food Closet provides food for needy families in the Auburn area. Programs: The closet supplies three-days worth of meals for every person in a family. This is a year-round program, which runs Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. The organization feeds about 1,200 people a month. The closet relies on donations from businesses and individuals. It receives no government funding. Currently 11 churches in the Auburn area support the food closet. Future plans and needs: The closet would like more churches in the Auburn area to support it. More donations are needed in March and April when the shelves become bare. As well as food, beverages and personal hygiene items, monetary donations are always welcome.8. Golden Sierra Life Skills Inc.P.O. Box 4108 Auburn, CA 95604(530) 888-6625 Contact: Tammy Gilbert and Tom GraysonMission: The organization provides education to at-risk adults and youth to help reunite families. Programs: Classes are offered in anger management, self esteem and other life skills. Educational services are available for parents dealing with children with drug and alcohol addiction. Future plans and needs: The organization is currently in need of a Powerpoint projector and money to provide scholarships for at-risk youth. 9. Boys & Girls Club of Auburn1103 High St. in Auburn(530) 889-2273 Contact: Janis WikoffMission: The club?s mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. Programs: The club currently provides services at three sites: the downtown clubhouse on High Street, E.V. Cain Middle School, and Rock Creek Elementary School. Those programs serve over 1,100 youth ages 6 to 18. During the holidays, the club will be open Dec. 22-23 and 29-30 from 1 to 6 p.m. The club provides a place for kids to socialize and be safe and to have meaningful time with their peers and adults. Over 50 volunteers provide tutoring and enrichment experiences for kids. Future plans and needs: The club needs continued financial support from the community to cover operating costs. Other needs include 12 dozen pencils, 10 dozen watercolor sets, nine dozen reams of art paper, three boom boxes, two new copy machines. Future plans include building a new facility with a full gymnasium at the Park Preserve. Volunteers are always needed.10. Protect American River CanyonP.O. Box 9312, Auburn, CA 95604(530) 885-8878 Contact: Eric PeachMission: Protect American River Canyons (PARC) is an Auburn-based grassroots educational group dedicated to the preservation of the wilderness, recreational, cultural, and historical values of the American River and its canyons for all to enjoy. Programs: PARC sponsors the Confluence Festival, outings and river cleanups. PARC makes public presentations, publishes the American River Guidebook and a seasonal newsletter, and remains alert to the political situation of the canyons. Future plans and needs: PARC looks forward to the completion of the pump-station project and the rerouting of the American River to its natural state. Volunteers are always needed in trail maintenance, river cleanup and other events throughout the year.11. Auburn Christmas Basket ProgramGold Country Fairgrounds (Donations can be made to the UnionBank of California, 874 Lincoln Wy, Auburn, CA 95603)(530) 887-5533 Contact: Vic MacyMission: To provide disadvantaged families in the greater-Auburn area with food and gifts for a Merry Christmas. Program: This year the Christmas Basket program provided 550 families with food for 10 days and at least three toys for each child. Prior to the Christmas Basket give-away, 60 collection barrels are distributed throughout the area for donations of canned goods and toys. On Saturday the families came to the Armory at the Gold Country Fairgrounds and received their baskets or food and goodies. Future plans and needs: The program collects items and monetary donations throughout the year to fund the program. Bicycles are always in high demand and volunteers will be needed again next year to fill the baskets and pass out goodies.12. Child Abuse Prevention Council 218 Estates Drive in Roseville(916) 772-2272 Contact: Melissa MowreyMission: The council is a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and healing of child abuse in all its forms. The council provides an array of programs and direct services that prevent abuse and insure children and families get the help they need. Programs: During the holidays, the center holds a Gingerbread Extravaganza. There is also a toy give-away for the needy families. Throughout the year the organization runs a battered woman?s shelter open 24 hours a day all year round. The council opened the children?s crisis nursery in 2001 to provide emergency shelter for children whose parents are in crisis. Future plans and needs: The council would like to double the number of families it can help. Any donations of non-violent toys or money are always welcome. Volunteers are needed to help out with fund-raising events such as the Los Lagos Garden Party.