Building the Next Generation
Eleven years ago, Mayra Ochoa was a high school senior at Anderson Valley High School. She worked hard in school and desperately wanted to attend college, but knew her family couldn’t afford to send her.
She said, “For me, then, it was either I got scholarships, or I didn’t go to college. I was well aware that my parents were not able to support me financially.”
That’s where the Mendocino Agricultural Families Scholarship Fund came in. She explained that the Ag Families Scholarship provided more than money. “Having your community believe in you—give you an opportunity to pursue your dreams—that meant a great deal to me,” she explained.
Mendocino County Comes Through
Dear Friends,
I wanted to share some exciting news about the Disaster Fund for Mendocino County. This week we granted out $200,000 of the funds we have raised so far, to NCO to give each family $1,000 for immediate needs. This was matched by the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund, for a total of $2,000 per family with a destroyed home. This is just one example of how our community has stepped up to help those affected by the fires. Today, I want to acknowledge some of the roughly 2,400 folks who have helped us raise over $1 million dollars in just under four weeks.
The generosity of the many people fundraising on our behalf has been incredible. In particular, there have been a number of young people who have raised impressive amounts of money to help those in need. Here are just a few:
- The children at Oak Manor and Nokomis Elementary schools who brought in over $2,000 dollars mostly in coins and small bills;
- The students at Ukiah High School who contributed nearly $5,000 through donation jars, their special Clubs Day event, and a volleyball game;
- The Ukiah High School Cross Country Team runners who hosted the Yoshaany Rahm Community 5K Run/Walk & Kids Fun Run, which honored Yoshaany’s legacy by giving back to their community and raising $3,000; and
- The middle school and high school ballerinas who "Danced for Donations” last Sunday at the Mendocino Ballet and raised $1,700.
Baby Boomers Making a Difference
Jim and Arlene Moorehead are no strangers to community involvement. For decades they served on non-profit boards and county commissions, Jim most recently on the Community Foundation board and Arlene on the Mendocino Film Festival board. Having lived both on the coast and inland, they have an appreciation for all of Mendocino County.
Through their participation on non-profit boards, the Mooreheads became familiar with most of the IRS rules regarding charitable giving, but they hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the tax ramifications for the required minimum distributions on retirement accounts. “I guess you don’t pay attention to some of these things until they affect you directly,” says Jim. “In the past few years we have had to withdraw money from our IRAs and pay taxes on the withdrawal amount, which meant that quite a bit ended up going to state and federal taxes. After working on local issues like broadband, I know that federal and state governments are often not responsive to local needs, especially in rural communities. So when I read the article about Roger Foote and Chuck Vaughn using their IRAs to open a fund at the Community Foundation, it rang a bell. Transferring (or ‘rolling over’) the required IRA distribution to selected and qualified local non-profits and having it be used for projects in our county seemed like the right choice. We’re fortunate – we don’t need all of our retirement funds to live on, so why not give some back, tax-free, to this place we love?”
Giving Back - Planting Seeds
Barbara Burger leads a full and fascinating life. As President of Chevron Technology Ventures, she has the opportunity to work and travel around the globe. She is a competitive athlete, a patron of the arts, and has an extensive network of friends. She also finds time in her busy schedule to give back. She is active with the GoPhilanthropic Foundation, which engages her in community building projects in Asia, Africa, and Central America. She also has started two scholarship funds – one at her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Rochester, and a math/engineering scholarship at the Community Foundation in honor of her late husband, Ed Brown.
When asked about her philanthropy, Barbara says, “I’ve always had that as a piece of me. But when Ed died, the gift he gave me was a wake-up call. I realized I had no dependents and would likely have a long life ahead of me. I made some very intentional choices to ‘plant some seeds’ and develop relationships, including some in the area of philanthropy. These relationships have become a large part of my life as I have nurtured them and watched them grow.”
Beyond a Building on Oak Street: The Ukiah Saturday Afternoon Club Legacy
Many people are familiar with the stately old building on the corner of Oak and Church Streets in Ukiah—the one with the big, wrap-around porch and a prominent sign proudly announcing it is the Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse. It’s a local landmark.
However, few people realize that the clubhouse was once owned by one of Mendocino County’s oldest clubs: the Ukiah Saturday Afternoon Club, a women’s civic group that was founded in 1904 and is still active today.
I’ve been lucky enough to connect with the smart, dedicated, community-minded women of the Ukiah Saturday Afternoon Club (USAC), because after they sold their clubhouse in 2007, they used $20,000 of the proceeds to create an endowment fund through the Community Foundation of Mendocino County to improve the lives of women and girls in our community. More recently, they decided to add $55,000 to their fund while also seeding a countywide Women’s Legacy Fund with the goal of encouraging others to donate—to honor the women in their lives and to support local women and their families now and into perpetuity.
A Part of Something Bigger
Andarin Arvola grew up knowing what it was like to be a part of a community. Her father, Ted Arvola, was a first generation Finn who came to Fort Bragg before World War II. There was a vibrant Finnish community on the coast, with community halls in Fort Bragg and Mendocino, and Andarin loved attending events with her parents. “There was no outside entertainment,” she said, “so we entertained ourselves.” In addition to socializing, the Finns were known for helping each other. “My dad would help all the people who couldn’t do things for themselves. He would do home repairs or whatever was needed. Sometimes he'd get paid, other times he didn’t. He didn’t do it for the money, but because that was what people should do.” Andarin’s mother, Irene, was also active in the community, helping to get the Redwood Coast Seniors, Inc. established and serving on its board for 20 years. Andarin followed in Irene's footsteps and was on the board for 10 years.
Honoring a Healthcare Visionary and Saying Farewell to a Founder
At the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, we often remind people that the money they donate will have a lasting effect, a legacy that continues long after they’re gone.
I was thinking about this recently as I began working with MCHC Health Centers. MCHC provides medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare to people in Ukiah, Willits, and Lakeport. The organization has a wonderful culture of treating employees like family. That culture was developed, in large part, by their visionary founder, Linnea Hunter, who recently passed away after retiring several years ago.
Lin started Mendocino Community Health Clinic, now referred to as MCHC Health Centers, in 1992 when Mendocino County could no longer afford to provide outpatient healthcare as it had done for decades. Under Lin’s leadership, MCHC expanded, adding health centers in Willits and Lakeport, which brought millions of dollars to the region through federal funding and capital grants, and eventually allowed for the treatment of more than five hundred patients per day, many of whom were poor, elderly, or underserved for other reasons.
Giving Back – Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Babbie and Jim Mayfield both grew up in Mendocino County. “I drew a heart by Jim’s picture on my first grade class photo. But I drew hearts by the photos of seven boys in that class,” Babbie says with a laugh. By high school they became sweethearts and later married. After college, they settled back in Mendocino County where they raised their family, built a local business, taught school, and became involved in many civic endeavors.
When talking to Jim and Babbie, their sense of values is quickly evident. Family–a large, extended family that goes back for generations in Mendocino County–is central. Radiating out from that is their sense of responsibility to their employees at Rainbow Ag and pride in helping their employees succeed in life. Finally, there is their feeling that the community as a whole is a part of their extended family.
The Skye Scholarship
Most people draw on their personal experiences when they make decisions about giving. This is very true for an anonymous donor (referred to here as “Ann”) who, with her husband, created the Skye Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide support for students who might not otherwise be able to consider college.
Ann remembers that she was one of those students. “I have known many families with children who have decided not to go to college because it seems out of reach. It may be a lack of money, or that they don’t have fantastic grades. It’s especially true for rural kids who haven’t experienced the world outside of their town and may be intimidated. I feel for them, because I came from a family like that. I ended up going to college only because of the financial support and encouragement I received from a relative. It changed my life totally.”
Over $150,000 in scholarships awarded to 63 local students by the Community Foundation of Mendocino County
At graduation ceremonies across the county this month, the Community Foundation of Mendocino County awarded $133,000 in new scholarships to 47 students. Thanks to generous donors this represents an increase of $32,250 compared to 2016. New scholarships ranged from $500-$8,000, with the average size of about $3,000. In addition, 21 students will receive continuing scholarships, totaling $30,750.
This year’s scholarships were made possible through 20 donor-created scholarship funds, including three new funds making awards for the first time this year – the Skye Scholarship, the Hammond Trust Emergency Services Scholarship, and Todd Hudson Memorial Basketball Scholarship. Additionally, gifts from several anonymous donors enabled 13 scholarships to be granted from the Community Foundation of Mendocino County Scholarship Fund.
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