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Community: Thanksgiving comes early to Boys & Girls Club

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Coming down the buffet line, Alicia Perez, 10, and her friend, Alexa Medina, also 10, were choosing turkey and all their favorite fixings for their plates.

More than 300 Boys & Girls Club members and their families were treated to an early Thanksgiving dinner earlier this month by the management of the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel.

“This is nice,” Alicia said. “They have food that’s good, and they are celebrating Thanksgiving before it happens.”

Four-year-old Dean Herman, son of board member Paul Herman, was maneuvering a spoon of whipped cream into his mouth.

“It’s really nice of the Burbank Marriott to give back to the community,” Paul Herman said. Joining him at the table was his wife, Amy, and daughter, Agnes, 8.

This was the first time the Marriott had invited the Boys & Girls Club to have Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel. The staff has always brought the meal to the clubhouse at Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Boulevard.

It felt wonderful to serve so many families, said Alan Tate, director of sales for the hotel.

“The Burbank Marriott has a long-lasting relationship with the Boys & Girls Club, and we are thrilled to be able to host them tonight for this Thanksgiving feast,” he said. “We have a number of our employees who have children that are members of the Burbank Boys & Girls Club, so we are so grateful for all that the Boys & Girls Club does for our employees as well as the community’s children.”

Shanna Warren, chief executive of the Boys & Girls Club, noted that the Marriott staff really stepped up and accommodated more guests than she thought would come.

“We were expecting, at the most, 200, but we ended up with more than 320. But the Marriott staff has been so gracious and has been able to accommodate all the additional people,” she said. “They have been catering our Thanksgiving dinner for the last several years, but it’s always been at the club.”

Boys & Girls Club officials recently sat down with Marriott representatives who told them they would like to get more involved with the club because it is so close in proximity to the hotel and the club’s annual gala is held at the Marriott every year.

“So we talked about different ways we can partner with them and get their employees more involved,” Warren said. “When the subject of the annual Thanksgiving dinner was brought up, the Marriott said the facility wasn’t booked, so it was decided to have the dinner here.”

Patrons Club raises funds for future stars

The Patrons Club paid tribute to Glendale Community College students with its theme “Future Stars of America” for its annual fashion show presented earlier this month in the Starlight Room at the Castaway restaurant.

The Patrons Club raises funds for the Glendale Community College Foundation Inc., and money goes to scholarships and grants-in-aid presented each year to students who fulfill award requirements. Last year’s luncheon raised about $23,000. Funds raised help students complete their educational goals whether they plan to transfer to a four-year university or join the workforce.

Karen Wharton, the club’s president, welcomed the more than 200 guests attending. College administrators — including Supt./President David Viar, Paul Schlossman, dean of student affairs; Lisa H. Brooks, from the foundation; and Marianne Jennings, event chair — thanked the Patrons Club for its ongoing support.

The Glendale Community College Patrons Club is on target, Viar said.

“Patrons are people supporting, championing or protecting — in reality, that’s what Patrons Club members are about. [Patrons] are supporting students seeking to achieve their educational goals; championing an outstanding community college that serves its community and region with distinction; and protecting the mission and values of a community college education,” he said.

The highlight of the day was the fashion show, featuring day-to-evening wear from Holiday Hats and Gowns. Providing commentary was Teresa Cortey. Members and friends modeling were Arpi Amirian, Heather Glenn, Zaruhi Grigorian, Tamara Hughes, Erin Kurasz, Christine Ovasapyan, Samir Abou-Rass, Austin Kemie, Isaac Pedraza, Michael Ritterbrown and college Supt./President Viar, who escorted his wife, Jane.

Glendale Community College students from Burbank have received scholarships from the Patrons Club in the past.

Leadership Burbank Alumni salute veterans

The Leadership Burbank Alumni Assn. turned its quarterly networking mixer into “A Salute to Veterans” fundraiser and made $1,265 for the nonprofit Burbank Housing Corp.’s veterans housing program.

Guests gathered on Nov. 12, appropriately at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall.

“We have quarterly mixers and, for this one, we decided to make it a fundraiser for the veterans housing program,” said Renee Johnson, president of the alumni association. She was in the 2012 Leadership Burbank Class. “We are like a marketing arm for Leadership Burbank.”

The alumni association’s major focus is to raise funds for a scholarship to send either a small business owner or someone who works for a nonprofit through the Leadership Burbank program each year.

Proceeds from the mixer will go to furnish basic home necessities for an 11-unit apartment complex being renovated in Burbank to provide housing for homeless veterans. The project will hopefully be completed by January.

Funds for the purchase of the property and its rehabilitation came from the Burbank Housing Corp., the city of Burbank and the state of California, said Judith Arandes, executive director of the Burbank Housing Corp.

It will provide veterans with permanent, supportive housing, which will include access to social services, such as job training, legal assistance and mental-health counseling, she said.

Local residents may donate items or funds to supply such items as towels, linens, pots, pans, dishes and drinking glasses for the new inhabitants.

“These homeless veterans are coming from shelters, transitional housing or the street, so when they get to those apartments, we want to make sure that the apartments have perfectly livable conditions,” Arandes said.

During the mixer, a representative from Logix Federal Credit Union presented a donation from the company.

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.

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