On the Town: YMCA of the Foothills salutes volunteers
The YMCA of the Foothills recognized its top volunteers during the annual Spirit of the Y Volunteer Recognition Award Dinner held recently at the Oakmont Country Club.
Rick Dinger received the Call to Service Award, which is given to the volunteer who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to volunteerism and inspires others to engage in volunteer service.
Dinger is president of Crescenta Valley Insurance, where he started his career in 1985. He was a student and played football at St. Francis High School and Cal State Northridge. In 1987, he returned to St. Francis and coached football and golf until 1993. He now announces every varsity football home game at his high school alma mater.
He has received numerous service awards, including the Business Owner of the Year from the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, Glendale Man of the Year from the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, County of Los Angeles and 2008 Volunteer of the Year for the Fifth District of Los Angeles County.
“The YMCA’s cause is to strengthen the foundation of the community, and we believe that Rick Dinger’s very long and wonderful history of volunteering has done exactly that for his community,” said Tyler Wright, the YMCA’s chief executive.
Tom Heller was presented with the Pat Aho Volunteer of the Year Award, which is named for a former staff member who also served as a volunteer on the board of directors. This award recognizes individuals and/or couples who have gone beyond expectations with time, dedication and service given to the YMCA of the Foothills.
Heller has done just that for eight years. His leadership has spanned four YMCA program staff members, 113 chief’s meetings, 7,300 pancakes being flipped at the pancake breakfast and 300-plus skits at camp fires. He and his wife, Michelle, have supported their three children’s participation in the Y-Tribes program as well as summer camp and Youth in Government.
In addition, 18 recipients of the Spirit of the Y Award were honored for giving 100 hours or more of volunteer service in 2015. They were Allegra Batista, Beverly Craig, Sandeep Khera, Chris Lazo, Venus Payandeh, Hamish Shaw, Levon Terzian, David Wright, Narine Vartanian, Mary Anne Brooks, Troy Emi, Joanna Libby, Peter Najarian, Steve Poteete-Marshall, Allison Terry, Ryan Thomas, Kristen Wright and Joan Zimmerman.
For more information or to become a volunteer, visit ymcafoothills.org.
Assistance League of Glendale awards scholarships
The community outreach is wide for members of Assistance League of Glendale with projects by this philanthropic organization benefiting residents from children to seniors.
Just recently, more than $7,000 in scholarships went to graduating seniors from local high schools and students attending Glendale Community College, said scholarship chair Danette Erickson.
Recipients are Becky Im, a graduate of Crescenta Valley High School; Arevik Torosyan, a graduate of Allan F. Daily High School; Inesa Navasaydyan, a graduate of Clark Magnet High School; Catherine Spencer, a graduate of Glendale High School; Kristina Laut, a graduate of Hoover High School; Irene Sipon, a transfer student and graduate of Glendale Community College; and Yeugenya Mousesyan, a reentry student at Glendale Community College.
“Becky Im is quite a success story,” Erickson said. “She is from a family that has struggled financially, but she took our Assistance League SAT seminar and graduated from high school with a 4.5 grade-point average. She will be going to UCLA. She has also given 800 hours back to the community, tutoring other students and volunteering at Verdugo Hills Hospital.”
The league’s 67 members, led by President Mary Lo Follett, volunteer time to make sure the needs of Glendale’s children, adults and seniors are met. Last year, the league touched more than 2,926 lives, investing 15,927 hours to improve the lives of those in need in Glendale.
The majority of the league’s funds are raised at its Thrift Alley, a second-hand shop at 314 E. Harvard St.
“We accept community donations and sell a variety of items at thrifty prices,” Erickson said.
The shop offers collectibles, clothing, books, household items, bric-a-brac, linens, furniture and more. Along with free parking, there is wheelchair access. All purchases are free of sales tax. Shop hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Patrons are asked to call (818) 246-2294 before bringing in donations, and items should not be left outside when the shop is closed.
The league has several other community projects. Through Operation School Bell, the members purchase clothing and shoes and invite more than 500 students in the Glendale Unified School District to pick up the items at the league’s headquarters.
Another project is to provide weekly training for adults to learn vocational skills.
Members coordinate an Authors and Illustrators Day at three elementary schools each year that allow school children to meet with professionals and ask them about their vocations. To promote literacy, the group provides a $1,500 donation to each of the three schools.
The league also holds study workshops to help more than 130 students a year prepare for SAT (college entrance) tests.
And, finally, members welcome 70 senior adults to their headquarters each month for lunch and activities.
For more information or to become involved, visit alglendale.org.
Panhellenic presents college scholarships
The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic has distributed this year’s scholarships to Glendale and La Crescenta students who will begin their four-year trek to graduation or those already enrolled in a college or university.
The Panhellenic is a community-based organization encompassing Glendale, La Crescenta and surrounding areas with member volunteers from one of the 26 sororities recognized by the National Panhellenic Conference.
Established in 1947, the group’s charter is to support today’s young women pursuing higher education. The local Panhellenic raises money for scholarships by having an annual benefit luncheon.
Students from Glendale receiving the College Sorority Member Scholarship were Jess Gabor, a sophomore at Loyola Marymount University and a member of Pi Beta Phi, and Olivia Homan, a freshman at DePaul University and a member of Delta Gamma.
In addition, La Crescenta resident Anisa Ricci, a freshman at the University of Montana and a member of Delta Gamma, is another recipient.
High school scholarship recipients include Glendale residents Alejandra Gurrola, who graduated from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and will attend Boston University, and Elin Aboolian, who graduated from Crescenta Valley High School and will attend UCLA.
La Crescenta residents and Crescenta Valley High School graduates receiving the scholarships were Rebecca Freeman, who will attend San Diego State University, Christine Lockhart, who will attend Arizona State University, and Ali McNevin, who will attend UC Santa Barbara.
Scholarship Committee members included Rondi Werner Redmann and Deb Ann Orfalea, both of Glendale, Zeta Tau Alpha, and Rachel Clugston, Los Angeles, Delta Phi Epsilon.
The Glendale group is recruiting volunteers to become sorority alumnae chapter delegates or individual members. High school and college women interested in information about or assisting with conference sorority recruitment this fall or next spring can find more information at glendalepanhellenic.org.
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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.