FOUNTAIN VALLEY : She Keeps Volunteer Spirit Alive

Marge Schneider’s first community involvement was 25 years ago, when she joined the parent-teacher organization at the elementary school her four children attended.

“The school was brand new. We watched it being built,” Schneider said.

And even after her children graduated from Tamura Elementary School, Schneider stayed involved in the parent-teacher organization and other school district groups.

“I thought I could be a benefit for children, even if they weren’t my own,” Schneider said.

For Schneider, who has lived in Fountain Valley for 30 years, volunteering in civic, educational and nonprofit organizations has become a way of life.

“There’s always a good cause and a need and I’m a very healthy and energetic person,” said Schneider, 55. “I’ve been blessed with a good family life. (Volunteering) has been a part of my life.

“As long as I can do it, I’m going to be there doing it,” she said.

Because of her outstanding contribution and tireless efforts on behalf of her community, Schneider was recently selected as the 1993 Woman of the Year for the 67th Assembly District by State Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress). Schneider was nominated by the city of Fountain Valley.

The recognition is sponsored by the California Women Legislators’ Caucus. As part of her award, Schneider, accompanied by her family, recently spent the day as Allen’s guest in Sacramento, where she was recognized on the floor of the Assembly and attended a luncheon.

“It was a memorable day,” said Schneider, who said it was her first time inside the state Capitol.

Mayor Laurann Cook said it didn’t take long for Schneider’s name to come up as a nominee for the award.

“She’s been a leader,” Cook said, adding that Schneider’s family has also been involved in community service. “You see their mark in so many areas of our community.”

In a statement, Allen said that Schneider is a member of a select group of people who are willing to get involved with their community in a positive way.

“Marge stands out, in part, for the leadership roles she has played in numerous local organizations, specifically benefiting the children of our community,” Allen said.

Schneider has aided children in the schools, at the local Boys and Girls Club, in the Little League and as a religious instructor for local Catholic churches.

As one of the founding members of the 11-year-old Fountain Valley Educational Foundation, Schneider has helped to raise money for the Fountain Valley School District. Over the past five years, the foundation has donated about $160,000 to the district.

The money has been used for school programs the district cannot afford to fund. “We saw the need to provide the icing on the cake, but now with the (school district’s) budget restraints, our need has been to provide the cake,” said Schneider, the foundation’s executive director.

Schneider, who has been married to husband Chris for 35 years, is a member of the local historical society, has been involved in the Fountain Valley Women’s Club for 23 years and was the city’s first Citizen of the Year in 1974.

To be nominated for Woman of the Year was enough of an honor, Schneider said. “It was unbelievable to be chosen,” she said.

“Whatever I have done in the last 30 years, I have done because the need was there,” she said. “What I’ve done has been rewarding. I feel I have received far more than I have given.”