Groups Honored for Charitable Work

The volunteers at Caregivers in Ventura ran 5,135 errands, drove 9,400 miles and spent 978 hours visiting the elderly last year.

The workers at Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Assn. delivered nurses, physical therapists and medical technology to 500 homebound residents who could not afford their services.

On Wednesday, the two Ventura County groups were recognized for their work during the 1994 Community Partnership Awards sponsored by the Los Angeles Times Ventura County and San Fernando Valley editions.

Altogether, 10 organizations received $5,000 grants to continue their charitable activities in the region.

“The demands placed on local nonprofit organizations, especially over the last few months, have been overwhelming,” said Jeffrey S. Klein, president of the newspaper editions. “The Community Partnership Awards are an opportunity for The Times to honor these organizations for their tireless efforts to improve the quality of life in our community.”

Caregivers matches each of its nearly 200 volunteers with an elderly person who may need help living alone. The point of the program is to give the older person someone to rely upon so he or she can delay going to a nursing home or other institution, said Patricia B. Meredith, the group’s executive director.

The Livingston nursing group provides a range of home health services at discounted prices or no cost to the county’s indigent patients confined to their homes.

The other 1994 winners are the Assistance League of Antelope Valley, Assn. to Aid Victims of Domestic Violence in Newhall, San Fernando Valley Friends of Homeless Women and Children, Rhapsody in Green in Studio City, Human Services Network in North Hollywood, the Zonta Club of the Santa Clarita Valley Area, Special Equestrian Riding Therapy in Agoura Hills, and Santa Clarita Valley Youth Orchestra Foundation in Valencia.