ORGANIZATIONS
CHAMLIAN ARMENIAN SCHOOL FOOD DRIVE
Chamlian Armenian School Booster Club sponsored the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive from Nov. 13 to 20.
This weeklong event that has been a tradition at the school was planned and organized by the Booster Club executive members consisting of 14 seventh- and eighth-graders. Each grade level was assigned a food category such as peanut butter, jam, corn, beans, tuna, pasta, pasta sauce and canned fruit to ensure the food variety. The food drive was a success thanks to the generosity of the parents and the hard work and organization that were displayed by the Booster Club executive members.
It was such a heart-warming sight watching the first-graders carrying several jars of peanut butter to donate to the food drive, or the Junior High Booster Club members giving up their recess to collect the cans and prepare them for delivery.
The donated food was delivered to the Salvation Army Glendale Corps and the Armenian Relief Society to be distributed among the families in need within the community during this holiday season.
GROUP PREPARES ADOBE FOR FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
Glendale Beautiful, in cooperation with the Glendale Parks, Recreation and Community Services Division, will host the annual Christmas Open House and Fiesta de Las Luminarias (Festival of Lights) Dec. 12, 13 and 14 at the historic 19th century Casa Adobe de San Rafael, 1330 Dorothy Drive, Glendale.
The event continues the traditional event, which was observed by residents in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Following tradition, lights are strung along the rooftops of the adobe. Candles placed inside paper bags glow cheerfully, lighting the walkways and grounds of the 1.5-acre park. The veranda and interior of the Casa Adobe are festively decorated with a Christmas tree, poinsettias, holly and pine boughs.
Holiday and ethnic music as well as homemade cookies, hot apple cider and other beverages create a pleasant and memorable atmosphere.
The three-day event is open free of charge to adults and children.
The following is a schedule of activities.
The Luminarias and Open House will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. The entertainment will be an ensemble of piano music.
A pinata party will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 13. Entertainment will be folkloric dancers. The Luminarias and Open House continues from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13. Entertainment will be provided by the Crescenta Valley High School Chorus.
The open house continues from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 14.
For more information, call Gladys Wymore at (818) 246-3634.
FOUNDATION CHANGES NAME FOR THE COMMUNITY
After 52 years as the Glendale Community Foundation, officials have changed the name to The Community Foundation of the Verdugos.
The foundation will continue operations in the same fashion as the Glendale Community Foundation by supporting donor funds while providing grants to area nonprofits, said board President Michael Seaton during the foundation’s annual event recently at Pickwick Gardens.
Areas that the foundation serves include Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose and Verdugo City. Foundation officials will approach Burbank within the next few years to see if they would like to be under its umbrella since Burbank does not have a community foundation of its own, Seaton said.
The Community Foundation of the Verdugos also announced eight new funds that donors may give toward — an Associates Fund and Field of Interest Funds.
The Associates Fund requires a minimum gift of $50 while gifts to any one of the seven Field of Interest Funds, from arts and culture to senior issues, can be of any amount.
Vice President Michael Velazquez explained that by pooling smaller gifts together in the Field of Interest funds, there would be greater growth and impact for the community at large, enabling anyone to be a philanthropist, which is what the foundation’s founders had originally intended.