MODELS AND MENTORS HONORED AT SONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HOLIDAY TEA

Donors, volunteers and grantees recognized for outstanding contributions.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Gloria Duncan 707/579-4073

Santa Rosa, CA — December 14, 2001     Three Sonoma County nonprofit organizations and 11 individuals were honored by the Sonoma County Community Foundation (SCCF) recently at the second annual Models and Mentors Holiday Tea held at the Doubletree Hotel in Rohnert Park.

“"We think of our donors and volunteers as mentors to the many nonprofit organizations whose programs benefit from their generosity of time and money,"said SCCF President and CEO Kay M. Marquet. "And the many innovative programs created by these organizations serve as wonderful models for our community.

"Too often the opportunity for donors, volunteers and grantees to meet one another is missed. That’s why we created Models and Mentors" to publicly say thank you to this wonderful group of people and to give them a chance to learn more about the Community Foundation and each other."
Honored for their steadfast commitment were Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity (S.C.P.E.O.), headed by Helga Lemke; long-time donor Charl Rhode; Jim Brock, Corte Madera, a past SCCF board member and member of the Professional Advisors Group; and Timothy Duncan, who served on the Distribution Committee and as chairman of the Arts Advisory Committee.

Those recognized for innovation were the California Parenting Institute, under the direction of Robin Bowen; SCCF board member Neva Turer and donors Gordon and Cora Stewart, Sebastopol, who made the Raising a Reader Sonoma County project possible; and Jeanne Martin Buckley, SCCF board member and president of the DeMeo Teen Club’s governing board.

Girl Scouts of Konocti Council was honored for community partnering. Executive Director Peggy Soberanis thanked two other honorees in the category, Barbara Banke, Healdsburg, and Peggy Furth, who created the Jewel of a Woman Fund at the Community Foundation as a permanent endowment for the Girl Scouts. Also recognized for community partnering were Roland and Hazel Todd, Sonoma, whose recent gifts to SCCF provided major support for several local fire departments.

In honor of all the Models and Mentors, each of the nonprofit organizations received a $500 grant from the Community Foundation to support their volunteer activities.

Since is was established in 1983 to create an ongoing source of funds for local charitable organizations, SCCF has distributed more than $36 million in grants from over 180 different funds. As one of more than 550 community foundations in the United States, which have long been leaders in community-based philanthropic giving, SCCF is a vehicle for community philanthropy that enables individuals of both modest means and substantial wealth to contribute to a permanent endowment for Sonoma County. For information, call 707-579-4073 or visit www.sonomacf.org.
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