W oodbridge Volume 4 ▪ Issue 9 ▪ Number 36
LIFE
Your Life. Your Community. Your News.
September ▪ 2014
September The August edition of Woodbridge LIFE featured the "Dog Days of Summer" and celebrated dogs within our community that provide friendship, companionship, service and love. Although most dogs are friendly, some can be dangerous at times. In fact, there have been two recent incidents of dog attacks in Woodbridge. Therefore, in this month's spirit of educating and raising awareness, we include an article describing ways to protect and defend oneself against one or more "out of control" dogs. This useful advice, well researched by WBL team member Bill Barnhart, can be found on page 16.
Inside
Bedford and Hancock . . . 7 Bridge Scores . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Events and Tours . . . . . . . 6 Garden Tasks . . . . . . . . 19 Groups and Clubs . . . . . . 8 Where in the World . . . . . 38 WOA Update . . . . . . . . . . 4
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WBLIFE2012@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of Linda Little.
Women of Woodbridge members Cindy Bolin (left), Marybeth Saari (center) and Linda Little (right) pose with some of the school supplies donated by Woodbridge residents.
By Linda Little
E
nriching the lives of the children in the Manteca area is the mission of the Women of Woodbridge (WOW). To this end, WOW’s members have provided scholarships, donated funds to Manteca Unified School District’s program for homeless children and San Joaquin County’s Mary Graham Children’s Shelter, organized annual school supply drives, and donated funds to help purchase an irrigation system for Sequoia school’s garden. Four years ago, WOW sponsored its first Sip for Scholarship, awarding a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior from East Union High School. Since then, the scholarship awards have been expanded to include students from Manteca’s other two high schools (Manteca and Sierra) as well as the district’s culinary program. Students receiving the scholarships must be enrolled in a community college or accredited vocational school in order to access the funds. With the awarding of this year’s scholarships, the total donated to further the education of selected Manteca students is $15,400. Woodbridge residents may be surprised to learn that Manteca has several hundred homeless children. This does not necessarily mean they are living on the streets. They may be living in temporary housing such as a motel, staying in a shelter, sleeping on a friend’s sofa, or possibly even sleeping in a car. Personnel in Manteca Unified School District’s Child Welfare
and Attendance Office provide support and services for these homeless students. As with many of the district’s support programs, the need outweighs funds available. To this end, proceeds ($8,000 to date) from the annual Ladies’ High Tea sponsored by WOW have been donated to the school district. For two years the proceeds from WOW’s Oktoberfest, totaling $4,000, have benefitted Mary Graham Children’s Center. Every month an average of 120 children who are innocent victims of abuse, abandonment or neglect are brought to this San Joaquin County facility. The funds donated by WOW have gone to pay for equipment and activities which are not covered by the center’s budget. Thanks to the generosity of Woodbridge residents, WOW’s annual school supply drive has resulted in trunk loads, literally, of school supplies being donated to French Camp, Neil Hafley and George McParland schools over the past four years. This year’s drive ended August 15 and resulted in the largest amount of donations yet, thanks in part to our increasing number of residents and the continuing generosity of all residents. When combined with the $300 donated to Sequoia school’s garden, WOW’s total dollar donations over the past four years add up to $27,700. Not bad for a group of women who like to “throw parties” benefiting the children of Manteca.