News & Events (2010 Archive)Thanksgiving Feast! Thanksgiving at the Village was a joyful celebration of the things we are thankful for –good food, music, friends, family, and even towering inflatable bounce houses. As I watched the kids scurry to get their shoes off and leap into the bouncing frenzy, or call their friends over to share a table with them, I was reminded of what a home the Village is – a place of community, with all of the love and chaos that goes with it. Several of the children that we've gotten to know from Carrillo, the neighboring apartment complex, came over with their families, giving us a wonderful opportunity to meet their parents and welcome them to share in the celebration.
Thanksgiving Feast Announcement! Please join us for the Thanksgiving Feast at The Village at Santa Barbara
Please RSVP and include the number of people in your party. You can RSVP in the office or by calling 730-1200. Music Lessons at the Village! The Turner Foundation partners with Notes for Notes music Program. Read more on the Village music lessons page. Village and West Side kids get to play with Jack Johnson!!
Kid's Club Halloween PartyThis Thursday, October 28th, Kids Club was happily haunted by more than 50 little spooks. Princesses, dragons, bumblebees, ladybugs, superheroes, witches, football players and many more masquerading munchkins came to the Village parking lot for an afternoon of Halloween festivities. The kids, dressed in their Trick-Or-Treat best, patiently waited in line to receive their jack-o-lanterns-to-be. Thanks to the donation of Lane Family Farms, 50 pumpkins were ready for carving. With some knifework from Kidz Club Adult Helpers, the pumpkins had their lids popped off and their seeds scooped out; the kids had their goopy work cut out for them. In came the hands, out came the seeds with all kinds of exclamations of "Gross!", "This is so weird," and so forth. By the end of an hour though, those gourds were positively ghoulish and the kids proudly displayed their jack-o-lanterns.
Kid's Club Halloween Party
West Side Kids Summer CampOn July 5-8 2010, about 30 staff and kids attended our 2nd annual West Side Kids Camp at San Marcos Camp and Conference Center! We all had a great time. We talked about the love of God, hiked the hills, spent hours in the pool, and made new friendships."
A Place Where You Belong - by Bethany Marroquin
It has been a surprisingly chilly summer for what is usually sunny Santa Barbara – overcast mornings and cloud cover that lasts into the afternoon. But on Thursday afternoons, regardless of the weather, you will find dozens of kids from the Village and Carrillo packed into the Village pool, laughing, screaming, and blowing water out of pool noodles at anything that moves. I've heard that the Village pool is colder than the Pacific Ocean. That sounds about right to me. Every Thursday, I hover by the stairs in the shallow end and try to ease myself into the freezing water – first up to my ankles, then up to my knees. But inevitably the little girls try to help me “get used to it” by splashing up all the water their little hands can hold, and that tends to attract the older kids, who are just looking for someone to soak with their noodle cannons. By that point, “easing into it” has kind of lost relevance. Sometimes you just have to jump in. I've learned how to carry four girls in the water at once (hint: it involves the use of an inflatable pool ring). I've learned that “ Vueltas! ” means “Spin me around as fast as you can!” and “ Brinca! ” means “You stand in the pool and let me jump off the side into your arms!” The littlest girls especially love this game. Their absolute trust – and daring – completely astounds me. These girls are three years old, and none of them can swim. But when they see me in the water with my arms open, they don't hesitate. I leave the pool early to dry off and head to the one-room library in the Village community center. We have had so many books donated that we're running out of space for them on the shelves – a wonderful dilemma to have. We usually get eight or ten kids coming in on Thursdays after swimming, and four kids have already gotten to go to our treasure chest, which is filled with surprises for those who bring back three books on time. Goosebumps and Junie B. Jones books are the most popular, though the Babysitter's Club has a wide following among the female interns. Sometimes the books come back to us; sometimes they don't. But the kids keep coming. We've had several girls come in just to draw on blank pieces of paper, in a quiet place where they feel welcome. On the library wall, colorful block letters read: “A Place Where You Belong.” And as much as I want the kids to be reading (and returning) their books, giving them a place to belong is the real purpose. I think that's been the goal of this summer, in ways that extend far beyond the library.
There's a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that goes, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” I remember listening to debate over that sentiment in a Religious Studies class at Westmont. Are we really preaching the gospel if we're not talking about it? Do actions really stand alone? What differentiates gospel-living from secular social work if Christ isn't definitively proclaimed as Lord? I'm trying to remember, now, if I've spoken to any of these kids about Jesus. I think I have, actually – he tends to pop up. But there have been no lesson plans, no Bible stories, and there won't be an altar call at the end of the summer. When people at church ask about the mission work I'm doing, I talk about the madness of trying to give swimming lessons to twenty kids at once, or how important it is to the kids to get a bookmark and a book bag as they leave the library. The kids have heard that Jesus loves them, and I'm going to keep telling them that – it's the most beautiful thing they'll ever know. But I think they're going to be closer to believing and understanding that when they know that we love them, and that we're willing to jump into 60 degree water so we can catch them when it's their turn. ***Bethany has been wonderful! She is one of our summer interns – focusing on the West Side *** Jeff Talent Show at Pershing Park Talent Show at Pershing Park June 30th at 5:30 Come and share your talent with our friends without homes and enjoy a meal together. All are welcome! Library Grand Opening!
Library Grand Opening - June 9th, 2010
Summer 2010 Newsletter
Kids Club
Westmont Interns View Westmont Magazine Article Cooking Class with Sarinna! Easter Egg Hunt 2010
Easter Egg Hunt at the Village! Everyone is Welcome!
Its that time of year again and we are welcoming Westmont Students back to the Village and the West Side. Below is the schedule for activities from March 15th-19th. If you have any questions or would like to be involved please call Jeff Shaffer at (805) 252-1993 or email him at Jeff.Shaffer@TheTurnerFoundation.com DAILY SCHEDULE 12:30-4pm Service Projects 2:00 pm Laundry of Love (Sign up in the office w/ Alexis 730-1200) 2:00 - 4:00 pm Community Center Time 4:00 - 6:00 pm Kids Club (Sign up in the office with Jeff 730-1200) 4:00 - 6:00 pm Jr. High Club (Schedule for Jr. High)
WEEKLY SCHEDULE Monday - Tamale Fest w/ Westmont Students and West Side Residents 6:00 pm in the Community Center at the Village Tuesday - Dessert at the Village with Residents in their apartments Wednesday - Pershing Park w/ Friends without Homes Friday - BBQ with all Volunteers at the Beach View Spring Break Informational Packet New Program -- Free Cooking Class w/Sarinna!
Thank you to the 80+ donors who helped a local family get a fresh start this past Christmas/New Year! Jill LaFleur, a local wedding planner, along with June Michealsen and her Neighborhood Stewardship Group and Data Hardware Depot, a local Santa Barbara Telecommunications Company, helped a family from the West Side to move-out of their cockroach invested apartment and into a completely renovated, furnished and decorated 2 bedroom apartment at the Village. The donations help to cover several months of rent & assistance, a deposit, Christmas presents, gift cards and all new furnishings/appliances/bedding/furniture/kitchenware etc. for their new apartment! They have settled in well and are very involved in the Village community. Thank you for your generosity!!!! February 7, 2010
Low Income Limits for 2010-2011 View Chart
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Ashlee Chuda has lived at the Village and worked in the Turner Foundation office as an office assistant since 2007. She will be moving to Northern California to be closer to her family later this month. We will miss you Ashlee and thank you for all you have done! 
You are invited!
Valentine's Day Party 