It’s that time of year again! The time of year where our calendars are all booked up with events from all over the Morongo Basin that we’ll be attending. To say we keep ourselves busy is an understatement. I remember when I started working here Robin told me about all of the events they do, and I thought it was really great that they go to all of these events to let the community know what we do and to help raise funds for our services. When she said a lot of events I thought like 15 throughout the year. Boy was I off. I was off by about 30 (give or take).
Now, being the over achievers that we are, we find ourselves doing two or three events a weekend sometimes. I remember last year we had the Health Fair, Children’s Day, and the Art Tours all on the same day. Sharee and I were at the Health Fair while Robin and Barbara were at the Art Tours helping out. Then, as soon as the Health Fair was over, Sharee and I ran our stuff over to Children’s Day and set our booth up over there. It was a super long day for all of us. Was it fun? Always! Did I want to crawl in a dark corner and just take a nice long nap for the rest of the day and the next? Absolutely! But, when I see how happy some of our neighbors are when we help them out, it makes me see why it is we do this.
We are always having a blast at these events. We’ll bring a speaker and play some music to keep us moving and having fun. It’s even more fun when people join in on the fun! Our artistic boss Robin is there facepainting at 95% of the events we attend. Did you know that one person who gets their face painted can help pay for a gallon of gas for our Transportation Program? That makes a HUGE difference when we have 50, 100, or even 200 people get their face painted.
Another fun thing we do every year is participate in Give BIG San Bernardino County. GBSBC is a day when numerous non-profits throughout San Bernardino County come together to raise funds for their organizations. Community members donate to their favorite nonprofit(s), and sometimes their donation can mean extra money for their favorite organization! Last year was the first year I ever participated in it. I attended a great deal of trainings so I could know what I was doing. At first, I was freaking out because it seemed like so much work! Luckily, I had help from Andrea Mitchell, one of the people in charge of GBSBC, so I didn’t have to pull my hair out trying to figure everything out on my own. This year, we are ready to make it the best year of giving yet!
We are working tirelessly to find ways to let everybody know how they can give big on Tuesday, October 30. It’s a 24-hour online event, and it can get competitive at times. If you would like to know more about Give BIG, send me an email at [email protected], and I will be more than happy to talk with you! You can even check out our GBSBC page to get some more information about how you can give BIG and be GREAT this year!
Until Next Time!
Scott Clinkscales, Office Coordinator