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Community and Clubs: Clubs ease back to school transition

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As students and parents prepared for back to school, community service clubs were standing by with a variety of helpful events and projects.

Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club opens Kelly’s Closet

Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club helped prepare 30 Costa Mesa Boys & Girls Club members for the school year on Aug. 22 as part of Kelly’s Closet.

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Each child arrived at the club to find a bag filled with school supplies. Six seventh- and eighth-graders also received computers.

Each child was assigned a high school or college companion. The escorts sought to build personal connections with their students.

“The long-range goal of Kelly’s Closet is to extend the mentorship throughout the school year,” said Jeff Dimsdale, Kelly’s Closet director, and “to encourage low-income children to graduate from high school and continue into college.”

The group traveled to Sears by school bus to purchase the children clothes and shoes. The mentors guided the students in making shopping selections that were both kid-preferred and mom-approved. After returning to Boys & Girls Club, the mentors and children played games and enjoyed a picnic lunch served by Kiwanis members.

The event was presented by the Kiwanis Club of Costa Mesa, the Key Clubs of Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools and the Circle K Club of Orange Coast College.

Student committee members included Chair Sabrina Lai and members Lupe Vega and Matthew Vu of OCC Circle K; Nancy Le, Manuel Morales and Keiser Ruiz of Costa Mesa Key Club; and Taranjit Kaur and Gabby Pearson of the Estancia Key Club. Kiwanis project committee members were Dimsdale and Pete Nevins.

Funding for Kelly’s Closet included support from Hoag Hospital, South Coast Plaza, the Costa Mesa Community Foundation, the Circle K International Tomorrow Fund, Edward Jones Investments, Newport Rib Company and Office Depot.

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Harbor Mesa Lions get shopping for area students

The Harbor Mesa Lions Club also supported local students in need. Member Dalila Vaden escorted five children from two families shopping. She purchased each child two sets of uniforms and shoes.

Lions will also donate boxes of school supplies for all first-graders at Whittier and Rea elementary schools. The club is continuing this annual school box tradition that member Joan Parks initiated 14 years ago.

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Newport Sister City and Rotary groups offer global experience

On Sept. 29, the Newport Beach Sister City Assn. and Newport Balboa Rotary will welcome to Newport Beach a delegation of students and teachers from Okazaki, Japan, as part of the Wendell Fish Okazaki Student Exchange Program.

The Japanese students will live and attend school with seven Newport Beach students.

The Newport Beach students — Alina Aguirre, Alexis Kelly, Katie Langly, Simone Oberreiter, Rhys Sullivan, Ian Turner, and Brittany Weinstock — lived and attended school with the Japanese students in Okazaki in July. Teachers Heather Kroeger of Corona del Mar Middle School and Amy Tupa of Ensign Intermediate, accompanied them to Japan and will assist with the Japanese delegation.

Connie Skibba of Sister City is organizing activities for the Japanese delegation. A favorite tradition is a pumpkin carving party and barbecue at the park on Private Road. Newport Beach Firemen grill burgers, Sister City and Rotary members serve sides and desserts, and the Japanese students entertain their hosts with singing and dancing.

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Newport Harbor Exchange Club donates to district

The Newport Harbor Exchange Club hosted Pat Courter and Scott Paulsen, president and vice president, respectively of Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation, at its weekly meeting on Aug. 20. Courter and Paulsen addressed the club regarding the foundation’s mission of funding teacher grants for class projects and/or materials.

Newport Exchange Club presented Pat and Scott with a $10,000 check to help fund teacher grants.

Newport Exchange Club raised the donation through fundraising events. The club’s major fundraising and service event this year was the sixth annual Field of Honor at Castaways Park, where 1,776 flags flew in honor to veterans, police, firemen and first responders.

Other Exchange Club beneficiaries include veterans groups, the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center, Human Options, a nonprofit assisting domestic violence victims, and high school recipients of college scholarships and ACE (Accepting the Challenge of Excellence) awards. For the fiscal year 2014-15, Exchange Club donated more than $160,000.

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Other club news Kiwanis honors veterans

The Kiwanis Club of Newport Beach/Corona del Mar hosted Veterans Appreciation Day on July 25.

“It was a total success,” said Kiwanis’ President Joel Carlson. “Perfect weather, plenty of parking, lots to eat and a harbor cruise for everyone.”

The event honored more than 30 veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan. Kiwanis was joined by representatives from the city of Newport Beach and Orange County.

Volunteers from UCI’s Circle K Club assisted with parking, cooking, setup and cleanup. Eileen Wright led the crowd in service songs and Sea Base Troop 90 posted the colors.

Major event sponsors included Brent Kenefick, with Walker & Dunlop, and Linda Kirkpatrick, owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes in Costa Mesa.

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Newport area Soroptimist celebrates 60 years

Soroptimist International of the Newport Harbor Area is celebrating its 60th year of service locally and globally. Soroptimist’s mission is to improve the lives of women and girls through education, mentorship and financial support.

Over its 60 years, Soroptimist Newport Harbor has assisted local female charitable organizations. It financially supported Girls Inc. in obtaining local offices and Women Helping Women in assisting women escape domestic abuse and human trafficking.

Soroptimist has also awarded college scholarships to local teen girls for their service work, and honored distinguished local women including Sen. Marian Bergeson.

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Harbor Mesa Lions elect president with ‘Lionism’ in her blood

In July, Harbor Mesa Lions elected Marianne Allen for her second time to serve as president.

President Allen has “Lionism” in her blood. Her brother, Glenn Miller, is a Huntington Beach Host Lions member and her father, Les Miller, was a Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions member.

Les Miller, a prominent community member, served as Costa Mesa High School’s first principal. Each year the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce awards the Les Miller Scholarship to high school students in his honor.

The Daily Pilot wants to hear about your club’s or organization’s events so we can inform our readers. Contact DIANE DARUTY at dianedaruty@sbcglobal.net or (949) 322-7949.

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