Hello friends and neighbors. Happy daylight savings time – almost. Beginning March 13th we pick up an extra hour of daylight, and my annual mini-depression officially comes to an end. As usual, I have much to write about, so let’s get into it. First off, my heartfelt thanks to County Supervisor Adam Hill and to local resident Joan Sargen for co-sponsoring the recently concluded Avila Beach Live Well Symposium. I also extend special gratitude to Julian Varela – Avila Beach resident and Avila Foundation Trustee – for coordinating the day’s highly educational presentations, and to Julie Andrews Scott for making sure everyone was well nourished. I hope those of you who attended enjoyed this free learning opportunity, brought to you by the Avila Beach Community Foundation.
As most of you know, the Avila Beach Foundation makes grants each year to several local organizations and projects. We require each grant recipient to provide us with an annual report shortly after the program year comes to a conclusion so we can learn about the impact of our financial support. I would like to share with you some of the information we received as 2010 came to a close. For example, the Avila Beach Sea Life Center was awarded a $10,000 grant to bring students from numerous Central Coast schools to enjoy their Discovery Lab and Floating Lab programs. Through this grant there were 22 classroom visits involving 1,295 students. For less than $10 per child the Sea Life Center was able to provide a unique hands-on marine life experience. The Foundation also awarded the Sea Life Center a $5,000 grant toward the construction of their Freshwater Entryway Tank exhibit, which represents the Avila Beach estuary, and kicks off the educational tour of the facility.
Another of our recipients, the Avila Beach Civic Association’s Community Center, was awarded $20,000 to invest in the management and operations of their facility. As the Center’s popularity grows, it is increasingly important to expand staffing to accommodate the volume of activity and to take revenue enhancement efforts to the next level. With the help of our grant the Center realized a nearly 50% increase in facility rental use fees, a 25% increase in the number of classes conducted, and a 25% increase in the number of people attending those classes. Yet another grantee, the Avila Beach Jr. Lifeguard Program, received a $9,900 grant to support their highly visible and popular summer program. Last year 200 youth participated, an increase of 33% over the previous year. In addition to the valuable lifesaving skills training provided, the Junior Guards participated in a number of competitive events and recorded best-ever results at the Carpinteria meet, finished second overall in Santa Barbara, and fared well in the State Championships, earning numerous individual top ten finishes and producing two individual state champions. And let’s not overlook the Avila Trolley, which is partially subsidized by the Foundation to provide free beach shuttle trips from various locations on weekends and holidays. Over the course of the past year the Trolley was ridden by 6,636 passengers, thus reducing the amount of vehicle traffic and lessening the strain on parking during the busiest times of the year.
You may recall a topic I touched upon a couple of months ago – that being the possibility of bringing 24/7 Cal Fire paramedic services to our area. At February’s Avila Valley Advisory Council (AVAC) we once again heard from acting Cal Fire Chief Rob Lewin, who reiterated the difference between the basic life support aid giving capabilities of their EMT firefighters, and that of paramedics who are trained to provide advanced life support aid. Chief Lewin reported that 70-80% of all Avila Fire Station #62 calls involve medical/aid issues – a number not to be taken lightly considering the concentration of elderly living in our communities. AVAC is forming a special committee to take a further look at this topic, and has selected local resident Karla Bittner to chair the committee. Any Avila resident interested in joining this committee to explore bringing Cal Fire paramedic services to the greater Avila area is welcome to email me at avilafoundation@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with Karla. Once again I encourage you to attend an AVAC meeting to learn more about your community, or for more information visit www.avilavalley.org. Now signing off and inviting you to visit our website: www.avilabeachfoundation.org. Your feedback is most welcome.
As most of you know, the Avila Beach Foundation makes grants each year to several local organizations and projects. We require each grant recipient to provide us with an annual report shortly after the program year comes to a conclusion so we can learn about the impact of our financial support. I would like to share with you some of the information we received as 2010 came to a close. For example, the Avila Beach Sea Life Center was awarded a $10,000 grant to bring students from numerous Central Coast schools to enjoy their Discovery Lab and Floating Lab programs. Through this grant there were 22 classroom visits involving 1,295 students. For less than $10 per child the Sea Life Center was able to provide a unique hands-on marine life experience. The Foundation also awarded the Sea Life Center a $5,000 grant toward the construction of their Freshwater Entryway Tank exhibit, which represents the Avila Beach estuary, and kicks off the educational tour of the facility.
Another of our recipients, the Avila Beach Civic Association’s Community Center, was awarded $20,000 to invest in the management and operations of their facility. As the Center’s popularity grows, it is increasingly important to expand staffing to accommodate the volume of activity and to take revenue enhancement efforts to the next level. With the help of our grant the Center realized a nearly 50% increase in facility rental use fees, a 25% increase in the number of classes conducted, and a 25% increase in the number of people attending those classes. Yet another grantee, the Avila Beach Jr. Lifeguard Program, received a $9,900 grant to support their highly visible and popular summer program. Last year 200 youth participated, an increase of 33% over the previous year. In addition to the valuable lifesaving skills training provided, the Junior Guards participated in a number of competitive events and recorded best-ever results at the Carpinteria meet, finished second overall in Santa Barbara, and fared well in the State Championships, earning numerous individual top ten finishes and producing two individual state champions. And let’s not overlook the Avila Trolley, which is partially subsidized by the Foundation to provide free beach shuttle trips from various locations on weekends and holidays. Over the course of the past year the Trolley was ridden by 6,636 passengers, thus reducing the amount of vehicle traffic and lessening the strain on parking during the busiest times of the year.
You may recall a topic I touched upon a couple of months ago – that being the possibility of bringing 24/7 Cal Fire paramedic services to our area. At February’s Avila Valley Advisory Council (AVAC) we once again heard from acting Cal Fire Chief Rob Lewin, who reiterated the difference between the basic life support aid giving capabilities of their EMT firefighters, and that of paramedics who are trained to provide advanced life support aid. Chief Lewin reported that 70-80% of all Avila Fire Station #62 calls involve medical/aid issues – a number not to be taken lightly considering the concentration of elderly living in our communities. AVAC is forming a special committee to take a further look at this topic, and has selected local resident Karla Bittner to chair the committee. Any Avila resident interested in joining this committee to explore bringing Cal Fire paramedic services to the greater Avila area is welcome to email me at avilafoundation@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with Karla. Once again I encourage you to attend an AVAC meeting to learn more about your community, or for more information visit www.avilavalley.org. Now signing off and inviting you to visit our website: www.avilabeachfoundation.org. Your feedback is most welcome.
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