Category: Charities You Help Support

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County!

In 1962, several business leaders started what was known as the Boys Club of Fallbrook to provide a place where boys could gather for constructive activities. In 1979, the Club changed its name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fallbrook due to the increasing girl memberships. This was many years before the National Organization changed its name to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Finally, in 1998 the Club changed its’ name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County to better reflect the communities served.

The Boys Club of Fallbrook started as a place where boys in the community could gather for safe, constructive activities. Today, the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need them most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring responsible citizens. Throughout the years, the programs and methods may have changed but the goal of the Club remains the same, to provide a safe environment for the youth in their community.

The primary beneficiary of the services the club provides is the youth in North San Diego County and parts of Riverside County. Examples of the services that this Club provides include: homework help, a snack program, sports leagues, STEM, art and music classes, swim lessons, and various clubs just to name a few. They have also come to learn that the services they provide don’t just benefit the youth, but they are a huge help to the parents of their members who need a safe place for their children to go when school lets out.

For the month of September 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Boys & Girls Clubs of North County, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn more about the 2021 Happiness is… Referral Rewards Program HERE

For those who have not toured the Club, they find the common misconception is that the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County is only a youth sports organization. However, the Club is designed to meet the needs and interests of a wide range of youth. For that reason, they have programs that help members with their homework, provide daily snacks, offer programs in music and art, and also provide various club opportunities.

COVID severely affected the number of youth the club was able to serve at their 10 different sites. As guidelines begin to loosen, they are getting closer to serving the same amount of youth that they had served pre-COVID. However, safety is their number one priority and that is why they continue to monitor recommendations made by the San Diego County health officials and the CDC.

Upcoming Events

Due to COVID, the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County were unable to host their annual Dinner & Auction Gala last April. In its place, they hosted their first-ever joint event, a golf tournament, and virtual Wine & Whiskey tasting. The golf tournament was so successful that they had a huge demand to host another. So this October, be on the lookout for this very fun and exciting golf tournament to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County.

If you would like to help support Boys & Girls Clubs of North County, please engage with them via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. For additional information, check their website.

There are several ways to help support the Club and the children they serve! First, if you are interested in donating to the Club, they have made it easy to donate on their website. They will also have two great events that you and your friends will be able to attend this year to show your support. First, the golf tournament in October and then the annual Dinner & Auction Gala in April. If you would like to donate items for their members, they host a backpack drive every year during the month of July, and a toy drive in the month of November. For those interested in volunteering, once COVID restrictions permit, they always need help with coaches and referees for their youth sports programs.

Prior to COVID, the club was serving over 2,000 members each and every year. They can’t offer services to that many children without the support of caring community members who see a need and step in. If there is a program or area of interest that you would like to step into, please feel free to contact their office to see how you might be able to get involved.

For the month of September 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Boys & Girls Clubs of North County, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn more about the 2021 Happiness is… Referral Rewards Program HERE

 

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize The Rock Rose School for Creative Learning!

Rock Rose Village School began in 2006 as a small study group of parents and teachers committed to helping their children develop using the latest brain research. They recognized the need to reach more children, so the group became a non-profit parent-child program in Escondido and a parent co-op kindergarten in Ramona.

Wanting a more permanent location in 2009, they opened their doors with their first Kindergarten and Parent-Child classes located in Fallbrook with a room and outside play area — The Hilltop Center. They began to outgrow the Hilltop Center in Fallbrook and during the summer of 2013, moved to The Creekside Plaza. This new location gave the children more outdoor space and a charming place to call their school. During the summer of 2019, they moved to a temporary building while they worked on building a new and permanent home in which they will be moving to in the summer of 2021!

We asked Board President and Founder, Bethany Chaffin, how COVID has affected their non-profit, and here is what she had to say:

COVID has been very hard on our program. We remained opened throughout the entire pandemic in order to support essential workers and families who needed to report to work each day. We had to furlough a few of our employees in order to reduce the number of adults to students as was recommended by the CDC. This has been extremely hard on our teachers who rely on their aides in order to help with the children. With the reduction of students, our income has reduced substantially while our overhead and the needed PPE have increased. It has been a very hard year and we look forward to when we can return to our normal operations.

For the month of August 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Rock Rose Village School, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

 

The initial goals of the non-profit were to provide an early childhood program that embodied a play-based and developmentally appropriate method of educating the child through their head, heart, and hands. The Rock Rose Village School has continued with that goal over the past 15 years and hopes to continue it for many more to years to come.

They work with the YMCA and the CDA in order to help provide an affordable and quality program to families who typically would not be able to afford a Waldorf-Inspired early childhood program. They also offer annual Harvest Festivals and parenting events that are open to the wider community. Rock Rose Village School works with programs that allow a good portion of their families to attend for a very little amount. Some families end up not paying anything because of the partnership they have with support programs!

If you would like to get in contact with the Rock Rose School for Creative Learning, you can email them at info@rockroseschool.org or call them at 760-451-6112.

If you would like to help support the Rock Rose Village School, please donate on their website or engage with them via Facebook.

For the month of August 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Rock Rose Village School, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize Dive Guardians!

It all started in 2015 when Dive Guardians President and Founder, Randy Lung, began working with disabled veterans and using SCUBA diving and the therapeutic effects of water to help others with both their physical and mental injuries. In addition to being a Military Veteran, Randy is also a 25-year veteran of Law Enforcement.  During his long career as a First Responder, he witnessed the negative effects that experiencing repeated traumatic events over a career has on a First Responder. Randy has seen many develop drug and alcohol problems, become both suspects and victims of domestic violence, and suffer from depression.  He also knows more than one First Responder who has chosen to take their life due to depression and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS).  Then, in 2016, a fellow First Responder and friend, took his life leaving behind a wife, three children, and a grandchild.

Randy thought about his friend a lot after it happened and tried to make sense of what he did and wished there was some way he could have intervened and helped him before he chose to take his life. As Randy began to search for organizations designed specifically to help First Responders, he realized there weren’t many.  So, in March 2018, Dive Guardians was born.

The initial goal of Dive Guardians was to strictly use Scuba Diving to help first responders reduce the symptoms of anxiety and PTS. However, over time they have added several other programs to include counseling services, HRV Biofeedback and mild Hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  Dive Guardians added these programs for a couple reasons: the first was COVID-19. Because of this pandemic, pools and other amenities needed to run their classes were closed preventing them from helping the community’s first responders. Adding services was the perfect way to continue helping amid the pandemic. The second reason for expanding their services was that Scuba Diving isn’t for everyone. The additional services provides their applicants with more tools to help them.

For the month of July 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Dive Guardians for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Happiness is… Referral Rewards Program HERE…

We asked Dive Guardians President and Founder, Randy Lung about the non-profit:

Stromsoe Insurance Agency: What does your non-profit offer to the community? Who benefits from your non-profit?

Dive Guardians: Dive Guardians works out of Temecula. When we plan fundraisers or events, it is usually in the community. Additionally, many first responders live and work in the community. By us helping the first responders, it benefits, not only the first responder, but also the community as are participants are better and more well-adjusted after going through our program.

SIA: What is the Buddy Program?

DG: The buddy program is strictly for the non first responder going through with a first responder. If a First responder is going through and say they want their wife/husband/kid or whoever to be their buddy, but that buddy is NOT a first responder, then there is a cost of $277 for that non-first responder. No real profit to Dive Guardians, that really just covers the cost of the class. I hope eventually that we can afford to put the buddies through also at no cost, but, financially, we are just not big enough yet.  If two people want to go through together as buddies for each other and they are both first responders, then yes it is free to both of them.

SIA: Who do you consider “first responders?”

DG: Our definition of a first responder is big. It includes, Cops, Firefighters,  EMT/Paramedics, Dispatchers, Doctors, Nurses, Veterans and Active Military. The ones I listed here are the primary and most consistent people we help. Basically, if you have a job that helps people and you also see and experience traumatic stuff, you would probably fit into our definition of a first responder, however,  aside from the ones listed anything new would be a case by case evaluation.

SIA: What are some of the misconceptions you find people have for what your non-profit does/doesn’t do?

DG: People ask me every day, why is your program free to First Responders, don’t they make enough money?  True, for some, but First responders also suffer from what I call “The John Wayne Syndrome,” Which means: “We are the Protectors, we are the people who are not supposed to hurt, feel pain, or be affected by the things we see and experience!”

Based on this way of thinking, Many First responders are not open to traditional counseling where they have to “talk about their feelings” plus if you’re not going to get your butt off the couch to decompress or ask for help, it really doesn’t matter how much money you do or do not have. Our program is free, it’s fun, and it gets them off the couch and doing something.

Plus, don’t you think our First Responders deserve at least the same level of care as our war heroes and veterans?  They selflessly are out there day after day, year after year for 20-30 years, and they develop PTS and have physical injuries just like our veterans.

Upcoming Events

While fundraisers may be paused, there are still several classes upcoming. Visit their website to apply.

If you would like to help support Dive Guardians, please engage with them via Facebook and Instagram. For additional information, check their website.

All the services provided by Dive Guardians to First Responders are free to them, however, it does costs the non-profit money. The best way to support Dive Guardians is by signing up for a recurring monthly donation. You can support Randy Lung in his efforts to heal Frist Responders through SCUBA by donating as low as $7 a month on their website.

If you would like to volunteer with Dive Guardians, you can find the volunteer form on their website.

When asked if there was anything else he would like us to share about Dive Guardians, Randy Lung had this to say:

In closing, I miss Rick a lot, I think about him every day and I don’t want to ever feel again that I missed an opportunity to help stop someone like Rick, from committing suicide.

I know our program works not only from my personal experience, but there have been studies to prove and 80% reduction in PTSD symptoms after Scuba Diving.

For the month of July 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Dive Guardians for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Happiness is… Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize the Menifee Valley Community Cupboard!

The Menifee Valley Community Cupboard (MVCupboard) grew out of a series of community meetings held by the county supervisor. They identified the need for food assistance to low income seniors and the children of the working poor who had limited access to food when school was out. The goals of this organization have always been to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in the community, and they have done that over the years.

MV Cupboard offers emergency food in the way of groceries, offered at no cost. Anyone who is experiencing food insecurity due to income or crisis may be eligible for this support. MVCupboard is not a soup kitchen nor a meals on wheels, but they do however deliver groceries to the home bound.

After an initial surge due to COVID, it was back to business as usual and the generosity of the community has allowed MVCupboard to meet demand without a reduction in the amount of food that they provide. They have transitioned to appointments and drive-thru distributions to protect clients, volunteers and staff.

For the month of June 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Menifee Valley Community Cupboard, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

 

MVCupboard is hoping to hold their annual fundraiser “Celebrity Karaoke” on June 11, 2021 so long as retractions allow. You can visit their website to watch for announcements.

We asked Executive Director, Dawn Smith, what we can all do to support the non-profit, Menifee Valley Community Cupboard. Here was her answer:

Financial assistance is always welcome. We accept food donations as well as gently used saleable goods for our Thrift Shop which is our single largest source of funding.

Volunteer applications are welcome, shifts fill up quickly at both the Food Pantry and Thrift Shop so applications are kept on file until openings are available.

We accept applications on an ongoing basis to fill volunteer shifts when they become available. Anyone interested can go to our website www.mvcupboard.org or email us at endhunger@mvcupboard.org

The public may reach us at 951-301-4414 for any questions about applying for assistance or making donations. We are grateful for the support of our community that has allowed us to continue to serve those in need for 24 years.

If you would like to help support Assistance League of Temecula Valley, please engage with them via Facebook.

For the month of June 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Menifee Valley Community Cupboard for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize the Rose Again Foundation!

Rose Again was founded in May of 2013 by high school senior Natalie Shadle Dixon following her volunteer work at a orphanage in Guatemala. Natalie wanted to find a way to provide for the needs of foster children who did not have the blessing of parents, a good education, and basic needs. She put together a Board of Directors who met with local foster parents, social workers, city officials, and emancipated foster youth to learn of the needs that would benefit foster children the most, and otherwise not being met.

The initial goals were to provide needs that improve the health, wellness, and education of foster children in the community. Programs and services were developed after much research. Additional programs have been added due to critical needs that were recognized over the years and especially during COVID-19.

We asked Rose Again Foundation Program Administrator, Maria Baldovinos, what the non-profit offers and who can benefit from their programs, and here is what she had to say:

RAF provides the following programs to Emergency/New placement foster children who arrive most often with little to nothing but the clothes on their backs. These children often arrive traumatized, severely neglected, and abused. They struggle daily with their circumstance and the loss and separation from family. Programs provided are:
1) Emergency / New gifting
2) Tutor Me program
3) Kids Soar – Extra curricular activities
4) Good Start Breakfast program
5) Financial aid for Emergency or special needs
6) Bless the children – Gifting program

The above services are provided to: foster infants, children, teens and emancipated youth.

CEO Rhonda Reinke comes with years of experience in volunteering with local non-profits. She has been a full-time volunteer CEO since her granddaughter Natalie founded the non profit. Rhonda and Maria both work out of their home office to save the expense of a store front and all the expenses that go along with that. This allows for more money to be available to serve the children in need. The Board of Directors is a working Board and have helped to provide services to over 1,000 foster children in their community. With the support of the cities, local businesses and community members together they are changing lives for foster children living in the community.

For the month of May 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to the Rose Again Foundation, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

 

Many have the misconception that a foster family’s expenses for taking in foster children are completely covered and may even give them extra money for their own use. This is not the case. Many foster parents spend a great deal of time and money meeting the needs of these children day and night, helping them through their trauma, lack of education, and driving them to many required appointments and visitations. Rose Again Foundation provides services to the children which helps foster parents accepting foster children into their home. This also gives siblings a chance of staying together in a single foster home.

A misconception of the non-profit as a whole is that Rose Again Foundation is a placement agency for foster children. RAF is not a placement agency but rather a support resource for the families who open their heart and home to these children in great need.

Baldovinos gave us some insight into the affects of COVID on the non-profit and the children they support:

With COVID restrictions all the annual fundraisers were cancelled. This change the way on how we fundraise with the goal of continuing to provide our critical and healing services to the foster children living in our community.

In addition, foster families who were struggling with the loss of income reached out to us for additional help so they would be able to keep the children in their home. In addition, some foster families that they were able to take another foster child or siblings because of the help they received from Rose Again Foundation. We began providing food, basic needs and in home tutoring. Due to the pandemic we continue providing all of those services in addition to our regular services. At this time because the need still exists for many of our families.

News have stated since COVID many foster children are lonely due to not being able to visit siblings and parents in person. Social workers are having a difficult time placing foster children in homes due to foster parents being afraid of taking in these children with concerns of COVID risks. The pandemic has made being in foster care much more challenging.

If you would like to help support the Rose Again Foundation, please engage with them via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Rose Again Foundation is excited to share that they are celebrating their eight year anniversary this May 2021! They have served over 1,000 local foster infants, children, teens and emancipated youth since the non-profit’s founding in May of 2013. They are celebrating their anniversary through a campaign to the community asking for monthly donations of $8 which will allow them to continue providing services to “their” kids and to be prepared to serve the large increase of foster children that they are anticipating to come once schools open up and that teachers and staff recognize abuse and severe neglect. These are the children that have been suffering over the past year during the pandemic in their home.

Emergency placement children arrive with a few hours notice and with little to nothing but the clothes on their backs. It is important that Rose Again Foundation is able to immediately respond to children’s needs including:

• New clothes
• Shoes
• Hygiene items
• Basic needs
• Special needs

Monthly donors allow Rose Again to respond immediately to the children’s needs. This sometimes includes a bed for a child, a mattress, crib, car seat, high chair, owlet socket for a heart monitor for drug addicted babies suffering withdrawals, and other special needs.

For the month of May 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to the Rose Again Foundation, for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize the Murrieta Valley Historical Society (MVHS)!

The Murrieta Valley Historical Society was formed in 2016 by a small group of residents who had a long-time interest in local history. For years, they had lobbied the city to recognize and preserve elements of Murrieta’s historic past and to create a Murrieta museum. While the city developed a long-term plan for a history park, it had no funds available to develop the park and build and operate a museum. With historical aspects disappearing as development continued to grow in the area, the residents decided to formally organize and to request use of a city-owned historic structure as an interim museum.

Initially, MVHS’ goals were to preserve and educate, bringing attention to the community’s historic features, seek to preserve them, and to create a place where assets could be collected, preserved and viewed.

MVHS primarily offers a connection to the area’s past. They were successful in gaining collaboration with the city to do achieve their goals. The city leased the small, almost 100-year-old “Hunt House” that sits between the city’s community center and a Little League baseball field that the society then developed into Murrieta’s first museum, which opened in 2019. This is an educational resource for all to use. Managed, funded and staffed entirely by volunteers, the museum was open one day a week for visits and on special occasions for tours, chiefly by third graders who are studying local history. The society developed a curriculum for use by local teachers.

For the month of April 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Murrieta Valley Historical Society for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

The virus has substantially affected the society by forcing them to close the museum for the time being, restricting the public education it provides, and has caused a community program series to be suspended. Since third graders can’t currently visit the museum, they are working to transform the museum into a virtual visit. Eventually, that video will also be available on their website for viewing by anyone.

Murrieta Valley Historical Society is a membership society that relies solely on memberships, donations and grants to survive. Modestly-priced memberships can be acquired online, and donations are always appreciated. They also welcome volunteers to help run the museum and aid in fundraising efforts.

To get in contact with MVHS, send them an email, give them a call at (951)387-4862 or write them: Murrieta Valley Historical Society; P.O. Box 1341; Murrieta, CA 92564

To reach the Museum Director for information, or to make an appointment for a group tour, call Annette Jennings at (951)757-4123

If you would like to help support the Murrieta Valley Historical Society, please engage with them on Facebook or Instagram.

For the month of April 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Murrieta Valley Historical Society for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize the Assistance League of Temecula Valley!

Assistance League of Temecula Valley is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that transforms lives and strengthens our communities through philanthropic programs in Southwest Riverside County.  They run through the strength and support of approximately 200 volunteers! The initial goal of ALTV was to provide local assistance to children and families living in poverty. Although the core goal has remained consistent over their more than 30 years of service, the organization continually works with community partners to determine the needs of the community and to adjust and broaden their service goals as necessary. Adjusting to the impact of COVID-19 on local disadvantaged families has resulted in creative solutions needed to provide substantial services to recipients.

COVID has not only affected their fundraising ability but has also changed how they deliver services. The ALTV Thrift Shop is their main fundraiser, but due to COVID they were required to close the for several months. The shop has now reopened, but on a very limited basis. ALTV continues to develop alternative methods of delivering services after the closure of schools.

Yet another way that ALTV is cultivating change in communities is with their support of a teen auxiliary, Assisteens! With more than 50 members, the Assisteens provides volunteer opportunities for youth in grades 7 through 12. They learn to develop a sense of community and personal responsibility, as well as self reliance, poise, public speaking and leadership skills.

For the month of March 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Assistance League of Temecula Valley for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

 

The ALTV non-profit provides a variety of services through philanthropic programs to disadvantaged children and families in the communities of Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Romoland in Southwest Riverside County.

• New school clothing and shoes are provided to qualified students in five school districts and at Camp Pendleton
• One weeks provisional supplies are provided to foster youth that are entering the social system
• Graduation assistance is provided to homeless and foster youth
• Teddy bears are provided to local hospitals for children in trauma
• Financial literacy classes are provided to at-risk high school students
• Through partnerships with other nonprofits ALTV provides assistance with services that they do not have a program for
• ALTV meeting room is provided free to other community nonprofits for meetings and events

ALTV’s main philanthropic program is Operation School Bell, a signature program that provides new school clothing and shoes to students living in poverty. Because ALTV is strongly identified with this program, it comes as a surprise to many that they have a multitude of programs supporting their local community!

Donations are always welcome and will support their efforts to support disadvantaged children and families in Southwest Riverside. There are many ways that you can support ALTV in their mission: (1) shop at the ALTV Thrift Shop at 28720 via Montezuma, Temecula 92590 Wednesday-Saturday, 1:00-4:00PM, (2) donate gently used items to the Thrift Shop during business hours, (3) donate through their website, or on their social media platforms! All funds are used for programs serving the local communities. For more information you can also visit their website.

Assistance League currently has a face mask distribution for their thrift shop customers, due to generous donations by Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Temecula Rotary. Each customer receives a package of 5 face masks at check out! The campaign is, “For those you love”, WEAR A MASK!

If you would like to help support Assistance League of Temecula Valley, please engage with them using the following:

• Facebook
• Instagram

For the month of March 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Assistance League of Temecula Valley for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize Tiffany’s Gift!

Two lives were tragically taken in July of 2008 at the hands of a drunk boater. One of those lives was 14 year old Tiffany Amber Breslin who was struck by a boat while sitting on the Breslin family sea-doo. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and passed a day later. The non-profit, Tiffany’s Gift, was started in honor of Tiffany Breslin to raise awareness of drunk driving anywhere.

One of the ways that Tiffany’s Gift is making a difference in the community is by working with the local Police and the Sheriff’s Department to run the Every 15 Minutes program in local schools. They have run this program in Murrieta, Temecula, Oceanview, Corona and Fontana schools, to name a few.

The Every 15 Minutes program is a two-day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors, which challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, their community, and many others. (California Highway Patrol)

With the added restrictions during COVID and the schools being taught virtually, Tiffany’s gift has had to pause their efforts to educate youth through the Every 15 Minutes program. COVID has also made fundraising extremely difficult. That is not enough to keep them down, their year was still full of great accomplishments.

For the month of February 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Tiffany’s Gift for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

 

Work done on the public service video, “Nothing is That Important” brought on a nomination by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter for a regional Emmy Award! This PSA was produced by Endeavor Production Group in partnership with Tiffany’s Gift, highlighting the tough decisions children face when their parents drink and get behind the wheel.

The video depicts a short interaction between father and son played by Robert Rankin Walker and Murrieta Valley High School graduate Nick Delzompo. The son questions the father’s ability to drive while both contemplate the potential disaster. (Endeavor Production Group)

Donations are always welcome and will support their efforts to raise awareness about the effect of driving drunk anywhere. While Tiffany’s Gift greatly appreciates monetary donations, you can also support them by spreading the message. If you would like to get in contact to find out more about how you can get involved and support their efforts, email tgtiffanysgift@gmail.com or call (951) 609-4237. For more information you can also visit their website.

If you would like to help support Tiffany’s Gift, please engage with them using the following:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

For the month of February 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Tiffany’s Gift for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2021 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize Project 99–Play for Life, Inc.!

Project 99 was founded after the suicide of Diego Villarreal, a 16-year-old student athlete at Murrieta Valley High School, in August 2015. The Project 99 team works diligently to ensure that the topic of suicide is addressed and that youth in the community know they can reach out for help.

Project 99’s mission is to educate teens and the community about the negative consequences of suicide and to show students how one choice can devastate an entire community. Our panel of speakers discusses the topics of how suicide directly affects one’s family and community, resources available to those affected, other ways of coping and releasing negative emotions, and reassures students that they are not alone in their time of distress.

Although COVID gave Project 99 an initial pause, they no longer had direct access to the students and many of the board members being school district employees that had to focus on the many changes in schooling back in March. The summer allowed them to find their footing and they are now getting ready to train as many adults in the community as they can for the coming 2020-21 school year.

For the month of January 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Project 99 for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2020 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Donations are always welcome and will support their efforts to train others and to share resources like the suicide prevention phone numbers. While Project 99 greatly appreciates monetary donations, you can also support them by spreading the message. They know that suicide is not a comfortable subject for most people, but you never expect to need these tools…until you do. If you know of a company or organization that could benefit from the training to become Suicide Gatekeepers, please reach out to the Project 99 team at project99org@gmail.com or by calling (951)704-8622. For more information you can visit their website.

If you would like to help support Project 99–Play for Life, Inc., please engage with them using the following:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

For the month of January 2021 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $21 to Project 99 for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2020 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!

Our community is full of incredible people and organizations, out making a difference for others! In this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight we’d like to recognize JDS Creative Academy (JDSCA)!

JDSCA was founded by Scott and Diane Strand, the owners of JDS Video & Media Productions and JDS Actors Studio. In it infancy, the acting classes had such an incredible response that they decided to start the non-profit JDS Creative Academy. From industry professionals to community leaders, the board oversees the running of a Title-17 program that provides professional, hands-on job-training skills to adults with autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and other intellectual developmental special needs.

Throughout COVID closures they have had to adapt every aspect of their programs. For example, their 3-day Digifest event has now become an 8 hour, live streamed production! While the format may have changed, they are still able to provide their job-training program to their Inland Regional participants as well as students in their visual, performing and digital-arts classes.

For the month of December 2020 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $20 to JDS Creative Academy for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2020 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

JDSCA and their Spirit of Innovation team were awarded 6 Telly Awards. The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, production companies and includes executives from Dow Jones, Duplass Brothers Productions, Complex Networks, A&E Networks, Hearst Media, ESPN Films, RYOT, Vice+ and Vimeo.

The SOI Update and JDS Creative Academy Student PSA-Seat Belt Safety won for Diversity and Inclusion. The Spotlight on Foodie Destinations, Voice of Innovation on Riverside County Jobs Outlook & A.I., as well as the Impact Story on Learning Disability Month and Notable Women of Temecula won for News and News Feature.

JDS Creative Academy has their hands in a wide array of training and classes within the fields of Fashion Design, Acting, Backstage Production, Scriptwriting and Photography. The non-profit holds classes, workshops, and camps, all in addition to a job-training program for adults with disabilities. When asked about misunderstanding that JDSCA often finds people have about their organization, they had this to say:

The biggest misconception of the program is that we only host the job-training program. Also, many people think we are an intermediate school. Yes, we are an academy for performing and digital arts, but we don’t teach the A-G academics. We want the community to know we do and we teach. As a hands-on creative academy, we advance career pathways for all individuals in the visual, performing and digital arts, while providing resources for the community, a progressive art culture, inclusiveness, and need-to-know and good-to-know news and information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Each month, JDS Creative Academy broadcasts a live magazine-style news program, Spirit of Innovation. You can watch their episode from October 29, 2020 below, or subscribe to @SOI_News on YouTube to be kept up-to-date. In the new year they will be launching their spring semester of visual, performing and digital arts classes as well as opening for submissions to their 5th annual Digifest competition.

While JDS Creative Academy does accept monetary donations, you can support them by simply following their social media channels and engaging with their posts and videos by liking, sharing and commenting! Have you worked with JDSCA? Leave them a Google review!

If you would like to help support JDS Creative Academy, please engage with them using the following:

• #JDSFamily
• JDSCreativeAcademy.org
• SpiritofInnovation.org
• DigiFestTemecula.org
• JDSStudio.Live
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

For the month of December 2020 Stromsoe Insurance will donate $20 to JDS Creative Academy for every referral that comes to our team!

Learn More about The 2020 Vision Referral Rewards Program HERE…

Would you like to learn more about how we can help protect your non-profit , call your Stromsoe Insurance Total Protection Team at (951) 600-5751 or email insure@siaonline.com today!