LA CASA DE SAN COMMUNITY CENTER Winter 2013

with a joyous party for the preschoolers, their siblings, We thank each of you parents and grandparents. Tacos were enjoyed by by Cheryl Prentice everyone with Rotarians serving and busing the tables. s La Casa celebrated the 2012 holiday season, DJ, Jose Antonio Lopez, kept the children entertained A our extended family of donors gave generously, cre- until (Luis Rivera) arrived with the . ating a memorable Thanksgiving for close to 200 families The donors included theSan Gabriel Country and a blessed and joyous for many more. We Club, the San Gabriel Rotary Club, the San Gabriel thank each of you for the love, support, effort and dedi- Coordinating Council, Santa Monica Presbyterian cation that made these holidays so special. Your kindness Church, San Marino Community Church, the and understanding make La Casa what it is – a place to Congregational Church of San Marino, Kaiser gather as a family. Permanente employees, Wells Fargo employees, Bank of America employees, Alhambra Democratic Club, One hesitates to name names for fear of leaving someone Dreamweavers Association, American Association out. Please let us know if we somehow missed you as we of University Women, the Woodworkers of Whittier wish to acknowledge those who help sustain us. (WOW) • Groups and individuals “adopted” families so that • Pacific Crossroads Church hosted a gathering with much needed groceries and household items as well as refreshments, photos of each family attending, an op- toys for the children were distributed to the neediest portunity for written prayer requests and food boxes. in the community. San Marino Community Church It was a wonderful way to start the season. led the way with their nursery school also adopting • Thanksgiving turkeys were donated by The Golden families. Others were adopted by individual families State Water Company, and through Assemblymem- wishing to share their own good fortune. Often these ber Mike Eng, State Senator Ed Hernandez and State donations included wrapping paper and ribbon so that Senator Carol Liu. Thanksgiving dinners were do- parents could wrap gifts. Most of our families told us nated by Westminster Presby- that these would be the only gifts terian Church of Temple City their children would receive. and Native Sons of the Golden • Board members added West. The Alhambra/San their own gifts andDennis Gabriel Elks brought canned Chiappetta of Athens Services goods for La Casa to their own sent us a huge box of See’s Candy. Thanksgiving party. Several of the kitchen volun- • Christmas festivities included a teers had never tasted See’s! As lovely party for the preschool- staff members, our lives move ers where warm blankets were between our own concerns and given by the San Gabriel families and those of the families Taiwanese Lions Club. The we serve. Often we marvel at the children created ornaments simplest of differences that define for the Lions Club members us, including See’s Candy. and enjoyed photos and an exchange of greetings. We thank you all most sincerely • The San Marino Rotary Club, for the generous and diverse once again, outdid themselves Santa Claus (Board Member Luis Rivera) contributions to La Casa and to arrived with gifts. Photo by Scott Hu our families.

La Casa Community Center|203 E. Mission Road, San Gabriel 91776 626.286.2144 passionate about La Casa and enthusiastically pursu- Bright Future Ahead ing new ideas to support the needs of the families in by Greg Forgatch, Board Chair our community. an exciting time for La Casa. We are thrilled to have a new class of four year old preschoolers La Casa is benefiting from new donors, including Wattending three days a week. We were able to begin Landwin Management, Walsh Construction, WalMart, that class with the addition of our returning teacher Perlman Foundation, Bank of the West, LA County Dolores Carranza. Board of Supervisors, PEO Chapter DG, and Coolidge Elementary School Students through a thoughtful After spring break, we will add a new class of 3 year fund raiser. This is an exciting time to be involved olds that will meet twice a week and bring our weekly with La Casa. We hope you’ll find a way that’s right for total of preschool students to 72. Our Director of you to get involved too. Preschool, Brenda Rincon, continues to do a fabulous job for La Casa.

These past few months we have added some wonder- ful new board members. Florence Simpson, whose daughters attended La Casa preschool, is heading up our Communications Committee and leading the redevelopment of our website. Another new board member Mitch Lehman, is partnering with Florence on communications as he’s a pro, given his journal- ism experience. Luis Rivera lives in San Gabriel with his wife and two young kids and is adding valuable guidance and creativity to the Development Com- mittee as we work to expand our ability to raise funds for La Casa. Many in the community know Luis as “Coach Rivera” for his work with AYSO soccer and Little League Baseball. Gabriel Gomez grew up in the neighborhood and knows how much La Casa does for this community. Gabriel has willingly taken on supporting facility projects at La Casa. Our board is Photo by Brenda Rincon Happy Smiles by Marilyn De La Torre, Program Chair r. Jason Gee, a local dentist and member of the San Gabriel Presbyterian Church, recently provided a dental screen- Ding for all of La Casa’s preschoolers. Each of the children were examined and given lessons on flossing and brush- ing. The importance of healthy foods and exercise was stressed as part of total health. Volunteers, from the church, helped to make the process fun and relaxing for the children. A toothbrush and toothpaste were provided for each child. Dr. Gee and volunteers have been providing this service to the preschoolers for 3 years. Parents appreciate the screen- ing and follow up recommendations are provided, so that the risk for cavities is decreased. Thank you Dr. Gee and volunteers!

Photos by Mike Kwok

La Casa Community Center|203 E. Mission Road, San Gabriel 91776 626.286.2144 Culture at La Casa allet Folklorico Sol de Fuego was started in 1995 by Anamaria and Serafin Chavelas and their friend Ricardo BPalomino. The group is composed of 15 dancers of all ages with the youngest starting at 3. Currently there are fifteen dancers who practice at La Casa and call it their second home. The group performs at all types of events from community events, fundraisers such as the San Gabriel Fiesta, collaborative workshops such as Danzantes Unidos, and private parties. In order to learn and perform a variety of dances the group practices at La Casa on Wednesday nights, Friday nights and Saturdays. It is a great way to encourage our youth to learn more about their culture and get a great workout too!

Ballet Folklorico Sol de Fuego performing at La Casa. Photo by Susy Mora

New Class Offers Needed 15 students from Arroyo Pacific Academy in Resource for Parents Arcadia came to volunteer on February 25th. a Casa is fortunate to add a new program for parents They read to the preschool students, did a Land parents to be. Our Infant Stimulation & Child De- craft and overall created a great day velopment class is taught by Leticia Castaneda BSN, RNC, for our students and staff. PHN. Leticia is a graduate of the UCLA School of Nursing Thank you Arroyo Pacific Academy! and has worked in county facilities serving our communi- ties. She is currently a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse at Glendale Memorial hospital.

The first class in October had over 20 participants including two fathers. With each class, parents learn about the devel- opment of their child’s from conception through preschool years. They are taught key developmental milestones, how to assess their child progress and how to help ensure that their child thrives.

Topics include: • Fetal development and prenatal care • Brain development in utero and creating a healthy environment • Newborn care and developmental milestones • Creating nurturing and stimulating environments in Photo by Chavelas everyday life

La Casa Community Center|203 E. Mission Road, San Gabriel 91776 626.286.2144 Winter 2013

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION STANDARD -U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN GABRIEL, CA 91776

Come Visit Us

Would you like to see our pre-school classrooms and observe our amazing bilingual teachers prepare our stu- dents for Kindergarten? Would you like a tour of our garden where the students help grow vegetables they eat for lunch? Come and see our Food Pantry and clothing donations that help support our families and commu- nity. Most importantly, come and meet our family, our friendly and dedicated staff and volunteers.

La Casa es Su Casa - come and visit, we love expanding our family!

To arrange a tour, please call us at (626) 286-2144 Volunteers from San Gabriel Presbyterian Church assist children at dental screening. Photo by Mike Kwok

La Casa Community Center|203 E. Mission Road, San Gabriel 91776 626.286.2144