Skateboarder and Pocket resident Eustaquio Lafranco.

Pocket residents Demetrius Williams and Eustaquio Lafranco both love to skateboard.

Williams, who has been skating for five years, enjoys the freedom skateboarding gives him. “With this you’re not really required to do anything – you’re required to go out there and have fun, learn as much as you want or as little as you want,” he says.

And Lafranco, who has been skateboarding for the last 10 years, says the skateboard population in the area is steadily growing and although there is now a skate park at Reichmuth Park in South Land Park, it would be beneficial to have more skate parks as an interest in skateboarding continues to grow.

Now with the help of the City of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), Freeport Renovation on the Move (FROM) and other community members are coming together to give skateboarders like Lafranco and Williams another skate park at Argonaut Park in Freeport Manor.

Getting Support

During their initial work on trying to get a local skate park built, the teens were meeting at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, where they met Kathi Windheim, president of the Friends of the Pocket-Greenhaven Library. She suggested Argonaut Park as a possible location as it was adjacent to New Technology High School and she knew the school had a group of skateboarders.

Windheim contacted New Tech’s Principal Paula Hanzel, who supported the project. “We’re in a neighborhood where kids need stuff to do, and they need the right stuff to do,” she explains. “And the more we can put in that park for not only my kids, but all the kids in the neighborhood to do, the better off we are.”

Next on board was Darrel Woo, second vice president for SCUSD Board of Education representing District 6, who believes the skate park will be a nice compliment to the workout stations that were put into Argonaut Park a few years ago.

Also on board is Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer representing District 5. “I think anything that we can do to provide positive outlets for young people and safe places for them to be when they’re not in school is a good thing,” Schenirer says of why he supports the project.

And the group received support the of FROM, which according to President Barbara Moore works to provide a healthy way of life for children and teens in the Freeport Manor, South Land Park and Pocket areas. “It’s a need and we have so many kids that like to skate,” she explains. “There’s not (a skate park) that close, so we decided let’s put a skate park over here – we have the space and it would be a great thing.”

Skateboarder and Pocket resident Demetrius Williams. // Photos courtesy of Eustaquio Lafranco

Plan in Action

Now with support in place, plans could start for the Argonaut Park skate park.

According to Windheim, as another skate park is being built at McClatchy Park in the Oak Park area, they asked Schenirer if they could be part of the design process for McClatchy so they could design both at the same time to save money, and he agreed.

On March 5, Windheim says a meeting was held at the Evelyn Moore Community Center to begin planning the design of both skate parks. The meeting was lead by Aaron Spohn from Spohn Ranch Skate Parks in Los Angeles, who Windheim says will be designing both parks.

Dennis Day, landscape architect for the City of Sacramento, says Spohn discussed with those at the meeting what was possible for the skate parks. “He led them – there were some adults there as well as high school students – on what they would like to see in their ideal skate park,” he explains. “They got to design and move around templates of skate elements.”

Community skateboarders, including Lafranco and Williams, attended the meeting to give their input on what they would like to see in the skate parks. “He pretty much gave us a piece of paper and a layout of other parks he’d did that were similar, and just said put the pieces where you want them and that’s what we did,” Williams says.

Hanzel says letting the neighborhood kids help design the Argonaut Park skate park is huge. “You want to teach kids to be civically responsible and civically involved, and the sooner you get them involved and have that be a positive experience, the more likely to have that continued throughout their adult life,” she explains. “When you empower, you create positive people and positive people move things.”

Multi-Use Design

Although a design for the McClatchy Park skate park has reportedly been finalized, the design for the Argonaut Park skate park is still in the works.

According to Woo, the concept for Argonaut Park is still conceptual, but they are looking at a design that would create a “low-level stage amphitheater that the kids can skate around” with a pathway around the perimeter. This way, he says the skate park could serve multiple purposes as it could also be used as a stage area for New Tech. “It looks like a plan that will harmonize with the existing facility without taking away the other purposes of the facility,” he adds.

Hanzel says right now New Tech does not have a room where she can fit all of her 300 students at the same time. ” It would be great to have an outdoor space where we could all gather and engage in the things that we now have to do twice,” she says.

And Windheim says they are considering some skateboard-specific elements for the park, such as a stair set with rail and “hubba bank,” a roller, “curved taco” and flat ledge. She says the Argonaut Park skate park will be roughly 5,000 square feet. “We will be smaller than McClatchy Park (skate park), but with many of the same great elements and a different layout,” she adds.

Finding Funds

Although plans for the design are in motion, much is still needed to be done in terms of fund raising to build the skate park.

Windheim estimates the Argonaut Park skate park will cost around $120,000 to complete.

According to J.P. Tindell, manager of park planning and development for the City of Sacramento Parks & Recreation Department, the City has set aside $20,000 of Park Impact Fees as “seed funding” for the Argonaut Park skate park

Windheim says they are now in fund raising mode for the rest of what they need. “We’re trying to raise the rest of this money through grants, fundraisers, (and) different community support,” she adds.

In regards to fundraisers, they recently held a rummage sale in Belle Cooledge Park, and are now planning an event at Argonaut Park on Saturday, June 8 from 1-5pm that will feature a jazz band, food, prize drawings and a skateboarding demonstration. Windheim says the event will be funded through an $815 community grant they received from Schenirer’s office.

And they will be launching an online fundraiser where community members can vote for the best skateboarding trick videos on votdo.com. Windheim says from May 15-30 skateboarders can upload their videos to the site. Then visitors to the site can vote for $1 per vote from June 1-30. The most votes in each category, Windheim says, will win skateboarding gear donated by Spohn and Spohn Ranch Skate Parks.

Something Positive

Williams says he is going to be “pretty proud” once the Argonaut Skate Park is built as he will know he had a hand in helping make it happen. He also feels the additional skate parks will help people improve and build a love for skateboarding. “It’s going to be bring a lot more people out there to try to skateboard because every time there is a park, there’s people that see the park and say I want to try and they get out there.”

Moore also believes the new skate park will get more kids interested in skateboarding. “I think it’s going to revitalize the youth out there and make really something positive to bring to them because they need some positive reinforcement in the neighborhood,” she adds.

Lafranco believes the new skate parks may even bring new businesses to the area. He says right now skateboarders in the area have to travel to Elk Grove, Natomas, or downtown for skateboarding supplies. “With all these new skate parks emerging, … it could bring in a new business opportunities for skate shops,” he says.

Donations for the Argonaut Skate Park can be made out to “FROM” and mailed to Barbara Moore, 6013 McLaren Ave., Sacramento 95822. For more information on the Argonaut Skate Park, call Kathi at 392-0101 or e-mail Rosio Ruano in Councilmember Jay Schenirer’s office rruano@cityofsacramento.org.

Argonaut Park is located on Kitchner Road near Freeport Boulevard.

TEAM (Teaching Everyone Animals Matter), the nonprofit affiliate of the Sacramento County Animal Shelter, is raising funds to help cover the costs of an expensive surgery needed to give Pablo the Pinto horse a chance at finding his “forever home.”

Pablo arrived at the Sacramento County Animal Shelter on Bradshaw Road in mid-February. He was seized by Animal Care and Regulation officers, along with several other horses (including a very pregnant mare), because of severe malnutrition and neglect.

With lots of good food and attention, Pablo began to flourish at the shelter. But soon after his arrival, an equine veterinary exam revealed that Pablo was suffering from a relatively rare medical condition that would require extensive urogenital surgery. Without the surgery, his adoption and health prospects would be slim.

Pablo’s surgery on March 13 at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine was successful, but  some post-operative concerns required a longer stay for him at UC Davis, ultimately resulting in a substantially larger vet bill for the county shelter. TEAM’s Special Medical Needs Fund has helped defray some of the expenses relating to Pablo’s surgery, but additional funds are still needed .

Community donations are now being sought to help pay for Pablo’s remaining medical costs.
Anyone wishing to help can donate at  http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/pablo-s-journey/50082.

For more information about TEAM and Pablo, call 916-876-7387 (PETS) or visit http://www.sacanimalshelter.org.

TEAM (Teaching Everyone Animals Matter) is the nonprofit support group for the Sacramento County Department of Animal Care and Regulation. TEAM assists the shelter with fundraising and community education, makes spay/neuter services available to the pets of low-income residents, and funds specialized veterinary care for shelter animals in need. For more information, visit  www.sacanimalshelter.org.

On Saturday March 9, 30-40 women gathered together with laughs and tears to celebrate International Women’s Day with named 2nd CWBA International Women’s Day Health Tea. It’s co-sponsored by Shine Wellness Inc, Hmong Women’s Heritage Association and My Sister’s House. It featured speakers from western medicine on breast cancer and eastern medicine on hormone balance. Seven women panelists shared personal stories and insights on volunteering, life stages, marriage, children, honoring parents and self wellness.  It was highlighted by Zumba dance led by Pamela Wong, and Sign Language song “ The World is Filled with Love”.  Main sponsor Shine Wellness Inc. promotes healthy communities without borders through community collaboration.

Evette Tsang, CEO Shine Wellness Inc; Owner of Evette Tsang Insurance
Tian Wu, COO Shine Wellness Inc; Acupuncturist
Dorcas Yee, Nu Skin Distributor
Rungfong Hsu, Mortgage Broker
Clara Yang, Estate Planning & Elder Law attorney

The Bret Harte community breathed a sign of relief after Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond announced on Feb. 21 at the dreaded board meeting that their school (along with Susan B. Anthony and James Marshall) would be pulled from his recommended school closure list.

Even though their school was spared from the cut-list, the Bret Harte community stood in solidarity with those families who weren’t so fortunate, saying they would support them because they know how scary it could be to lose a neighborhood school.

During public comment, office manager Jamillah Kirk warned the community that the struggle isn’t over for Bret Harte, as there has been fear that the school may turn into a charter in the future.

Raymond’s decision to pull Bret Harte from the list came after a community meeting there when a concerned parent spoke passionately about how the soon-to-be developed Curtis Park Village is expected to bring new families to the area.

‘Woman of the Year’ nominee Gloria Torres may be considered petite by her friends, but what she lacks in height, she makes up for with her passion to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is recognizing her as the organization’s Woman of the Year on Thursday, Feb. 28.
Torres was born in Truckee and moved to Sacramento as a young adult. She comes from a large family who believed living and working together was a way of life. Torres was forced to face her own battle against leukemia 15 years ago. She was uncertain if she would live long enough to see her children grow up. The survival rate for leukemia at that time was not good.
‘It took my spirit, my soul and my laughter,” says Torres.  “Being able to research the disease and receive support from loved ones helps you through the journey.”
Torres said it is especially hard to watch children go through the battle of disease. Torres believes children have great spirits and research of blood cancers helps improve the quality of life for these children and their families.
“I want to pass the baton,” Torres said. “To embrace our loved ones. A lot of people have been diagnosed with cancer.”
Marilyn Lluch, Torres’ campaign manager, has known Torres about 23 years. They met while volunteering for community events.
“The first day I met Gloria I just connected with her,” Lluch said. “Gloria would do anything for anybody without thinking of herself. She is the epitome of good, the most kindhearted person one could meet.”
Lluch said their goal is to raise $50,000 during the 10-week event, starting with spaghetti feed at the VFW Hall On Stockton Boulevard on March 3, 2012.
Together Lluch and Torres have planned several events to educate the public on blood cancers.
Executive Director for LLS, Robert Ojeda, also met Torres while doing volunteer work. Ojeda thinks it is nice to see someone who has been working on the sidelines, take the spotlight to raise funds for LLS.
“Torres not only understands what it is like to live with a blood cancer, she also understands in order to find a cure we have to raise money for research,” Ojeda said.
Ojeda finds it important for the successful candidate to have a network for support and more importantly, the passion and belief that doing this is something bigger than themselves, it’s about making a difference and Ojeda sees this in Torres.
Torres wants folks to know it is easier to deal with the disease when others are there to help. When Torres first learned she had leukemia, she kept it from her family and friends for three months. Torres admits that was a mistake. It isolates the patient and what is needed is support and friendship.
“It takes courage, commitment, loyalty and respect to survive leukemia,” says Torres. “I would not be here if it were not for the research and new medication that I take every day.”
Torres feels blessed she was able to fund a research under her name last year because of Delbert Stapp, runner up for ‘Man of the Year’ in 2012. Stapp raised over  $72,000 for LLS. The Sacramento organization as a whole raised a total of $360,000.
LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. LLS was founded in 1949 and has invested more than $814 million in research. Last year the Man & Woman events raised over $19 million nationwide.  www.lls.org
A great deal of consideration and care is put into these nominations because it takes a very special person to be a Man & Woman of the Year candidate. The candidates compete in honor of children who are local blood cancer survivors, the Boy & Girl of the Year. Every dollar they raise counts as one vote, and the titles are awarded to the man and woman with the most votes at the end of ten weeks. The local candidates who raise more funds than anyone else in the country also win the national Man & Woman of the Year titles. www.lls.org

The Facts

Approximately every four minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
For 2011, it was estimated there would be approximately 44,600 new cases diagnosed.
In 1977, the survival rate was 34 percent, in 2007 it was 57% and the survival rate is even better today.
Stapp feels right now history is being made. Compared to a five percent survival rate for leukemia in the 1950’s and 1960’s, there is now a 50-60 percent survival rate and a 73 percent survival rate for children.
“Scientists have reengineered the HIV virus to attack cancer cells,” said Stepp.  “There is also a new drug that is in the process of being approved through the FDA that is doubling the amount of people in remission and extending lives. People are living five years longer with this drug.”
For those interested in donations or sponsoring an event for LLS, please see Jennifer Pear, the campaign manager for this year’s event at mwoy.org/sac or email Ms. Pear at Jennifer.pear@lls.org
For information on how to get involved or check out the events for ‘Woman of the Year’ go to:
www.facebook.com/GloriaTorresMwoy2013LeukemiaLymphomaSociety

What has 56,000 legs, over 28,000 smiles and is the biggest “happening” in Sacramento every year?
If you guessed the 19th annual “Run to Feed the Hungry” for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, you guessed correctly.
For nearly two decades, members of the Sacramento community – and their friends and families from around the nation – have gathered to give back. Whether they are elite runners, average joggers or simple walkers, this event is one of the most respected 5K/10K events in the nation.
Held every year on Thanksgiving Day, participants agree: it’s a great way to give back to the community…and burn a few calories before indulging in a piece of pumpkin pie. Last year, 26,825 people participated on the event’s first rainy day. This year, more than 28,000 participants are expected.
“Run to Feed the Hungry is a Sacramento tradition for thousands of local families,” said Kelly Siefkin, communications director for the food bank. “The event offers a 5K and 10K course through the beautiful East Sacramento neighborhood. The Run is owned and operated by Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and raises funds to support six programs.”
Need knows no season…and seems to know every neighborhood. SFBFS serves families in need throughout Sacramento County, including local neighborhoods including Land Park, Arden and Carmichael. Some 20,000 unduplicated men, women and children receive free goods and education through SFBFS programs each month. The food program serves 16,000 unduplicated individuals each month.
The run raised $850,000 for the food bank last year – approximately 20 percent of the organization’s annual budget. Founded by Father Daniel Madigan in the basement of his Oak Park church in 1976, SFBFS runs a very lean, grassroots organization with an incredibly efficient, professional staff of 40 and a volunteer workforce of over 5,000 annually.
The Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) fun begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at approximately 11 a.m. Participants will meet at Sacramento State’s J Street entrance for the start of the run/walk. New exit points from Sac State will improve traffic flow post-race.
Siefkin is excited about a new participant category this year: Virtual Runner.
“Is your spouse dragging you to Iowa for a snow laden Thanksgiving? Do you have 49 relatives descending on your living room around 11 a.m.? Are you more of a napper than a jogger? Then sign up as a virtual participant,” Siefkin said. “Your registration fee supports programs at Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and you’ll still receive your shirt after the event, but you don’t have to run or walk on Thanksgiving morning.”
There is still time to sign up to participate, volunteer or join a team. There is also some new run attire available this year.
“Those who sign up to participate and who make an additional $50 contribution will receive a Run to Feed the Hungry knit beanie this year,” Siefkin said. “Participants are very excited about it – apparently, it’s becoming a hot collectible for those who participate every year.”

Registration for the Run to Feed the Hungry is available online until Nov. 20 at www.runtofeedthehungry.com. Participants can also register via mail until Nov. 10 or at REI from Nov. 17–21. For more information about SFBFS, www.sacramentofoodbank.org.

Ryan and Sean Connolly received top academic honors. / Photos courtesy of the Connolly brothers

Ryan Connolly

The National Society of High School Scholars announced that JFK High School student Ryan J. Connolly has been selected for membership. The society recognizes top scholars and invites only those students who have achieved academic excellence. The announcement was made by NSHSS Founder and Chairman Claes Nobel, a senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes.

“On behalf of NSHSS, I am honored to recognize the hard work, sacrifice and commitment that Ryan has demonstrated to achieve this level of academic excellence,” said Nobel. “Ryan is now a member of a unique community of scholars – a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

“Our vision is to build a dynamic international organization that connects members with meaningful content, resources, and opportunities,” stated NSHSS President James Lewis. “We aim to help students like Ryan build on their academic successes and enhance the skills and desires to have a positive impact on the global community.”

Membership in NSHSS entitles qualified students to enjoy a wide variety of benefits, including scholarship opportunities, academic competitions, free events, member-only resources, publications, participation in programs offered by educational partners, online forums, personalized recognition items and publicity honors.

Ryan and Sean Connolly received top academic honors. / Photos courtesy of the Connolly brothers

Sean Connolly

The Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society has selected Sean Connolly for membership in the local chapter at Barry University. Sean intends to be enthusiastically dedicated to a career in professional sports. He graduated from JFK High School.

Delta Epsilon Iota was established in order to recognize and encourage academic excellence in all fields of study. The organization rewards outstanding students through financial scholarships, provides leadership opportunities to its members and promotes the principles of Dedication, Enthusiasm, and Initiative among students participating in higher education throughout the United States.

Students qualify on the basis of academic achievement. Prospective members must have completed a minimum of 30 semester hours at an accredited college or university, while maintaining a 3.30 cumulative GPA or a scholastic ranking within the top 15 percent of their class.

Jim Ford stands with some of his art pieces during one of his recent shows. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series about Land Park native and Ford’s Real Hamburgers founder Jim Ford.

Jim Ford, founder of the recently closed Ford’s Real Hamburgers at 1948 Sutterville Road, sat down last week to discuss one of the greatest loves of his life – art.
This love of art, Ford explained, began when he was about 5 years old.
“My love of art began when I was attending Crocker Elementary School on Vallejo Way, next to California Junior High School (now California Middle School), which I also attended,” Ford said. “I just gravitated naturally toward art, because I liked it, and I excelled in it, because of the deep interest (in art) I developed.”
Ford, who has spent the majority of his life residing in the Land Park area, said that he was not the first artist in his family.
“My father (John Dewey Ford), who was born in Sacramento on March 12, 1898, was a furniture maker and refinisher for Breuner’s department store and later for Scofield’s (department store),” said Ford, who resides in South Land Park with his wife, Karen DeVoe, who he married in 1993.
While attending California Junior High, Ford, whose childhood home was at 1824 3rd Ave., began taking art and mechanical drafting classes.
He excelled in these subjects through his time as a student at C. K. McClatchy High School and Sacramento City College.
And while attending McClatchy, he was in charge of the school’s advertising committee during his sophomore, junior and senior years.

During the late 1960s, Jim Ford was the artist for posters and handbills for 10 Northern California rock concerts. Shown above is his first artistic rock image for a concert at the Governor’s Hall in Sacramento. Photo by Lance Armstrong

In recalling his involvement in this committee, Ford, who was also president of McClatchy’s Art Club during his senior year in 1962, said, “The committee was my favorite non-class. I got to paint signs and banners and it was just a lot of fun.”
One of Ford’s earliest major artistic achievements occurred while he was attending city college in 1963.
A collage piece that he had created for the school’s color and design class was selected for the inside front and back covers of the school’s 1964 Pioneer yearbook.
Ford spent several years in the 1960s moving back and forth between Sacramento and Aspen, Colo.
During this time in Aspen, Ford, who described himself as having been a “ski bum,” held a variety jobs from a waiter, a busboy and a donut cook to a janitor, a maid and a bellman.
Ford became the city draftsman for the city of Aspen in 1964.
A year later, Ford joined the Air Force Reserve, and after spending six weeks in basic training in San Antonio, he transferred to McClellan Air Force Base to serve his six-month term of active duty.
After this service, Ford returned to his draftsman job in Aspen.
In 1966, he was accepted to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
After spending only a few weeks at this prestigious art college, which was established in 1930 and is now located in Pasadena, Ford returned to Sacramento and enrolled at city college.
Ford said that he dropped out of college in 1967 to pursue an artistic venture.
“I coerced my friends, the Schultze brothers, into promoting a concert with three bands at the Governor’s Hall,” Ford said. “I named it Simultaneous Avalanche of Psychedelic Lights. Featured at the show were the local bands, Parish Hall Blues, Working Class and Free Love, and our light show. We drove a 1956 Dodge Town Wagon with a permanent sun deck onto the wooden floor at Governor’s Hall and then projected wild, colorful, psychedelic lighting on three walls from the sun deck platform.”
To promote this May 12, 1967 show, Ford created artistic advertising posters and handbills.
Ford would eventually gain more exposure through his art during this experimental counterculture era of the 1960s, as he left Simultaneous Avalanche to Tom and Rick Schultze and concentrated on creating more concert advertising posters and handbills.
His next concert advertising posters and handbills were for the Grateful Dead/The Creators shows, which were held at Kings Beach, Calif. on Aug. 25-26, 1967.
Altogether, Ford was the artist for 10 images for concert posters and handbills.
These concerts also included the Pop Music Festival featuring Jefferson Airplane at Hughes Stadium on Oct. 15, 1967 and performances by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Creators at the Sacramento State men’s gym on Feb. 8, 1968.
Although Ford had created a niche for himself as a concert poster and handbill artist, he eventually left Sacramento to return to Aspen after he was asked to continue his city draftsman position.
Along with his city draftsman position, Ford worked as a freelance graphic artist and photographer.
In 1970, Ford was offered a full-time graphic artist and illustrator position with the Studio Three advertising agency, which was owned by Norm Clasen and later became known as the Norm Clasen and Associates.
After accepting this position, Ford worked for Clasen for nine years.
The most notable of the many projects that Ford created for Studio Three was his series of Aspen ski town art, which was used for the advertising campaign for the Aspen Skiing Corporation for two seasons and became the logo for the city of Aspen for more than a decade.

Jim Ford was the artist for this well-known Aspen, Colo. ski town scene, which he drew and colored in 1972. Photo by Lance Armstrong

During this same time, Ford also worked as the public announcer for many major sporting and in-town events, one of which was the Nations World Series of Skiing with the notable sportscaster Brent Musberger.
In 1977 through 1981, Ford designed and built homes in the Aspen area, after which time he returned to Sacramento and continued acquiring graphic design work.
Ford moved to Sloughhouse in 1983 and became involved in a major project of drawing scenes of 13 different areas of Sacramento and other parts of Northern California.
These drawings received much press and his limited edition prints of these scenes were purchased by Weinstock’s and Macy’s department stores in Sacramento.
Ford was once again residing in Aspen in 1985 and 1986.
A year later, as presented in the first article of this series, Ford, who was then residing in Sacramento, founded Ford’s Real Hamburgers.
After selling his restaurant in 1991, Ford continued to design logos, draw architectural plans and pursue his dream of manufacturing a removable rack for pickup trucks.
It was also during that time that he owned a 1962 Piper Cherokee 160 airplane and enjoyed flying to various small airports around the Sacramento Valley.
In 2004, Ford was the facilitator and project manager of a $5 million water treatment plant in Marysville.
Most recently, he has devoted much of his time to creating welded metal art featuring fish and birds and exhibiting his works at fine art festivals and fairs.
Ford said that he has enjoyed the many artistic-related activities of his life and that he looks forward to his future endeavors as an artist.
“My life has been full of wonderful achievements and projects and I look forward to new challenges in the art and design world, wherever they may fall,” Ford said.

Stock photos from ACS' Look Good Feel Better program / Courtesy of the American Cancer Society

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. And it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.

The ACS currently estimates in 2012, there will be more than 226,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women, and more than 39,000 women will die from breast cancer.

But survivors, like Arden residents Maritza Hurley – a breast cancer survivor herself – and her friend Lizette Gonzalez, give us hope.

Look Good, Feel Good
Both Hurley and Gonzalez are volunteers for ACS’ Look Good Feel Better program.
According to ACS spokeswoman Anita Fitzhugh, this free community-based service teaches women beauty tips to look better and feel good about how they look during chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Volunteer beauty professionals lead small groups of six to 10 women through practical, hands-on experience where women learn about makeup, skin care, nail care, and ways of dealing with hair loss.

Gonzalez began volunteering for Look Good Feel Better about two years ago, while Hurley has been volunteering for one year. Because they both speak Spanish, they were asked to help out with the Spanish version of the program called, Luzca Bien.

As a volunteer, Gonzalez says she helps with coordinating patients for the sessions, as well as setting up the room with tables, mirrors and supplies the volunteer beauty professionals might need. She then helps guide the session by working with the beauty consultant to show different makeup techniques, such as how to cover dark spots or uneven skin tone. “A lot of women lose their eyebrows and eyelashes during their treatment, so we show them a technique of how to draw their eyebrows and how to give the illusion of having eyelashes,” she adds.

Hurley says the program goes step-by-step, which is a plus for women who have never worn makeup before. “They also give you make-up so you don’t have to purchase any in the beginning,” she adds.

Courtesy of the American Cancer Society

Rewarding Experience
Gonzalez says she finds her volunteer work with the Look Good Feel Better to be a rewarding experience. “You see women come in and their self-esteem may be down or they may not be feeling good physically – when you lose your hair and your eyebrows and your eyelashes, you really don’t feel too good about yourself the way you look,” she explains. “By the time they leave they’re so uplifted and so happy, it’s just great, it’s absolutely fantastic.”

Hurley adds it can be beneficial for the women undergoing cancer treatment to come to the Look Good Feel Better to see others just like them who are struggling with hair loss or makeup issues. “You feel like that you have somebody with (whom) you can share the same experience,” she says.

As a personable volunteer, Hurley talks about her own experience with cancer and answers their questions.

“In the end, it’s feeling you have somebody to talk to, feeling you are important, feeling that you are normal, and feeling that one way or another the person talking to you already went through the stages and is there,” she says.

To further her work as a cancer survivor, Hurley also volunteers through ACS’ Reach to Recovery program, which connects breast cancer survivor volunteers with newly-diagnosed patients or those undergoing treatment to give them someone to talk to, ask questions, and learn from.

Making Strides
In addition to her work with the Look Good Feel Better program, Gonzalez has also volunteered for the past four years for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

According to Fitzhugh, Making Strides is a 5K walk and community informational event that brings breast cancer survivors, volunteers, businesses and community members together to walk a unified force to end breast cancer.

In addition to the walk, Gonzalez says the event will include informational booths, such as the Survivors Tent, that help promote the ACS’ various programs, not to mention music and food.

Gonzalez feels events like Making Strides shows the community is fighting breast cancer together and working together to find a cure. “It brings awareness, it brings people together, and they see their families and friends supporting whomever is undergoing treatment or just finished treatment, and then just working to get that cure,” she says.

According to Fitzhugh, the 16th annual Make Strides Against Breast Cancer will take place at the West Steps of the State Capitol on Sunday, Oct. 21. Registration begins at 7 a.m., and the walk begins at 8am with a rolling start. For more information visit www.makingstrideswalk.org/sacramento.

And for more information on the American Cancer Society and its programs, visit www.cancer.org.

corrie@valcomnews.com

Community quilt project participants show off their completed quilt. (From left) Vicki Rondeau, branch supervisor for Belle Cooledge Library; Ellen Broms; Sandy Lathe; Sharie Schroepfer; and Eleanor Taniguchi.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, Belle Cooledge Library unveiled a 16-square community quilt. Part of this year’s adult summer reading program, the quilt was handmade over about two months by 12 members of the library’s surrounding community, according to Vicki Rondeau, branch supervisor of the Belle Cooledge Library.
Rondeau and her staff decided a quilt was the perfect project to commemorate this year’s adult program, aptly themed “Beneath the Covers.” But, they needed some help getting the project started. “We had never done anything like that here before, I had never done anything like that in my whole life before,” Rondeau said.
The library decided to reach out the community to see who would be interested in helping them out and so they sent out proposals to various quilters’ guilds in Sacramento. As it turned out, Sandy Lathe, recording secretary for the River City Quilters’ Guild, is a frequent patron of Belle Cooledge Library and decided to answer the challenge.
Lathe felt the quilt project was a great one as it was something anyone could do, and she felt it would bring some art to the library. “I thought it would be a nice addition to (their community room),” she adds. “They have this huge wall with nothing on it, never had anything on it, so I thought a quilt might work perfect there.”

Material Girls
After finding library patrons interested in helping with the project, work on each block of the quilt began toward the end of June and participants had until the first week of August to complete them. Rondeau said participants were asked to create quilt squares that represented their favorite book or author. The books depicted on the quilt range from children’s books like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Where the Wild Things Are”, to well-known novels such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.”
The 12 participants were all females, but they were each a different age and ethnicity, with the youngest an out-of-town college student, Rondeau said. “Her mother was doing a quilt square – (she) heard about it and said send one to me,” Rondeau said. “She’s the one that did “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Additionally, they all came from different sewing skill backgrounds. Because of this, Lathe decided to use a fusible webbing product to make it a limited sewing project. Lathe says the fusible webbing adheres to the fabric by using an iron – you then cut out the shape you want, peel away the packing of the fusible web, and attach the shape to the fabric square again using an iron. “I thought this would be something anyone could participate and make a book cover that would look pretty good,” she said.

Close up quilt spare depicting To Kill a Mockingbird.

Sew There
With Lathe overseeing the project, the River City Quilters’ Guild decided to sponsor the community quilt project. Lathe says they purchased and donated the quilt blocks, blocking, sashing, outside border for the quilt, and also paid to have the final product quilted, amounting to about $230 in donations.
Lathe said the Guild decided to fund this project as part of their mission is to become involved in the community and take part in community activities. “Part of (our charge it) to involve the community in our passion for quilting, and to make people aware of how quilts can be art and how they can be incorporated into your home (and) business,” she adds.
Additionally, the Guild gives back each year by hand-making quilts they donate to local hospitals for sick children. “We do quite a number of them over the course of the year (and) we deliver them on a pretty frequent basis to local hospitals,” she said.
Lathe says the Guild currently has about 240 members and they meet the third Tuesday of each month at the Unitarian Universality Society on Sierra Boulevard in the Arden area of Sacramento. New members are always welcome, including those new to quilting. “We have a mentor program within our Guild, so if I’m having difficulty with something there are several ladies that are very experienced that (will) meet with you and help you with your project,” she said.
Lathe feels projects like this shows anyone can be involved regardless of their skill or background, and it helped bring together a group with a shared passion for reading. “It was nice for us as a group of people who are not acquainted with one another to work on a project and actually see it through to completion,” she said. “I think it will be a very nice addition to the room there for years to come.”

corrie@valcomnews.com