February Newsletter
- alenay1
- Feb 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 20
Potluck Update at Lynn Heinrich's,
Next Potluck,
Upcoming Events Need Help,
Projects Update,
Help and Items Needed,
Update on Zeffy
Potluck Update at Lynn Heinrich's Home
We held our first potluck of the year on February 4th at Lynn Heinrich's Home. Many thanks to Lynn and Brian Heinrich for opening their home for the gathering of 35 people. A number of people could not attend because there was a 3 car pile up on 101 which had folks turning around and going home! We are grateful to our many ongoing supporters who attended and our agency advocates who came armed with information to share with our guests. As always, the company and connections were fabulous and we raised almost $3,000!
Next Potluck
Our next potluck will be the 4th Annual Tea Party Fundraiser at Lopez High School on Wednesday, March 18th at 1:30. Please mark your calendars! We will send out an event invitation closer to the time around the first week of March. South SLO County Womenade serves as the unofficial PTO for Lopez High School as there isn't an active one at the school. The staff and students go all out to make this "Tea Party" a wonderful event. You can come enjoy a tea party and learn about what's happening at Lopez High School.
Upcoming Events Need Help
We need you!!! We sponsor 3 drives during the year - Toiletries (April), Teachers' School Supplies(August) and Holiday Food Baskets (December). Going forward the drives will be chaired by a board member supported by a committee of volunteers - that's where you come in. We need volunteers to work with each committee to make each drive successful. Please let us know (sslocwomenade@gmail.com which committee you would like to work on to help make these projects successes.
Projects Updates
Laundry Pop-Up - Belinda Benassi, Terri Zielinski and Beth Hersch
January 17th Laundry Pop-Up was in Grover Beach. Here is Belinda's report:
We enjoyed another successful event yesterday. The volunteers, Michelle Aquino, Karen Reinecke, and Belinda Benassi enjoyed a positive experience and both shared that they were going to sign up for future events. One volunteer shared that she signed up for the laundry pop-up event after reading the last newsletter.We observed an increase in unhoused individuals attending yesterday’s event. They all expressed gratitude for the chance to wash their clothes with our help. The team paid for 74 loads of laundry!
February 7th Laundry Pop-Up was in Nipomo. The team reports:
Our pop-up this morning was a great success. Volunteers were Terri Zielinski, Beth Hirsch, Donna MacCarley and new volunteer, Diane Babcock. We helped facilitate the washing of 37 loads and the drying of 34. The large machines were very popular today. When Beth and I pulled into the parking lot, we saw an RV that looked familiar. The young couple, who live in the RV, came in to do their laundry. They remember that we would be there. They are so appreciative and thanked us repeatedly. We provided them with a schedule of the pop-ups in AG and Grover so that they don't have to wait a month to do laundry. Our new volunteer, Diane Babcock, spoke with the young man. They are struggling to make it here on the Central Coast. They live in their RV and can park at a county park where they can use water, electricity and the dumping station. They are thinking of moving to Texas in order to work and save up some money so that they can return here and live in something more permanent. They share the RV with two dogs. Helping them with their laundry feels like such a small effort on our part, but we can tell it has a positive impact on their lives.
Next Laundry Pop-Ups:
March 7, 2026 Launderia Laundre Mat 505 Orchard St. Nipomo
March 21, 2026 Washboard Laundromat 111 S Halcyon Rd Arroyo Grande
Sign up to volunteer here:
Nipomo Food Distribution – Rosemary Cleaves, Sue McCutcheon, and Mary Anne Morgan - project leaders
The February Food distribution was yesterday February 10th! It was a blustery wet day. We had a smaller but motivated team of volunteers who braved the weather to give food out to about 375 families in spite of the weather. The clients were so grateful and many commented on how fortunate they were that we still came.
We work with SLO FoodBank, the Lucia Mar school district and our volunteers to make the Food Distribution happen. Let us know if you want to be on the substitute list. The next distribution will be on Tuesday, March 10th from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at Nipomo Elementary School.
Help and Items Needed
Grant writing – If you are interested in or have experience in grant writing we would love to talk to you.
Storage space or unit (space or funds to rent)
Prizes for the April Raffle
Committee members for Project Teams (Toiletries, Teachers' School Supplies and Holiday Food Baskets)
Volunteers for the Laundry Pop UP Sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0B44AEA82DAAF9C52-50105745-2024
Toilet paper
Diapers
Pack n Play
Child safety items - drawer and cabinet locks and gates
Laundry detergent
Update on Zeffy
We are continuing to migrate our administration to Zeffy, a free online platform for non-profits. We have successfully migrated our newsletter and event platforms over. We are working on getting most of the donations migrated to use the Zeffy platform.
HOW TO DONATE:
To make a donation you can click here and fill out the form:
or you may write a check to South SLO County Womenade and mail to:
South SLO County Womenade, 1793 Farroll Rd., Grover Beach, CA 93433.
Our bank asked that checks be made out with the full legal name on the account
We encourage you to become one of our monthly or regular donors. This can be easily done through your bank or charitable foundation. Please remember that if your company has a matching grants program to include us. As you make or update your wills, please consider adding a legacy gift to us for our future sustainability.
or go to our website sslocw.org
Venmo use South SLO County Womenade
Our email is: sslocwomenade@gmail.com
Our website is: sslocw.org
Our EIN# 27-0809744
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