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March into Spring

Update on Migration to Zeffy Platform,

Next Potluck,

Projects Update,

Help and Items Needed,

Update on Funds Received,

Thanks to Donors,

Where the Money Went


Update on Migration to the Zeffy Administrative Platform

Zeffy is a free platform for non-profits to streamline their administrative functionality.  They collect donations and don't take a percentage (like Paypal and Venmo do). They do ask for a donation from donors but you don't have to donate to them (just put in "0" zero). That's your choice. Our team of board members Kristin Bertsch Heenan and Rosemary Cleaves and technical volunteer Mandy LeNay have been working on setting up the data base, transferring data, setting up of account and bank information, creating events, RSVPs, Thank You letters generation, Newsletter creation. As with all new platforms when you're migrating from one system to another it takes some time, a learning curve and trial and error.

Thank you for sticking with us as we move toward this new platform.  It will save a lot of administrative time and allow us to focus more on our mission.


Next Potluck - Note it is at 1:30 PM


Our next potluck is the 4th Annual Womenade Tea Party and will be hosted by Lopez High School at 1055 Mesa View Dr, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 at 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026!  Mark your calendars!  Note that it is earlier in the day. As always bring a dish to share, your place setting, a beverage. Also it's a tea party so bring your own tea cup and saucer!

 

You can RSVP to our event here https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-lopez-high-school-tea-party and pay via Zeffy or you can pay with a check made out to South SLO County Womenade for $50 (more is always appreciated!) at the event. We do have a stamper.

 

Lopez High School is an alternate high school in the Lucia Mar Unified School District.  It serves students who have difficulty thriving and fitting in the traditional school environment.  It does not have an active PTO so we serve as their ad hoc PTO. The teachers, counselors and students are working hard to make this 4th annual Tea Party a success! You can help by attending and letting the students know that you care about them and that they matter.  So often a student has said to me, "I can't believe that there people who don't even know me who care so much to support me in so many ways!"  


Projects Update

Laundry Pop-Up - Belinda Benassi, Terri Zielinski and Beth Hersch


Here are the reports from our two Laundry Pop-Up sites:


February 7 Our pop-up this morning was a great success.  We helped facilitate the washing of 37 loads and the drying of  34.  The large machines were very popular today. We had one person refuse help 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, electricty 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.

 

February 21st We had a super busy event yesterday, which I was glad to have 4 volunteers for. We assisted 26+ individuals with their laundry. It was nonstop the entire time we were there.We noticed the price for wash increased, and the dryers required additional time to fully dry since our last event at this laundromat. I had a chance to speak to the laundromat attendant, who shared that the business switched owners last month.  She also confirmed the price increase.Yesterday’s event definitely corroborated the need for South SLO County Womenade’s support with these laundry pop-up events. Our group of “regulars” is growing. I believe we now have 8-10 regulars.

Next Laundry Pop-Ups:
Marach 7, 2026 Launderia Laundre Mat 505 Orchard St. Nipomo
March 21, 2026  Laundromat 119 S. 13th St., Grover Beach

Sign up to volunteer here:


Nipomo Food Distribution

Rosemary Cleaves, Sue McCutcheon, and Mary Anne Morgan - project leaders



We have a great core group of volunteers to draw from.  We often need additional volunteers when either some of the regulars are unavailable or when we have a lot of extra food we have purchased and needs to be packed and there is food the Foodbank delivers that also needs to be packed.  Each month we can sometimes use up to 4 additional volunteers. 


The next distribution will be on Tuesday, March 10th  from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at Nipomo Elementary School.

We can use up to 4 additional volunteers especially at the beginning of each distribution to help with the packing of donated food by Womenade. Here's a link to sign up:

We work with SLO FoodBank, the Lucia Mar school district and our volunteers to make the Food Distribution happen. 


Lunch Buddies

Many children in our school district do not eat over the weekend as they don't have access to the free and reduced breakfasts and lunches on the weekend. Many years ago South SLO County Womenade started our Lunch Buddies program where we work with South County schools to provide weekend lunches to students in need. We have groups, teams and individuals that sponsor the schools and their students, and we are always looking for ways to expand to more schools but need more volunteers. Currently we provide weekly weekend brown bags to over 120 students.  

 

At the moment beginning in April one of our schools, Fairgrove Elementary School, needs a new volunteer to take over buying the food, making up the brown bags and delivering lunches from the beginning of April to the beginning of June.  There are 5 students at Fairgrove for whom we prepare brown bags for during the school year;  Here is a link to sign up to help these 5 students have food over the weekend. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/fairgrove-elementary-weekend-lunch-buddy


Help and Items Needed


Update on Funds Received

1/1/26 TO 1/31/26                  $11,030.65

2/1/2019 TO 01/31/26          $910,794.02


Thanks to January Donors

Emily Myhre, Linda and Bradley Wilbert, Fran Norris, Rosemary Cleaves (2), Anonymous Anonymous, Community Grants Community Foundation, Sheila and Richard Semana, Mary De Jong, Marilyn Mullany, Olive and Mike Shu, Joann and Stan Benson, Elaine Stewart, Wendy Castleman, Cory Gonzalez, Mary Anne Morgan and Madeline Fay, Ardie Heinrich, Susan McCutcheon, Lynn Heinrich, Heidi Boatman, Gee Gee Southward, Marcella Gelman, Gay Evison Groomes, Sandy Richardson, Lyn Lamison, Leslie Friedman, Ilanit Unruh, Phyllis Sims, Lori Connolly, Kathy Howell, Carol Chenot, Liz Fritz, Linda Busek, Lola Zybura, Barbara Crawford, Jean Leavitt, Christy Palmer, Gail Applegate, Carol Chenot, Susan McCutcheon, Caity McCardell, Deb Sherry, Dana Robertson, Anita Shower, Jessica Griffiths, Debra Jackson, Linda Denova, Kathy Forenza, Susan Girard, Lara Golden, Annie Kessler, Jill Buckley, Karlie Cool


Where the Money Went

Casa Solana – Renée Poirier – Executive Director

  • Casa Solana used some of the funds to help provide a gift bed to a lady who struggles with substance use, she was released from the county jail. Unfortunately, she did not stay the entire month. This allowed Casa Solana the ability to help another woman in her 30s who struggles with fentanyl use and homelessness.  $800

 Nipomo Family Resource Center – Advocate Yuliana Molina

  • Mother recently gave birth and is not working at this time. Father's hours have been reduced due to weather conditions. They need support with rent this month. $300 Guadalupe Garcia (landlord)

  • Mom is unable to work due to medical condition. Family needs support with electricity bill this month. $251.15 PG&E

Oceano Family Resource Center – Advocate Stella Medina

  • Loss on income due to mother's maternity leave. She still has not been paid from SDI. Water will be shut off on 1/14/26 without our support. $300 Oceano Community Service District

  • Single parent of two teenagers. Parent is in chronic pain due to illness; she is waiting for surgery and unable to work. Recovery time will be several months. They need support with rent. $400 Oak Forest Apartments (landlord)

  • A young family of 3 in need of rental support after being laid off & could not get unemployment due to immigration status. Has a job now but it will take a few weeks to get back on track. $300 California Property Services (landlord)

  • Single mother of 4 children struggling financially. Family in need of rent support this month. $300 California West (landlord)

  • Family of 5 experienced loss of income due to rain and illness causing the family to fall behind on their January rent. They need support to prevent eviction. $200 California West (landlord)

  • Single mother of 3 struggling to pay her basic bills. Her income has decreased due to the winter season. February will generate more income as business picks up. Parent needs internet paid, kids need it for school. $127.50 Spectrum

Arroyo Grande Family Resource Center – Cinthyia Ortiz-Corona

  • Single parent on limited SSI as she is paid monthly, she currently does not have means to secure housing through PSHH. This covers security deposit for property. $300 The Duncan Group

  • Family has been struggling since passing of father years ago. Funds are only sufficient for monthly expenses this helps cover the expense of passports for her youngest children without straining rent payment. $405 US Department of State

Nutrition Team – Mary Anne Morgan leader

  • Food for Lopez High School Food Pantry and food for the monthly Food distribution at the Nipomo Elementary School $107.37 SLO Foodbank

5 Cities Homeless Coalition – Devon McQuade Executive Director

  • Client was recently released from incarceration and is working with 5CHC Jail to Community Case Manager. He needed to complete a title transfer for a vehicle that was passed down to him and requested assistance with obtaining a birth certificate to complete the process. $12.95 VitalCheck - Birth Certificate

  • Client was released from incarceration and in an effort to prevent the client from returning to homelessness, he requested assistance in finding a Sober Living Environment that he could move into upon release. 5CHC Jail to Community Case Manager was able to connect him with a bed out of the area and 5CHC was able to assist with transportation costs to get him there. $61 Amtrak – train ticket

  • Client was experiencing homelessness in her vehicle and recently moved into 5CHC's Cabins for Change program. Her car could not pass smog to renew her registration, so she requested assistance with some minor repairs and was able to use her own income to cover the cost of smog and registration.  $167.79 Rizzoli's Auto - car repair

Laundry Pop-Up Belinda Benassi – Project coordinator; Terri Zielinski and Beth Hirsch in Nipomo

  • We helped facilitate the washing of 37 loads and the drying of 34.  The large machines were very popular today. We had one person refuse help 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. $230.75 Launderia launder Mat Nipomo

Laundry Pop-Up Belinda Benassi – Project coordinator; Belinda Benassi

  • The volunteers 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. I observed an increase in unhoused individuals attending yesterday’s event. They all expressed gratitude for the chance to wash their clothes with our help. $229.50 Laundromat Grover Beach

Lopez High School – Keith Gledhill- Principal; Aurora Munoz – Admin

  • 2nd Semester Wolf Market Supplies for the Positive Behavior student incentives: Cheetos, TakIs, Pocky, Nutella, Arizona Tea, Jacks's links, Gatorade, Gum, Fidget cube, Candle, Slime, Pringles $226.16

  • Womenade Tea party supplies: Tea, drink dispensers $114.25

Lopez High School Wolf Den – Heidi Boatman

  • Toiletries $120.03 Dollar Tree

Lucia Mar Adult Education – Kristin Anderson, Principal

  • Food Service $16

  • Adult Ed student asked for assistance with cosmetology supplies for completion of cosmetology certification course $107.97

  • Medical assistant student is a single mom of three children who needs assistance with tuition and entry fees to be placed in an externship program.  She is on her way to her career in the health care area and needs assistance to be able to take the clinical exam $500

Families in Transition – Wendy Bruse Coordinator of After School Programs, Deicy Trejo, Karina Ayala

  • Single-parent household has been living in their RV for some time; mom was recently let go of her employment and has been struggling. Her daughters are in need of undergarments since they have had a growth spurt. 2 Large packs of underwear, 2 large packs of socks $46

  • New student moved back to the area, requested assistance with a SCT bus pass to get through the first month of being back at school. $37 SCT-31-day bus pass

  • Unaccompanied youth requested assistance with transportation, student has been staying with a friend after being kicked out. $37 SCT-31-day bus pass

  • Unaccompanied youth did not have the funding to pay for their senior trip, did not get enough hours at work and recently had her car require repairs. $180 Senior Graduate Night Field Trip

Pregnancy and Parenting Support – Cami Statler Executive director

No expenses

Mission Hope – Katie Crafton – Oncology Social Worker

  • Woman in 50’s with a new diagnosis of metastatic cancer who is struggling to pay rent. $250

SLO County Office Of Education CSPP – (California Pre-School Programs) – Shannon Pimentel Program Coordinator

No expenses

Department of Social Services – Theresa Johnson – Division Manager

  • PT is homeless, living on the streets and needs some shoes and socks so that his feet will be warm $50 Walmart

  • PT is homeless and needs a bus pass to get to the French Hospital for care $5,50 Bus Pass

County Nurses – Meryl Castro – County Nurse Supervisor

No expenses

C.A.R.E.4Paws – Libby Williams-Cabral – area administrator

  • Oceano residents John and his cat, Zelda, needed assistance to address a serious veterinary issue. Zelda was suffering from painful ear infections caused by polyps in both ears, and John lacked the financial resources to pursue care. With the support of Womenade funding, Zelda received veterinary diagnostics confirming the polyps were not cancerous and could be surgically removed. This support made it possible to move forward with treatment and schedule her upcoming surgery. For this surgery, John has been set up with a payment plan to allow him to more manageably deal with the cost of this important procedure. John, who cares for his elderly and special-needs mother, has limited finances and Zelda provides him with vital companionship during a challenging time. Womenade funding is helping to relieve the financial strain, reduced Zelda’s suffering, and helped keep this family together. $150 Monarch Dunes Vet

  • Little Bit was adopted several months prior but was later placed in the care of a compassionate community member in Grover Beach, Kate, when the original family was no longer able to care for her. Despite limited financial resources, Kate provided Little Bit with stability, love, and safety. Little Bit was diagnosed with a seizure disorder with a poor prognosis. In coordination with SLO County Animal Services, plans were made to provide humane end-of-life care when needed. However, Little Bit’s condition rapidly worsened, and she experienced severe, back-to-back seizures, creating a medical emergency on a Sunday. Officer Moody responded while on-call and came into the shelter to assist with emergency care and provide compassionate support as Kate said goodbye. Womenade funding helped us subsidize the cost of this emergency end-of-life care, ensuring Little Bit did not suffer and that her caregiver was supported during an unexpected crisis. $100 SLO Shelter Emergency Euth

People’s Self Help Housing – Caity McCardell - Director of Resource Development

  • Resident is living on a low-income of only $879 per month and is disabled. He has run out of food and toilet paper until he receives his next disability payment on February 3rd. He can walk to the grocery store, Walmart, that is near his home and this request is for an Walmart gift card for food and toilet paper. He will also seek out food pantries. $200 Walmart

  • Resident is a single mother of three children and is the sole provider with no financial assistance or child support. This client is ecstatic to have a space for her and her children (they have been living with her father) but will be on a tight budget moving forward. Currently, this client is moving in and will need to stock her pantry, buy cleaning supplies, bedding and continue to pay for other high expenses such as gas. $200 Walmart

  • Resident is a single mother of three children and is the sole provider with no financial assistance or child support. Client shared enthusiasm to have a space for her and her children. Client needs to buy furniture and more supplies for her apartment. $200 Walmart

Transitions Mental Health -Tricia Ochoa

No expenses

Hearst Cancer Research Center – Julie Neiggemann and Ashley Hahn

No expenses

Family Care Network – Lupita Ducharme

  • Former foster youth now living independently. He has no real financial support but is working hard. Is now enrolled at Hancock College and has asked for support with a desk for studying. $144.34 Amazon Desk and Chair

  • Supported a young client with a water bottle and lunch bag. She struggles with medical-related nutrition and hydration challenges. These items allow her to carry food and water with her as needed, while also encouraging consistency with her care plan. $50.14 Walmart Lunch bag, water bottle

  • Provided transportation assistance to a young adult. Due to her weight, a standard bicycle is not a safe or sturdy option, and the nearest bus stop is a 40-minute walk from where she lives. The folding scooter allows her to travel more easily in her community and can be taken on the bus when needed. This support helps remove a significant barrier while she continues working toward independence. $428.99 Amazon E Scooter

  • We were able to fill an immediate need in a new foster home so youth could be placed without delay. We provided two beds and two dressers, ensuring the children entering care and had safe, comfortable spaces of their own.  $489.62 American Wholesalers 2 beds 2 nightstands

Welcome Home Military Heroes – Executive Director Cheryl Tolan

No expenses

Child Advocacy Center –  Rocio Hernandez, Family Advocate Services Director

No expenses

Martha’s Place – Tony Huffacker

No expenses


HOW TO DONATE:

To make a donation 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 - South SLO County Womenade  (there is more than one Womenade now banking at SESLOC bank)or go to our website sslocw.org

 

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.

Our website is: sslocw.org

Our EIN# 27-080974

 
 
 

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