83.9 F
San Fernando
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Junior Chamber Offers Wish Fulfillment for Youth

Somebody’s wish will come true this year, thanks to a local business organization. The San Fernando Valley Junior Chamber in Van Nuys, a local chapter of the Junior Chamber International in Chesterfield, Mo., launched the “Dreams Come True” program this month. The program will fulfill the wish of two children between the ages of 4 and 18 living in the Valley every year. The Junior Chamber is a non-profit that works to develop the leadership skills of its members, who aim for prominence in business and civic circles. The organization plans to make the Dreams Come True program a long-term project aimed to encourage youth to remain vigilant in pursuing their ambitions. Youth and parents are encouraged to submit applications to the organization by July 31. From there, members of the organization will comb through the applications and select one child they feel has demonstrated significant perseverance in the midst of a great challenge or obstacle. “Our selection committee has done a little brainstorming (to determine) what our selection criteria will be, but each child’s story will be very different,” said Adriana Fernandez, vice president of the local chapter. “It’s not like selecting a volunteer based on hours. This is different because it’s so personal. We don’t have a grid saying you have to have overcome something this big for so many years to be selected.” The Junior Chamber has reached out to city council members, local chambers and individual businesses, in addition to taking to social media in order to get the word out about the program. After selecting an applicant, the two winners will be announced in April and October of each year. Fernandez said the Junior Chamber is fundraising on a regular basis to maintain a budget for the program, and the organization is not putting a limit on how much is allocated for each recipient. The money needed to fulfill each wish will vary, and some wishes will be more heavily reliant on donations and community partners than others. For example, Fernandez said if there is a child whose greatest dream is to be a firefighter, the Junior Chamber would most likely partner with a local fire department to make the child a firefighter for the day. “The wishes will vary. Some will be career-oriented and others might be a kid who really wants to go to Disney World,” she said. Wellness Fair West Hills’ Topanga Terrace Rehabilitation and Subacute skilled nursing facility partnered with ComForcare Home Care in Woodland Hills last month to raise money and awareness for the Canoga Park Women’s Club. Surena Boyce, vice president of business development for Topanga Terrace, along with Cathy Carpenter from ComForcare, spearheaded the event and contacted local businesses and chambers to get the word out. The event was held June 27 at Topanga Terrace. “The Canoga Park Women’s Club is a big part of the community and we wanted to support them in their fundraising,” Boyce said. “The fair targeted the community itself; it wasn’t just seniors and women who attended.” Nearly 250 people visited the fair where roughly 60 different booths were set up. Free bagels and coffee were donated by Western Bagel and Starbucks Corp., in addition to free video screenings for hearing loss, dental care, weight, glucose levels and bone density. The fair raised $5,000 for the Canoga Park Women’s Club. Event sponsors included Valley-based Artists for Trauma, South Valley Hospice Services, Kaiser Permanente, Councilman Bob Blumenfield and members from the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce. “The goal was to do the greatest event possible with the support of the community,” Boyce said. “I think a lot of the vendors and people in the community enjoyed meeting each other.” Roundup The Antelope Valley Hospital Auxiliary in Lancaster awarded $1,000 scholarships to 15 local high school graduates who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in medicine last month. … The Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Conejo Valley announced the opening of its seventh location in June on the Bay Laurel Elementary School campus. Club Bay Laurel in Calabasas offers a full range of enrichment classes and other activities for youth in kindergarten through fifth grade. … Burbank Community YMCA was awarded a $5,000 equipment donation in June from the Let’s Play initiative, funded by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].

Featured Articles

Related Articles