Conejo Boys & Girls Club Settles Into New Digs

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Conejo Valley celebrated a new branch in honor of founders Cal and Marje Johnston last month. The ceremony at the 1450 Hillcrest Drive branch in Thousand Oaks took place Sept. 18 and commemorated the work the founders had done for the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas for the Boys & Girls Club. “It’s an honor to have it named, more important it’s an accomplishment for the kids. About 3,000 kids have gone through the program, and 3,000 plus are in the program today,” Cal Johnston said. Johnston, 81, started the first club in Thousand Oaks after meeting with the city’s police chief about his concern with drugs and gangs in schools. After he realized the land costs for a facility would be too expensive, he spoke to the school district to work out an arrangement to lease land at Colina Middle School and build a clubhouse. The school district agreed, allowing him to lease the school’s land at $1 a year and the school was given use of the building. The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Conejo Valley now has leases at four other middle schools, including one in Newbury Park and another in Agoura Hills. Johnston said his real estate knowledge came into play for the building’s lease. He is currently chairman of real estate firm Johnston Group in Agoura Hills. He is an active member of the club’s finance committee and has also served on the organization’s national board. “Cal’s impact has been great. The club would not exist without Cal and Marje Johnston,” said Mark Elswick, president of the Conejo Valley chapter. Elswick said Johnston had donated $3 million to fund the club, and originally objected to the idea of having the building named after him. “Cal has always objected to putting his name on the building because of naming rights, which sell for a million dollars. Cal did not want to take that right because he felt it could be used for another donor. We finally convinced him and Marje that it was the right thing to do, because of all they have done over the course of time,” Elswick said. For the future, Johnston wants to build three additional clubs along the Ventura Freeway corridor. He also expects the club to increase its emphasis on science and math. “We are expanding programs at clubs to include STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs, so that when they get to high school and college they are ahead of the curve,” he said. Model Home Los Angeles-based KB Home Inc. has renovated a Northridge duplex for the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. The mission’s Home Again Family Resource Center is working on a campaign to build a 90-bed shelter home, which has a small caretaker’s duplex on the property. Wade Trimmer, director of the rescue mission, said the plan was originally to renovate one room to show as a model for homeless families to see, but the project expanded into four bedrooms and a kitchen. “It’s a way to show donors and stakeholders what we believe in the way we treat people we serve. It’s a massive 3D brochure, a smaller version of what will happen in the big shelter,” Trimmer said. He added that KB Home donated $30,000 to remodel the duplex at 8756 Canby Ave., but estimates the total at $100,000 when labor and other factors are included. Tom DiPrima, executive vice president for KB Home, said the company decided to come on board due to a shared connection employees had with the organization. “Employees came from as far south as San Diego – we have upwards of 35 people working on this project,” DiPrima said. “The goal of this project was for donors to see the model, see what the future could be and become inspired by the message, and contribute to the (funding) gap for the 90-bed home.” Bank Donation Wells Fargo & Co. sponsored the annual Wells Fargo Community Support Breakfast for the San Fernando Valley at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills on Sept. 19, honoring 58 local charities and schools with a $1,000 grant each. The contributions are part of a campaign that allows the bank’s employees to support non-profits and schools. Some local charities included in the grant distribution were the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Glendale Healthy Kids, Rescue Mission Alliance and the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center. Marla Clemow, regional president of the Los Angeles metro area for Wells Fargo, said giving is part of the company’s culture. “It’s important to give to the communities that need us most in these times because it’s the right thing to do,” she said. Staff reporter Jacquelinne Mejia can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].