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The Community Center is proud to be the Heart of the San Geronimo Valley. For more than four decades, the Center has provided outstanding programs and services for all of the people of the Valley from infants to seniors, families and singles, working people and retirees. From Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls and Lagunitas, nearby Nicasio, Fairfax and elsewhere in Marin County, thousands of people benefit from the arts, cultural, recreational and human service programs offered by the Community Center.
Highlights of our accomplishments for the year ending June 30, 2011:
• The Community Center’s LOFT program received a Golden Bell Award from the Marin County Office of Education for its outstanding enrichment and recreational programs for youth and teens.
• 21 children from the Valley, Nicasio and Fairfax participated in our free 5-week Summer Bridge to Kindergarten program. All the children received free hearing and dental screenings provided by our First 5 program.
• The Center’s Food Bank is open every Monday and Thursday throughout the year. We provided 6,663 boxes of food to local families in need. Food bank clients and their family members also benefited from health screenings, health and nutrition education programs and immunization clinics during our six Valley Health Days.
• Our festive Senior Lunch program served 2,784 delicious meals last year to a total of 440 people. Fifty-five people 60 years of age and over fill the Center every Thursday where they are treated to a great meal from Good Earth Natural Foods and then take part in outstanding classes, music and art programs. The program is supported in part by the Marin County Division of Aging.
• In addition to Valley Health Days, our San Geronimo Valley Wellness Center sponsored numerous nutrition and health education classes, workshops and exercise programs. Our key partners in this collaboration are Coastal Health Alliance, West Marin Senior Services, Lagunitas School District and First 5 Marin. The planning process for further development of the Wellness Center is supported by a grant from the Marin Community Foundation.
• 25 performing arts events were produced by the Center this past year and included the spectacular Mexican Arts Festival with our partner, Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center. The event attracted hundreds of visitors for a full day of dance, crafts, food and fun. Other productions last year were a performance of Robin Hood in collaboration with Drake High School, a Green Arts Festival with Lagunitas School District students, and amazing outdoor rock concerts with Zero and Mystic Roots. Our arts programs received support from an Audience Development Grant from the Marin Community Foundation.
• The 20th Annual Spring Art Show presented the work of 100 highly talented Valley artists and attracted 400 art lovers at the who came to view the spectacular exhibit at the Opening Reception in May.
• Our community-school gymnasium is buzzing every day and evening year-round with after school sports activity for men and boys, women and girls—basketball, ping-pong, soccer, Sweat Your Prayers and Zumba plus a free pancake breakfast in the LOFT for Dads and Kids on the first Saturday of every month.
• Distributed the 2011 Valley Resource Guide to all post office boxes in the Valley and Nicasio.
Providing Service and Building Bridges for Community Engagement
ARTS AND CULTURAL EVENTS, PERFORMANCES AND GALLERY SHOWS
The finest local creative talent and artists from around the world are brought to the Valley -- music, painting, sculpture, photography, comedy, plus outstanding cultural events. Emerging artists have opportunities to showcase their talent and to actively participate in arts activities. We conducted in-depth interviews with a cross-section of our commu
nity in connection with our Marin Community Foundation Audience Development Grant as we look for ways to extend and deepen artistic appreciation, experience and expression.
FOOD BANK, SENIOR LUNCH AND
THE WELLNESS CENTER
Hundreds of local families - young parents with baby carriages, single folks, seniors– come to the Center’s Food Bank to pick up much needed groceries to help them make ends meet during these hard economic times. Nearly 600 
boxes of food are given out every month plus special distributions during the fall and winter holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chanukah. Our nutrition program provides information on healthy food choices. There were 6,663 visits to the Food Bank last year and 399 households with 1,263 family members who received holiday and/or Thanksgivings food boxes.
The Wellness Center offers health and wellness education programs and family cooking nights. Free health screenings and immunization clinics are offered are various times of the year. Our Valley Health Fair brought in healthcare providers from Health and Human Services, West Marin Senior Services, and Coastal Health Alliance with health information and prevention services.
The Senior Lunch program, now in its third year serves more than 60 delicious meals a week catered by Good Earth Natural Foods. But it’s not just about the food. We also offer live musical entertainment, educational speakers and health services. Our new Senior Volunteer program provides opportunities for people to become involved in Community Center programs by providing help with the senior lunch, clerical work, Board membership, arts programs and many other activities that help the seniors and the Center thrive. The Volunteer Program is supported by a grant from the Marin Community Foundation.
BUILDING COMMUNITY
The 2011 Resource Guide, the sixth edition since its creation in 1983, was issued in March. It is dedicated to the Spirit of Community and was mailed to all Valley residents, providing a wealth of information about the Valley, the Community Center, Community Resources and Services, the Environment, Health and Safety, Valley Businesses and Artists. The Resource Guide, our quarterly newspaper, Stone Soup and the monthly meetings of the San Geronimo Valley Healthy Community Collaborative are the ways that the Center works to build the important relationships of people and organizations that support our Valley and its people.
Serving Youth and Families
From Generation to Generation
Tiwawan Prasartthongosot and Paul Valente live in Woodacre with their boys, Oliver, age 2 and Otis, 5 months. They met 12 years ago and have been married for 10. After meeting in San Anselmo, the couple moved to Tiwawan’s native Thailand for 6 years before returning to California into an idyllic situation living adjacent to Paul’s parents, Paul and Julie Valente, in our beautiful San Geronimo Valley.
Tiwawan has been coming to our twice-weekly Playgroup with her boys every Tuesday and Thursday for over a year. She says she feels comfort and safety in the Valley and describes her time and experience at playgroup as “genuine, humble and real.” Tiwawan says she loves that she lives away from the city and loves the comfort of home in the Valley, a feeling she says she knows she would not have living just anywhere. She says the Valley truly feels like home and feels very comfortable and “a part of” despite “looking different.” She says she feels so welcome and loved at Playgroup and that in the Valley people really look after each other.
Tiwawan says playgroup is filled with friends without conditions and loves that there’s no signup or calling in to make a reservation -- it’s just always here and warm. “There’s so much here for me and my children. They are learning to share, be friends and getting real socialization. They are learning a strong English vocabulary at Playgroup which they need because at home they hear broken English from me, because I mix Thai with English. At playgroup, my boys are getting a real school experience, which they otherwise would not get because preschool is just too expensive. Plus, because we live in such a tiny house, the children get a huge room to play in. And I learn so much too! I learn from other parents and the playgroup facilitators, and we share information.”
Tiwawan and her family participate in many other Community Center events. They have come to our Valley Health Days and whenever there is a Center event they think they can attend, they put in on their family calendar. Paul and his dad bring the boys to our once monthly free dad’s and kids pancake breakfast. “They love that there’s an activity for them to do together and that it’s so available and close by.” Over the summer the family came to the Center’s Mexican festival and they loved it. Tiwawan says she was so impressed how authentic it was. “I love that we can get real strong cultural experienceshere in the Valley without having to go far -- it’s all right here.”
The Community Center’s Youth Programs have grown deep roots and have a solid home base in the Community Gym and Loft. More than 50 youngsters are Loft members. Our programs are expansive and cross-generational, with in-school Emotional Literacy classes and Student Meeting and After-School recreational and enrichment programs. Our award winning after school tutoring program – VAST – provides one-on-one academic assistance from 1st grade through High School for children who want to do their very best work. 25 summer high school and college interns had opportunities for work experience and community service. Our monthly Dad’s
and Kid’s pancake breakfast serves between 40 and 70 meals each month. 75 kids attended our Summer and Holiday Camps. We have developed strong relationships with other Teen Centers and we are coordinating regular meetings of a newly formed county-wide Marin Teen Center Collaborative.
The Gym buzzes with after school activity: basketballs are bouncing, ping-pong balls are pinging, soccer balls are rolling across the floor. Outside kids are playing soccer and football on the field. Kids continue to make the Gym and Loft their first stop for after school action and fun! Women’s basketball continues its strong attendance on Monday afternoons, high school boys work on their pre-season basketball skills on Wednesday evenings and Men’s Open Gym hits the floor after the boys and more than 100 young basketball stars come to the gym during CYO basketball season. On Thursday nights everybody moves to the 5Rhythms for an evening a meditative dance.
Our School Readiness Program supports young families in many ways – free parent education programs on healthy foods, child safety, CPR and First Aid training, sibling relationships, disaster preparedness and more. The Summer Bridge programs assists families with the transition to Kindergarten. We collaborate with the Coastal Health Alliance to offer Health Days for children 0-5 years old to receive immunizations, screenings, and health check-ups and information. Our staff helps families access social services: sign up Healthy Families health insurance, access the food bank, and provide referrals to County services. The program also offers fun family events: a Halloween Party, Valentine’s Tea Party, and arts and crafts at all Community Center events. In hard times it is comforting to have a community to lean on for support and the Valley School Readiness has fulfilled this role.
Grants
July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Marin Community Foundation
Reliance Fund
Endurance Fund
Burkhart Fund
Freitas Foundation
Presbyterian Hunger Project
Marin First 5- Children and Families Commission
West Marin Community Resource Center
County of Marin
Marin Charitable Association
Marin County Division of Aging
Marin County Department of Health and Human Services
Marin County Community Development Block Grant
Marin Charitable Association
Scorpio Rising Foundation
San Geronimo Valley Lions Club
Wright Foundation
United Way
San Geronimo Valley Community Center
Statement of Income
Year Ending June 30, 2011
SUPPORT & REVENUE
Contributions – Individuals 98,655
Contributions – Businesses 38,214
Foundation Grants 215,500
Government Grants 228,578
District and Parent Groups 6,000
Registration & Tuition Income 53,277
Rental Income 34,184
Admission Income 30,083
Art & Event Income 9,355
Advertising 10,147
Food & Beverage Income 3,474
Senior Lunch Income 4,883
Miscellaneous Income 321
Interest Income 257
Total Support & Revenues $732,928
EXPENSES
Salaries 403,030
Payroll Taxes 37,934
Health Insurance 41,759
Workers Comp Insurance 2,706
Subcontractors 49,033
Accounting Fees 21,671
Building & Grounds 5,124
Custodial & Maintenance 5,935
Utilities 5,427
Telephone & Internet 5,112
Insurance 6,215
Supplies 20,417
Printing & Postage 24,047
Stone Soup 8,783
Food 29,390
Field Trip Expenses 5,387
Event Expenses 37,814
Senior Lunch Expenses 17,648
Memberships & Subscriptions 1,850
Travel 2,997
Miscellaneous Expenses 4,602
Depreciation 4,503
Total Expenses $741,386
