Four Valley organizations plan full slates in 2011
Service to the community
As December drew to a close, many people reflected on the year that was and looked forward to the year that just arrived. For some, 2011 represents a fresh start. Others hope for a better year than the last one.
Four valley groups, the Lancaster Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the V2K H.E.L.P.E.R. Foundation, the Sun Village Town Council, and the Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce are filling their calendars with goals. Below, they share their purpose and outlook for 2011.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Publicity chairperson Brenda Robinson of the Lancaster Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., notes that the sorority “is a public service, nonprofit organization that serves the Antelope Valley community.” The Lancaster Alumnae Chapter “has been steadfast in providing dedicated and committed public service to its community. Delta’s programs and services are centered on a five-point thrust: economic development, educational development, mental and physical health, political awareness, and international awareness.”
Robinson added: “The Lancaster Alumnae Chapter’s … projects are the Delta Academy Program for girls 11 to 14, shelter meals for the homeless, personal hygiene and clothing items to a battered women’s and children’s shelter, scholarships to high school graduates, meet-the-candidate forums, voter registration, Easter baskets to Jackie Robinson Park’s Easter Egg Hunt, donations to Haiti through Soles 4 Soles, and the Debutante Program.”
The sorors are continually seeking funds to keep their projects going. Two of their major yearly functions are the Holiday Ball and Breakfast for Milady, or Jabberwock.
Contact Brenda Robinson, publicity chairperson, at (661) 942-0102 for more information about the Lancaster Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
V2K H.E.L.P.E.R.
The Community Action League (TCAL) and V2K H.E.L.P.E.R Foundation co-founder Stan Muhammad shared his group’s purpose. “Our aim is to collaborate with community-based organizations in the Antelope Valley to serve youth and young adults. We specialize in gang intervention/prevention.”
“Our goal,” said Muhammad, “is to bring our successful community intervention organization model to the AV for 2011 and beyond. We have a proven track record of reducing violence and crime through this method.”
The V2K H.E.L.P.E.R Foundation can be contacted directly at (310) 925-2071. Its website is http://www.helperfoundation.org.
AV Black Chamber
Communications chairperson Victoria Ramirez laid out the purpose of the Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce this way: “As a nonsectarian organization with an objective approach of promoting business growth and knowledge, the Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce provides business training and development tools and resources that enhance personal, community, and national project opportunities, as they are presented. AVBCC strongly stands on the foundation of service to humanity, exhausting every opportunity to support community involvement and interaction.”
As part of its regular operations, the AVBCC, said Ramirez, “supports the following: Academic promotion and scholarship, minority enterprise, civic affairs, youth building projects and programs, health and fitness, job retraining, and establishing successful links to affiliate organizational institutions and resources, all in the anticipation of successful contributions to the growth of the Antelope Valley.”
Ramirez said the Chamber “plans additional business training tools and resources, plus continued workshops commenced in 2010. Events for 2011 are still in the planning stages, but she mentioned the following: A Black history celebration (February); statewide college tour, Ron Brown Summit, and a celebrity golf tournament (May); Ms. Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Pageant, and more.”
The AVBCC “will be showcasing our new office space that will allow our members to hold meetings, to use our conference room, allowing us to be more accessible to the community,” she said.
Reach the AVBCC by mail at Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce, 1543 E. Palmdale Blvd., Suite I, Palmdale, CA 93550. The e-mail address is info@avbcc.org, phone number is (661) 946-8780.
Sun Village Council
The Sun Village Town Council’s purpose, according to President Eugene Washington, is to be a “liaison between the community and county officials and other entities.”
“We want to see Sun Village grow,” said Washington. “We identify the needs of Sun Village.”
Meetings are held every fourth Monday at 7 p.m. and are open to the public. The meeting location is the William B. Shaw Building at 9659 E Ave. Q-10 in Sun Village. Washington issues an open call to residents of Sun Village to “join committees to get involved in growing the community.”
Washington listed eleven issues on the docket that the council plans to deal with in 2011:
1) Make sure the county of Los Angeles, and CalTrans fulfill their promise to put in a traffic light at 90th St. East and Avenue R, where Jackie Robinson Park is situated, before the Juneteenth event. This, said Washington, is a major safety concern.
2) Put up directional signs to Sun Village by February 2011. Exits off Highways 14 and 138 are where the signs are needed and would be most visible. When events like boxing tournaments or the Juneteenth celebration are held, there’s no signage to direct people to Sun Village.
3) Address illegal dumping in the community.
4) Seek a “birth certificate” for Sun Village. A child has no identity “until he is issued a birth certificate,” Washington said.
5) Address illegal building in the community, especially in backyards.
6) Address illegal fencing in the area. A drive around the area revealed countless homes whose owners have used old wooden garage doors for fences.
7) Begin a neighborhood beautification program to attract more business to the area.
8) Finalize the southern boundary between Littlerock and Sun Village.
9) Road repair. Washington related a situation where one side of the road is higher than another. On the high side, the owners have horses. When it rains, the runoff washes the manure across the road and onto the low side and into neighbors’ yards.
10) Start/resurrect a Neighborhood Watch program.
11) Collaborate with AV Union High School District to change the name of Littlerock High. Why rename the school? Because it is in Sun Village, not Littlerock.
Contact the Sun Village Town Council at (661) 944-5172.
Jackie Robinson Park in Sun Village hosted the Southern California Association’s USA Boxing Inc. annual Boxing Club Show on Sunday. Clubs from across the valley, Santa Clarita, Inland Empire, and as far away as San Diego came to pit their boxers against others in the ring.
The main gym at the park was nearly full of spectators. Friends, family, and fellow club members turned out to cheer on their fighters.
The A.V. community showed up hungry and in a festive mood for the annual Juneteenth celebration at Jackie Robinson Park in Sun Village last weekend. Presented by Friends of Jackie Robinson Park and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, the event was billed as a “weekend of unity, sun, music, faith, food, and love.”
SUN VILLAGE, Calif.—The Friends of Jackie Robinson Park will host the 16th annual Sun Village Juneteeth Celebration in honor of 146 years of African American freedom.
It is the oldest nationally celebrated commemorative holiday honoring the end of slavery in the U.S.
June 19, or Juneteeth, provides a day of reflection and empowerment as African Americans across the country recognize the outstanding accomplishments and successes that Blacks have achieved.
Hundreds are expected to swarm on Sun Village to take part in those festivities.
The light has come to Sun Village! OK, it’s a traffic light, but still. And it has not actually arrived yet, but it’s on the way.
The traffic signal will be installed at the corner of 90th Street East and Avenue R, where Jackie Robinson Park is located.
Arguably the heart of Sun Village, the park boasts a community recreation building, children’s play areas, picnic areas and a gymnasium. Dozens of public events are held at the park throughout the year, along with various after-school functions and youth and adult sports programs.
SUN VILLAGE, Calif.—On Friday night the founding members of the originally all-Black town and Jackie Robinson Park came together for an elegant evening to honor a tradition set by pioneers at the Fountain of Hope Awards Banquet.
Honorees included Bernyse Hunter, 97, who earned her Ph.D. at the young age of 91 and who was a member of the original Sun Village Women’s Club, and Olene Cleveland who has been serving hungry Sun Village residents for more than 20 years at her home and faith-based foundation, Love’s Open Doors.
