Looking Back: Histories, Stories and Profiles
the Grateful Dead Dance Party; and generous Thanksgiv- ing donations. The Community Center—2000s by Dave Cort and Jean Berensmeier The Center’s Valley After School Tutoring program (VAST) started in 2000. Major changes occurred in 2002 when the Community Center absorbed an after school child care program, a licensed child care program for 5-12 year olds, a teen program and after school classes for students K-8. Subsequently, these programs joined together as part of the Valley Resource Center whose goal is to provide compre- hensive health and human services support and referrals for Valley families. In 2003 the Center Board voted to change the name of the Cultural Center back to the Community Center. In 2004 the Center received a grant for the Ready, Set, Go School Readiness Program that serves families with children 0-5 years old. In 2005 the Community Center entered into a joint use agreement with the Lagunitas School District that has resulted in a Gym and Youth Cen- ter that opened for school and community use in 2010, the culmination of a decades long dream. The Youth Center evolved into the Loft Teen Center, which offers an array of programs for middle and high school youth. The Com- munity Gym is the place for basketball, volleyball, dance classes, and gatherings for children, youth and adults, in addition to the Lagunitas School District’s Physical Edu- cation classes and the home for Lagunitas Bobcat Sports Teams and St. Cecilia’s CYO Basketball. In February 2009, the Community Center absorbed the Senior Lunch program that in 2017 serves 75 lunches every week. In 2010 the Center’s Resource Guide Commit- tee started working on the 2011 edition; it’s a Valley insti- tution that began in 1983 and is updated every five to six years. Thanks largely to the generosity of Supervisor Kinsey and the Howard Burkhart Endowment Fund at the Marin Community Foundation, it was mailed free to every box holder in the San Geronimo Valley. In 2010 a planning grant was received from the Marin Community Founda- tion to create a San Geronimo Valley Wellness Center. As of December 2010, the Community Center’s staff numbered 15, positions funded by community donations, grants from public, private and community partners, and program fees. The Community Center’s Board and staff remained committed to supporting local families affected by the 2009 recession by providing food, scholarships, and referrals. The budget had grown from a paltry $2,000 in the late ’60s to over $700,000. I love the Community Center and I love the community spirit and the friendliness of everyone caring for each other. Joanne Bagan
ing, resource and referral services. He networked with the Marin Food Bank, Holiday Cooperative, the Valley Lions Club and churches. The Center sponsored a unique art show for those on death row in San Quentin as well as monthly art shows at the county library in Lagunitas. We received a grant to create an 18-panel stained glass project. The first Resource Guide was born, produced periodically and provided free to every box holder in the Valley. We added more classes, performing arts and literary events. In 1989 Arnold produced a quarterly journal for the Center he wisely named Stone Soup . We entered the next decade with the board voting to change the name from Community Center to the Cultural Center with one dissenting vote . . . Guess whose? The Cultural Center—1990s In 1991 Arnold left, accepting full-time employment in a law office. He had worked long and hard to implement the Board’s heartfelt visions at a time when financial resources for programming and salary were limited. We owe him an unpayable debt. We hired Dave Cort at 13 hours a week to be the Human Services Coordinator. He immediately started networking with the school, parents, childcare orga- nizations and individuals with superb results. He had a gift for hiring the right people for the right jobs. Classes, pro- grams and events grew. When I unexpectedly saw tears in his eyes at a particularly moving event, I knew we had the right person for the job. Although some of us were confused about the original Healthy Start program, Dave intuitively seemed to see it as an extension of the work the Center was doing, and he was right. County Supervisor Steve Kinsey, School Superinten- dent Larry Enos, and Trustee Brian Dodd were key in writ- ing the grant that funded this program. The Board took a leap of faith and embraced the program. Dave now had a full-time job (half Cultural Center and half Healthy Start). The Center went from an annual budget of about $5,000 in the ’70s to $50,000 in the late ’80s to $164,000 in 1998 — amazing! Stone Soup went from 4 to 8 then 16 pages. In 1998 the Center celebrated its 30 th anniversary. It’s hard to pick just a few highlights from this decade, having to leave out many events, anecdotes and names, but here are some I can’t resist mentioning: The profes- sional painter, Phillip Wadsworth, who loved the Center so much he painted the whole thing FREE; the first annual Spring Art show on Friday the 13th with 55 Valley artists; the Gardening Workshop by Les Bailey and Elvin Bishop; coordinating with Valley Toys and Joys; AIDS Awareness event; artist home tours and slide shows; Dr. Arvol Look- inghorse; poet Linda Gregg; Kenneth Rexroth Day with Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Michael McClure; the Haunted House; new outdoor stage; Summer Concert series; the Toilet Art Show; Valley Day; SF Mime Troupe;
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50 th Anniversary
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