Briefly In Education

LCAD student designs Grapes for Grads logo

A logo has been chosen for the annual Grapes for Grads event, hosted by the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach.

Grapes for Grads is an annual scholarship fundraiser and wine tasting, featuring wines from more than 80 wineries.

The club picked the entry designed by Charlene Chand, a graphic design major at the Laguna College of Art & Design. Her logo will now appear on all the materials associated with the schools fundraiser, including fliers, signs and T-shirts.

“I’m really excited that my logo was chosen! ... It’s great that they’re giving back to the Laguna Beach community and I’m happy to be a part of it,” Chand said in a statement.

Proceeds from Grapes for Grads go to students at LCAD and Laguna Beach High School. This year’s fundraiser is set for noon to 4 p.m. April 29 at Tivoli Too!, 777 Laguna Canyon Road.

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Author makes a stop at Boys & Girls Club

Last year, Laguna resident Dennis Yang completed “The Great Reading Run,” where he ran 3,281 miles from Long Beach to Coney Island, N.Y.

Now he’s back in town and will speak from 4 to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

Yang is the author of more than 110 children’s stories and founder of the Papa Didos Ideals Foundation, which encourages kids to read and be fit.

“We are going to reverse the trend of falling test scores and expanding waistlines,” Yang said in a statement.

During his journey, he gave out thousands of copies of books he’d written and read to kids at schools, hospitals and orphanages.

For more information on his foundation, visit https://www.papadidos.org.

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Book drive launches next month

Local schools and organizations will be collecting gently used books for the Bee a Luv book drive from Feb. 1 to 14.

Put on by the district’s School Readiness Program and the Children & Families Commission of Orange County, the event’s aim is to collect books appropriate for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. All books will be cleaned and repaired if needed and then redistributed to Orange County families, according to a news release from the district. Laguna Beach High School students have volunteered to help.

Books may be dropped off at the School Readiness Office in the Boys & Girls Club’s Community Room; El Morro Elementary School; and Top of the World Elementary School.

Last year, more than 2,000 books were collected, with El Morro and Top of the World donating more than 1,000 of those.

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Grant to help with SchoolPower fundraisers

SchoolPower has received a $5,000 grant from the Laguna Beach Community Foundation, and the funds will go to help put on better fundraising events, according to a news release from SchoolPower.

The money, in part, will go toward a new sound system for presenters and a bar code scanner system for silent auctions.

The timing of the grant couldn’t be better. SchoolPower is currently preparing for its biggest fundraising event of the year: the 27th annual Dinner Dance at the Montage on March 3.

“We are so grateful to the Laguna Beach Community Foundation for this grant,” Dinner Dance co-chairwomen Patience Shutts and Kim Ressler said in a statement. “Owning these behind-the-scene items that we would normally have to borrow or rent for the Dinner Dance will save hours of volunteer time and help to ensure a smooth and professional event.”

For more information about the Dinner Dance or SchoolPower, visit https://www.lbschoolpower.org or call (949) 494-6811.

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Board president, husband are Citizens of the Year

Betsy Jenkins, president of the district’s Board of Education, and her husband, Dr. Gary Jenkins, have been chosen as the 2012 Citizens of the Year for the 46th annual Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade.

The couple was selected for their significant contributions to the community, and they were nominated by Supt. Sherine Smith.

Betsy Jenkins serves on many committees, including the board for Laguna Beach Live!, the Mission Hospital Advisory Board and the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Assn., according to a news release from the district.

Gary Jenkins is on the Friendship Shelter board and is the president of the SchoolPower Endowment Foundation.

Both have worked with the Boy Scouts of America, Laguna Art Museum, Village Laguna and the Laguna Playhouse.

“Gary and Betsy exemplify the qualities we hope our students will acquire as they move through our schools: generosity, caring, compassion, character, intelligence, dedication, effort and integrity,” Smith said in a prepared statement.

The Jenkinses, and all the honorees for this year’s parade, will be lauded at the Honorees Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at Tivoli Terrace. The cost is $25. Reservations must be made by Friday to Sandi Werthe at [email protected] or (949) 494-6016.

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Volunteer tutors needed at TLC

The Learning Club (TLC) is seeking volunteers to participate in an after-school tutoring program at El Morro Elementary School.

The tutors will help students in grades 2 through 5 who need extra help with homework and learning.

TLC operates Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from November to May. Adults and teens may apply, and no experience is necessary. Training will be provided.

To volunteer or get more information, call Peggie Thomas at (949) 499-1817 or Barbara Antonacci at (949) 241-5139.

—Kelly Parker

Twitter: @KellyParkerTCN