Giving roundup: Donations this week in the form of books, frozen custard, scholarships

Desert Sun staff
Read With Me Volunteer Programs sees first-hand how actually owning a book and taking it home accelerates children’s learning to read.

Read With Me receives grant from Berger Foundation

In April, the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation awarded Read With Me Volunteer Programs (RWM) a $25,000 grant to purchase books and support the organization’s local English literacy tutoring programs. The Coachella Valley Spotlight grant will contribute to the approximate 35,500 books that are given to 10,000 Coachella Valley students annually.

“Read With Me Volunteer Programs sees first-hand how actually ‘owning’ a book and taking it home and sharing it with family and friends not only accelerates children’s learning to read but also fosters a life-long love of reading,” said Roberta Klein, founder and volunteer executive director of RWM. 

Founded 18 years ago, RWM now serves 16 local schools, primarily in the east valley, with about 350 volunteer tutors working with more than 3,000 elementary-aged children. Even during virtual learning, volunteers were able to provide about 8,000 hours of tutoring, and this school year, volunteers have logged more than 10,000 hours so far.

The organization is seeking more volunteers for next school year and working to get its numbers back to what they were before the pandemic, which were approximately 750 tutors for 4,200 children and 24,000 tutoring hours.

“Read With Me is a successful intergenerational program that bonds two distinct groups of people — identified socio-economically disadvantaged children and retired adults,” said Catharine Reed, vice president of charitable programs for the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. "This combination is powerful. It provides the adults with a meaningful way to contribute to future generations, and it is clearly positively impacting our local communities.” readwithmevolunteers.com, hnberger.org

East Valley service organizations to honor Indio’s health care heroes May 12

Perfect Pint is located at 42-575 Melanie Place, Suite F, in Palm Desert.

Rotary Club of Indio Sunrise and Woman’s Club of Indio announced May 2 that they are teaming up with Perfect Pint of Palm Desert (perfectpint760.com) to provide staff members of Desert Healthcare Network’s JFK Memorial Hospital with a “thank you” half-pint of free frozen custard.

Each JFK Memorial staff member can pick up their frosty treat during a special event from 2 to 4 p.m. on May 12 at the hospital, located at 47-111 Monroe Street in Indio. Staffers who are unable to attend will be given certificates to redeem later.

“We’re eager to show our appreciation for these hard-working, frontline health care heroes who continue to give their all to our community,” said Gloria Franz, a member and past president of the Woman’s Club of Indio, who also serves on JFK Memorial’s board of governors.

Rotary Club of Indio Sunrise (indiosunriserotary.org) was formed in 1987 as a chapter of Rotary International. The Woman’s Club of Indio (wcindio.org), which currently boasts 125 members, was formed in 1912 as the Altrurian Literary Club social organization. In 1916, it was renamed Woman’s Club of Indio and became affiliated with the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC). The club has been providing scholarships to Indio students since the 1960s, and its primary mission is to carry out charitable service programs, provide leadership opportunities and enrich the lives of its members through personal growth.

JROTC awards ceremony held in Indio, scholarships awarded

John and Celeste Schleimer pose with Cpl. Hunter Lopez’s mother, Alicia Lopez (center). The Schleimer family made the donation for the Hunter Lopez scholarship.

The Palm Springs Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America held its annual Junior ROTC awards ceremony April 21 at the Elks Club in Indio. This ceremony recognized the outstanding leadership displayed by selected high school students in their Reserve Officer Training Corps programs throughout the Coachella Valley.

Robert Ramirez, president of the chapter and a retired Navy Chief Warrant Officer, was master of ceremony for the awards program, which began with the presentation of colors by the Desert Hot Springs High School’s JROTC Color Guard.

This year’s event also named the winner of the chapter’s inaugural scholarship in the name of Cpl. Hunter Lopez of Indio who was killed in Afghanistan in August 2021 and was the first of two $2,500 scholarships donated by chapter member John Schleimer and his wife, Celeste, of Indian Wells.

Cadet Major Adriana Vasquez of Desert Hot Springs High School’s Marine Corp JROTC received the Hunter Lopez Scholarship before an audience that included her parents and Hunter’s mother, Alicia Lopez. The second scholarship from the Schleimer family was given to Cadet Colonial Cindy Aguilar Zamora of La Quinta High School’s Air Force JROTC program.

The chapter’s 2022 PSC-MOAA $1,000 scholarship was presented to Cadet Lt. Col. Naviana Ramos of Cathedral City High School’s Air Force JROTC.

The Leadership Medals for school year 2021 were presented to Cadet Captain Adriana Vasquez of Desert Hot Springs High School’s Marine Corp JROTC, Cadet Major Keegan Kyzer of Cathedral City High School’s Air Force JROTC and Cadet Lt. Col. Tyson Wihelm of La Quinta High School’s Air Force JROTC.

The Leadership Medals for school year 2022 were given to Cadet 1st Lt. Eunice Carias of Desert Hot Springs High School’s Marine Corp JROTC, Cadet 1st Lt. Sarah Navarro of Cathedral City High School’s Air Force JROTC and 1st Lt. Amada Kaye of La Quinta High School’s Air Force JROTC.

For more information on the Palm Springs Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, contact Robert Ramirez at rramirez4@dc.rr.com or (760) 409-5357.