Communication, Collaboration, Cooperation May 2011 ICF

In This Issue

With our gratitude

Featured Article

Quick Links

Idyllwild Garden Club

Mountain Disaster Preparedness

With our gratitude......thanks for helping us grow.

This month we want to thank the following donors for their financial contributions:

Jorgine and Barney Brause

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Higgins

Marsha Lytle

Let's Cooperate
Janice Fast

Janice Fast, ICF Board Member, has been singing a song of cooperation for years. She encourages organizations to get to know one another and find ways to share resources. Here is just one of her success stories:

Two recipients of ICF grants are working together for their mutual benefit. Spirit Moutain Retreat had to have three dead trees removed from their garden. They offered the wood from two of the trees to Fire Safe Council (the Woodies) if they, in turn, would split the remaining wood for use by Spirit Mountain. The wood was taken to the Help Center to benefit their clients. Then The Woodies loaned the use of their trailer to Spirit Mountain so they could haul compost to their garden, Don't you just love it when it all comes together? Who can you connect with today?

Site Visits Coming Up!
Site visit Garden Club

Between May 24 and June 30, ICF Board Members will be conducting site visits to see presentations from all of the organizations who submitted grant applications for 2011. We look forward to listening and learning. This photo from 2010 is of the Garden Club presenting their plan. It worked!

Save the date

September 22, 2011. Is that day on your calendar? It's the evening of celebration for our 2011 grant recipients. Hang on to your hat. It will be amazing. Join us.

Communicate, Collaborate, Cooperate

Just take a look at how Idyllwild does it!

As the citizens of Idyllwild already know, this is a community of caring and giving. I believe the Idyllwild Community Fund (ICF) can play an important role in substantially increasing support for your favorite organization or group. By donating to the ICF, your gift keeps on working forever. The more money we have in the endowment, the more support we can give to our local organizations. One check from you can help many groups on the hill.

I am relatively new on this advisory board but am impressed by the interest and caring the members have for this community. I feel comfortable saying that your donations will be thoughtfully and intelligently invested in our local organizations.

Jim Taylor, Board Member since 2010

Collaboration Creates a Garden by Mike Feyder

Idyllwild Garden Club, Grant Recipient 2010

In 2010, the Idyllwild Garden Club and the Idyllwild Area Historical Society embarked on an ambitious project to transform the grounds of the Idyllwild Museum into a Village Garden for all to enjoy. The Village Garden would provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about California native plants as well as other plants that adapt best to the mountain climate of Idyllwild and conserve water use. The park
-like setting would provide visitors with a place to rest, picnic and enjoy beautiful Idyllwild.

The project posed some challenges. It lacked adequate irrigation. A new system was required before the planting could begin. We submitted a grant request for help from the Idyllwild Community Fund.

We were pleased to receive a 2010 grant. How rewarding it was to know the ICF shared our dream and recognized the value of our project.

Because of the grant, Phase One of the garden is complete. The six stage irrigation system is fully installed and the pathways have been defined. This spring and fall 145 new plants will be positioned in two large beds to complete Phase Two. Come. Enjoy!
Visit the website

Cooperation Prepares Our Youth by Veronica Alt

Mountain Disaster Preparedness, Grant Recipient 2006-7, 2010

Recently Ms. Lisa Draper's 4^th grade class from Idyllwild Elementary participated in a Junior Mountain Disaster Preparedness (MDP) training session. The exuberant students spent time going through the MDP Disaster Aid Station (DAS) located just a block from their school.

The students each had time to do a walk through and inspect the supplies and learn about the function of a DAS in an emergency. Most, if not all, were unaware of its existence.

Then, suitably decked out in neon vests and red and green helmets, each student was able to transmit a message, using the phonetic alphabet, to MDP radio monitors. Idyllwild Community Fund has, over the years, generously contributed to MDP's ability to purchase, among other items, these essential radios and it was a pleasure to see the interest and glee they generated with the students.

Learn more on the website.

Communicating with you......Jim Taylor

Our guest editor, Jim Taylor, has chosen to be a great communicator and to use those skills to encourage cooperation. Jim and his wife Susan have lived in Idyllwild for 28 years and as Jim says, "It just feels like home." Jim taught elementary school in Rialto, Chula Vista, and Hemet for 36 years before retiring in 2004. Their two boys Peter and Greg grew up in Idyllwild from the fifth grade on. The family has always been active in hiking, backpacking, bicycling, and kayaking so Idyllwild was a good fit.

After Jim retired, he volunteered with the Mountain Community Fire Safe Council and still works with the "Woodies" every Friday splitting wood or doing fire abatement.

I am generally not a joiner of "boards" and I definitely do not like meetings, so why am I enthusiastic about the Idyllwild Community Fund? First, because the community members on the ICF board are sincere in their desire to help this community. Secondly, because the purpose of this organization is to assist many worthy causes on the hill. From kids to adults, from recreation to the arts, from history to natural resources, ICF supports the needs of this community. Become an active supporter of this community with your donation today or through a planned giving program.

Sincerely,

Jim Taylor

Idyllwild Community Fund of The Community Foundation