Police Council Raises Money for Valley Cops

The Mid-Valley Community Police Council recently joined forces with local businesses to raise $35,000 to aid police resources at the LAPD Van Nuys Area Division and the LAPD Youth Program. Money raised from the 15th Annual “Cops & Cowboys” Dinner Dance last month will go toward funding supplemental training, equipment, physical improvement and technology for the division, which covers Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Valley Glen and the Ventura Business District. Jean Sinatra, president of the council, said, “In spite of this economy, we are exuberant that this event was such a success.” She added that the group intends to use these funds, as it does with all the money it raises, to step in where budget gaps leave the division short. “If there is a training (session) and they are approved to send one person, we’ll step in and pay for an additional two officers to be able to go.” The event drew about 320 attendees to the VFW post in Canyon Country for a Western-themed evening. The crowd was a mix of police officers, San Fernando Valley business owners and community members. In addition to aiding the officers of the Van Nuys Division, the council contributes to the LAPD Youth Program, which includes its Jeopardy, Cadet and Juvenile Impact programs department-wide. Center Acura/Center BMW of Sherman Oaks was one of three platinum sponsors of the event, which was also sponsored by Westfield Fashion Square, Power Chevrolet, Keyes Toyota, and Universal Protection Service, among others. “This was really a celebration of the community-based policing efforts,” Sinatra said. “With so many community members and police together, it really was such a feel-good event.” Leno Event Raises Money for Youth Local businesses including Galpin Santa Clarita, Southern California Gas Company and Pacific Funding Mortgage Division sponsored a comedy show headlined by Jay Leno Aug. 7 that raised money to benefit The Santa Clarita Valley Youth Project. The SCV Youth Project provides free services to teens dealing with depression, grief, peer pressure, bullying, and drug or alcohol abuse. The organization offers one-on-one services at six high schools and seven junior high campuses. Since 2000, the project has assisted more than 28,000 local teenagers. The staff of the organization is made up primarily of first- and second-year master’s students from Cal State University, Northridge, who work with students directly. “The energy and excitement around the event was through the roof,” said Kim Goldman, executive director of SFV Youth Project. She estimated that the event grossed somewhere in the $30,000 range, although she is still awaiting final numbers. “The sponsors were great – everyone was really chomping at the bit to help,” she said. The event, which took place at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons, featured comics John Heffron, Tammy Pescatelli, Alonzo Bodden and was headlined by Leno. Chase Grant Gives to Goodwill Goodwill Industries of Southern California will receive an $115,000 grant this month from JPMorgan Chase that will help the organization to train and place 5,796 local clients in new jobs. Chase is one of the first and largest investors in Goodwill’s placement program, and over the last three years has helped fund a program that coordinates job development and placement services in communities that have been heavily impacted by the economic downturn. The majority of people served through the placement services program are unemployed and have generally been so for extended periods of time, according to Chase spokesman Gary Kishner. “Chase has been a supporter for the last three years, and they have become progressively engaged,” said Chanya Blumenkrantz, director of corporate and foundation giving for Goodwill Southern California. She said that Chase recently decided to add an additional $35,000 to their donation, with the extra funding earmarked for job placement and training in the Inland Empire. Goodwill is a partner of WorkSource California, which operates One Stop Service Centers in Santa Clarita, San Gabriel Valley, Panorama City and Van Nuys, among other locations, to bring together employers and potential employees. “In the last few years, as the economy has slowed, donors have become more conservative,” Blumenkrantz said. “But what we do, the job training and job placement, has resonated with people. The work that we do resonates with the donor.”