LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In any given week, Sharon Weeks and Annina van Voorene may find themselves delivering birthday flowers, arranging for a repair to a home wheelchair ramp, making travel arrangements, counseling a family whose loved one is dying, filling out forms or researching dog-friendly cruises.

Weeks and van Voorene are social workers. They are committed to bringing positive change to people’s daily lives.

Social work is a unique calling that stretches beyond hours of the day and days of the week and a list of job duties. Social work is a commitment to caring. It is great work for a higher purpose.

Weeks and van Voorene work for Hospice Services of Lake County. They are part of the team of professionals that surround hospice patients and their loved ones.

Within 48 hours of a patient’s admission to hospice, the patient and family receive a visit from one of the social workers.

The social worker talks with the family to learn what assistance might make a difficult situation better. Does the family need a resource for legal counsel or financial advice? Would they benefit from available community resources? Would counseling help the family members cope with anticipatory grief? Do they need help resolving problems with their insurance?

Each family is different and has its own unique situation. The job of the social worker is to identify the needs, make connections to the appropriate resources and take action to get those services in place. They are tenacious and persistent in their drive to help solve problems when many others can’t.

Weeks has worked for Hospice for over 25 years. She says the greatest skill a social worker can have is to be a good listener and be fully present while listening. Social workers are also counselors.

She and van Voorene take time to listen to the fears and anxieties of the caregivers and the family members.

“We offer suggestions, respect their wishes, and help them find balance,” Weeks stated.

She is quick to praise the caregivers, reminding them that the act of caregiving is a precious gift that they give to their loved one.

March is National Social Work month. Hospice Services of Lake County honors Weeks and van Voorene for their compassion and commitment to helping hospice patients and families get through difficult times.

For more information about hospice services, which is fully funded by Medicare, or to request a confidential consultation, call 707-263-6222.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – St. Patrick’s Day is a time of celebration with family and friends that often includes the consumption of  alcoholic beverages.

If you’ve been drinking on St. Patrick’s Day, AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah will take you and your car home for free.

AAA’s Tipsy Tow program is open to everyone. You do not need to be a AAA member to take advantage of this service to the community.

AAA will offer the service to drinking drivers from 6 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 to 6 a.m. March 18 in Northern California, Nevada and Utah. Drivers, potential passengers, party hosts, bartenders, and restaurant managers can call 800-222-4357 (AAA-HELP) for a free tow home of up to 10 miles.

Just tell the AAA operator, “I need a Tipsy Tow,” and a truck will be on its way.    

The service will provide a one-way ride for the driver and vehicle to the driver’s home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver’s home as long as there is sufficient room for them to be transported safely in the tow truck. You cannot make a reservation.           

In California, an estimated 160,000 drivers were arrested for drunk driving in 2013, and 24,000 people were killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes.

AAA estimates that a first-time DUI conviction in California can cost approximately $15,649 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and increased insurance costs.

Costs related to DUI have risen sharply in recent years mostly due to a large increase in fines and insurance for DUI drivers. The estimated cost of a first-offense misdemeanor DUI for those under age 21 is $21,500. You can’t put a price tag on a crash that causes an injury or death.

Drunk-driving crashes account for about 36 percent of highway deaths of young people age 16 to 24. As little as one drink can impair vision, steering, braking, judgment and reaction time.

“Many people enjoy getting into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, which tends to involve plenty of celebrating,” said Cynthia Harris, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “If you’ve been drinking alcohol, don’t get behind the wheel. Give AAA a call and we’ll make sure you get home safely.”

MARYSVILLE, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA-03) hosted his first Grants Seminar in Marysville today. More than 170 people attended this six-hour event hoping to get a leg up on applying for grants.

All participants attended a Grants Proposal Development Workshop hosted by Yumi Sera and Elaine Abelaye-Mateo.

“I frequently read grant proposals, and they often focus on why your organization needs this money. It's not about your organization. It's not about you. It's about who you support,” Sera explained.

The presentation centered on improving the focus of grant proposals by communicating clear and achievable goals that are plausible given an organization's budget.

The presenters repeatedly encouraged the organizations in attendance to remember that real humans read these proposals, making it very important to add emotion to the proposal. Numbers are great, but stories of people who have been or will be helped are also very important.

Participants also were encouraged to partner with other organizations and to make it clear that the grant-seeking organization has community support and multiple ways to access resources. Grant providers rarely want to be the primary funder.

Following this presentation, a networking luncheon helped connect participants with experts and like-minded organizations followed by a keynote presentation by Congressman Garamendi.

He talked about many of the services his office provides and noted that the Grants Seminar emerged after multiple non-profit organizations reached out to his office for help.

“The need is great, and we are here to help,” Congressman Garamendi said. “My job is to do all I can for economic development in this region. A lot of the work we do is directly related to the work you do: education, help for seniors, and rural housing. That's your job and it's my job too.”

Garamendi also encouraged the participants to read the Grants Guidebook created by his office and to provide feedback on how it can be improved.

“How do you get a grant? What's the process? This guide book is designed to help you understand how you should process grants,” Garamendi said. “That one sentence of feedback you didn't provide could put you at the bottom of the stack instead of the top of the stack.”

Garamendi's remarks were followed by two presentations on how to access federal and private foundation grants respectively by Glenda Humiston, the California state director at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development, and Chet Hewitt, the president/CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation.

“We think about grants as investments. You're doing something that isn't solely about you. If it has applicability beyond your community – if it can serve as a model that can be replicated – that's something many foundations value,” Hewitt said.

Humiston noted that the closer organizations can partner together, the more likely they are to be successful in seeking a grant. It's also important to make the case with data.

California's countywide data can hide serious needs. Data that can look at communities more closely, such as census track data, can help identify needs that are easily missed in county data.

The day ended with group sessions focused on six types of grants: social services, health and well being, education and youth, community and economic development, agriculture and environment, and arts and culture.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Christian Center Preschool will hold its annual chili cook-off on Friday, March 27.

The cook-off will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lakeport Christian Center, 455 S. Forbes St.

Tickets cost $8 per person for adults, $5 per child or $20 for a family of four.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

For more information, call Lakeport Christian Center, 707-263-4514, or visit www.lcchub.com or https://www.facebook.com/lcconline .

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Some say one man’s used goods are another man’s treasures. The Lake County Association of Realtors (LCAOR) Scholarship Committee says, “Come find your treasure and help us raise money for local Lake County high school seniors!”

On April 18 and 19 the scholarship committee will hold its annual countywide yard sale in the Noble Realty parking lot, located at 375 E. Highway 20 in Upper Lake.
 
Donations are collected from across the county and this massive two-day yard sale includes a variety of household, personal and furniture items all in one place.

All proceeds from the sale go directly to the LCAOR Scholarship fund, which provides Lake County high school seniors with individual scholarships.
 
“In the past two years, we have been able to double our scholarship fund, presenting a total of nearly $10,000 annually in multiple scholarships to seniors at all of the five Lake County high schools.” explained committee chair, Heidi Johnson.

“This yard sale is huge and our last big fundraiser before we start interviewing scholarship applicants,” Johnson said.
 
The committee is asking Lake County residents to donate items for the sale.

“It’s the perfect time to get busy with spring cleaning and go through closets, garages and your homes and donate those unwanted items to a worthy cause,” said Johnson.

Items can be delivered and stored at the laundromat mat next door to Noble Realty in Upper Lake. 

Volunteers to assist with the day of the sale also are welcome.
 
For more information on how to donate, volunteer or just to shop, contact Kalyn Noble at 707-349-0636.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Presently there are only two openings on the Konocti Senior Support Inc. Board to help oversee two outstanding programs, Senior Peer Counseling and the Friendly Visitor Program.

The organization will review the applicants and select persons with a background in business or a keen desire to help seniors.

With the numerous cuts in government programs, Konocti Senior Support's programs are even more vital to the safety and well being of Lake County elders.

Konocti Senior Support receives funding support from the county, which also oversees the organization's use of those funds.

By attending the board of director’s meeting the second Tuesday of each month at 12:15 p.m., volunteers will help make decisions and suggestions regarding the staffing, finances and oversight of operations.

Board members will get to know the staff and volunteers as well as the other board members and be allowed to attend any of the seminars that interest you.

If you want to give back to the community simply by offering your talents two to three hours each month, Konocti Senior Support Inc. will give you great satisfaction.

To receive an application or learn more about Senior Peer Counseling and The Friendly Visitors programs, call 707-995-1417 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or visit www.konoctiseniorsupport.com .