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Tag: charity

  • Basketball charity: Citrus Heights police to face Spartans, Mavs

    Basketball_hoop_public_domain

    A team of Citrus Heights police officers will be out in force on June 13, but they’ll be dropping the bullet-proof vests and donning basketball uniforms as they face off two local high school teams for a charity event in the San Juan High School gym.

    “Come show your support for Citrus Heights’ superstar student-athletes!” a flier for the 2nd annual Charity Basketball Extravaganza reads, inviting the community to “rally together for a common benefit.”

    Food will be catered by Wild Wade’s BBQ & Grill for the Saturday event, with officers from the Citrus Heights Police Athletic League playing against the San Juan Spartans and Mesa Verde Mavericks.

    The charity event is also scheduled to feature a half-time police K-9 Unit demo, along with performances from Mesa Verde and San Juan high schools’ dance teams, and the Citrus Heights Police Activities League Dance Team. The event will also feature raffles, various competitions, and a ‘Slam Domestic Violence’ 3-point shootout.

    The “extravaganza” is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on June 13 in the San Juan High School Large Gym, located at 7551 Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights.

    [Also on The Sentinel: Citrus Heights’ 2015 Red, White & Blue Parade seeks entries]

    Tickets are available for $5 and can be purchased in advance by calling Mesa Verde High School at (916) 971-5288, or San Juan High School at (916) 971-5112. Donations are tax-deductible and will go towards local youth groups and charities, and children under 9 can attend for free, according to the event flier.

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  • For-profit donation center benefits local non-profits

    ReUseIt, donation, center, station, citrus heights
    Large signs and sleek logos seek to drive donors to the Citrus Heights “ReUseIt” drop-off center near the intersection of Auburn Boulevard and Antelope Road.

    Originally published April 19, 2014
    Updated April 25, 11:42 p.m. —
    You’ve probably seen them near the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Antelope Road – big green and black signs with huge white letters advertising a donation drop-off center.

    The “ReUseIt” donation center in Citrus Heights was the first location the company opened back in 2012, according to Stuart Bassett, who’s worked at the Auburn Boulevard location since its grand opening.

    A big emphasis for the company is its support of local charities, as indicated by its mission statement and the hard-to-miss “LOCAL” written in capital letters on almost all of the company’s marketing material.

    “You know where your money’s going,” said Bassett, seeking to distinguish his company from the competition by highlighting the local support.

    Although it turns out “local” includes the greater-Sacramento area, ReUseIt has hosted donation drives for Pet Owners Of Citrus Heights and Holy Family Catholic School, and welcomes other local nonprofits to explore partnership opportunities in organizing a donation drive.

    On a typical weekday, Bassett says he’ll see about 10 cars roll in to drop off donations, with about 30 on weekends. Accepting standard items like usable clothing, shoes, toys, books, and small appliances, he said donors should just be sure not to drop off cans or bottles, as well as large furniture and mattresses – all of which are items they’ve chosen not to accept, or that state law restricts them from handling.

    As with all business, ReUseIt faces a competitive market with various organizations trying to attract customers who will donate their unused items.

    Goodwill Industries is one such competing organization, with several locations in Citrus Heights. Registered as a nonprofit with the Internal Revenue Service, Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada, Inc. appears to be doing well — reporting total revenue of $47 million in 2012, according to public tax documents filed with the IRS. The local Goodwill also reported paying six of its executives over $100,000 to oversee its 26 regional stores in 2012, with its CEO reporting total compensation over $480,000.

    As a for-profit business, ReUseIt is not required to file similar public tax documents — but according to the company’s website, a minimum of 50 percent of all net profit is donated to local charities.

    In May, the company has organized several drives with parent organizations at Citrus Heights schools, according to ReUseIt.org.

  • Citrus Heights Charity Sends ‘Truckload’ of Relief

    With a live orchestra loudly playing in the background, an 18-wheeler full of supplies headed out of the parking lot of a Citrus Heights-based charity Thursday, as local pastors and community leaders joined to celebrate the shipment of their first container of relief supplies to Ukraine.

    Ukraine Relief sends off first shipment of supplies
    The first container full of Ukrainian relief supplies headed out from Citrus Heights, Thursday. // photo courtesy of Ukraine Relief

    “We are motivated by the amount of people who have reached out and offered emotional or material support,”  Ukraine Relief said in a statement, promising to supply those in Ukraine with clothes, food, medical aid and shelter. “Ukraine Relief would like to thank every person involved in relief efforts.”

    Mostly made up of the area’s large Ukrainian immigrant population, organizers say the newly formed volunteer organization was created “to connect and unite people, businesses, organizations, and religious communities together” to provide aid to those caught in the current turmoil in Ukraine.