Thanks for helping the annual holiday food drive




Thanks for helping the annual
holiday food drive


The 24th annual Santa Comes to Agoura and Beyond was once again a monumental success. This remarkable event was due to the generosity of so many members of our community that donated groceries, turkeys, grocery store scrip, money and gifts and toys. The program is operated by an unpaid staff of volunteers. All expenses associated with the program are donated by the volunteers so that 100 percent of donations can help the less fortunate.


With your kind help, we were able to aid the following: Local families experiencing difficulties due to lack of employment and other unforeseen circumstances beyond their control, shelters for battered women and children, victims of AIDS, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, Children of the Night shelters for the homeless, Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital, Many Mansions in T.O., Optimist Boys and Girls Home, Rancho San Antonio Boys Home in Chatsworth, over 1,000 families and individuals from South L.A. through Oxnard.


The success of this program wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and hard work of so many volunteers. I’d like to give special thanks to the following: The Acorn Newspaper, Jim and Lisa Rule, Steve Holt and their entire staff for their generous monetary donations as well as their devotion to the less fortunate in the community. Without their efforts, this project wouldn’t have been the monumental success that it was. Others include: Lost Hills Dep. Fquay, the L.A. County Fire Department, "Santa Claus," a.k.a. Capt. Tom Martin of Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, Tommy Boldger for providing the doves, Adelphia Cable of Westlake, Newbury Park, Simi Valley and especially Carlos Williams, Allan McDaniel, Karen Gross and their entire staff.


Many thanks to the following organizations and businesses, and houses of worship for their generous support: Trader Joe’s Westlake Village, John Kuhlmann and Greg Heinrich, the Wolfson Family Foundation, the Amgen Matching Foundation, Kelly Warmington, California Do-it Center, Jess Ruff and his entire staff, Dole Foods, Billy and Joyce Thomson, Lorie Robinson, DPM, Dr. David Halpert, Agoura Equipment Rentals, Don and Mary Liebman of State Farm Insurance, U-Haul of Agoura Hills, the Triunfo YMCA, the management and employees of Costco in Westlake Village, Starbucks of Agoura Hills, Steve Bonifede of Farmers Insurance, Frank and Rose Annino, Trader Joe’s of Sherman Oaks, John Thorson, the Brookside Elementary Chorus, Joyce Thomas, director, Bill’s Home Service, Bill and B.J. Parisi, Frank, Kim, Josephine and Megan Annino, the Agoura Calabasas Kiwanis, the Agoura Calabasas Rotary Club, Mary and Steve Soelberg, G.I. Industries/ Waste Management, the Birthday Buddies, the Agoura 4-H Club, Carol Cusanovich, Calabasas/ Agoura Valley Woman’s Club, Pavilions of Westlake Village, Roadside Lumber and Hardware, Adobe Cantina, Peggy Armstrong, Agoura Beautiful, Pat and Vance Moran, T.H.Q Company, White Dove and Pigeon Release, Thomas Boldjer Sr., the Bean Scene, Mel Adams and family, the Tommy Boldjer Jr. Foundation, First Federal Bank of Agoura Hills, John and Mary Lou Herferd, Los Robles Medical Center, Kris Caraway Bowman, Kurtz Food Services, Ed and Bernie Kurtz, Money Wise, Joann and Stan Benson, Steven Iceland, DDS, Custom Lasers, Bill Williams, the Agoura Las Virgenes Optimist Club, Helping Hands for Humanity, Brad Goodrow, Dennis McCarthy and Barbara Jones, The Daily News, Nova Imaging Computer Sales, the parishioners of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church, the Church of Latter day Saints in Newbury Park and Oak Park, and Conejo Valley Congregational Church.


We wish to thank the following schools for instilling the benefits of community of community service to their students. St Jude’s School and CCD, Buttercup Preschool, Born Learners, Willow Elementary, Sumac Elementary, Yerba Buena Elementary, Red Oak Elementary, Brookside, Oak Hills, Lindero Canyon Middle School, Medea Creek Middle School, Oaks Christian School, Oak Hills Elementary, and Agoura and Oak Park high schools.


Thank you everyone that became involved. You did make a difference to other people’s lives by your showing of compassion. May you have a healthy and prosperous New Year.


George Annino and


the Agoura Las Virgines


Optimist Club and the Santa Comes to Agoura staff: Ann Housel, Patti Wolfson, Lynda Hoffmann, Cindy Rushing, Steve Bonifede, Michele Baxter, Karen Dorin, Bill and B.J. Parisi, Ralph Boulware, Mary Jane McGraw, Lauri Rivetti, Kameron Johnson and Laura Lenininger



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