The 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

It was another beautiful day in the Leona Valley and, being March 17th, to be wearing Green. It was also a good idea to be at the Leona Valley Community Building for the annual Leona Valley Sertoma St. Patrick’s Day Dinner. This annual fundraiser has become a favorite of the community and brings out many community members to enjoy an afternoon of food and good times with neighbors and friends. Jan Clark stated it was the best Leona Valley Sertoma St. Patrick’s Day Dinner EVER with almost two hundred very hungry folks served. They enjoyed a traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage along with great selection of desserts and a bar featuring Irish Coffee; plus, what can only be described as truly perfect weather.

These photographs give you just a hint of the preparation, the anticipation, and the good times enjoyed by all in attendance.

Leona Valley Sertoma has been serving the Leona Valley and surrounding Lakes and Valleys communities since its beginnings back in December of 1997. For those not familiar with Sertoma, the word is taken from the phrase “Service To Mankind” and that is exactly what the members of the Leona Valley Sertoma strive to do. Make no doubt about it, this part of Los Angeles County truly deserves to be called paradise and the people who live here know how fortunate they are to live in such a beautiful place. Perhaps that is why the people around here are so friendly and seemingly always smiling.Of course, just like anywhere else there are people in need, or some person, place or thing, that could use a little help in one way or another, and helping is what Sertoma is all about. Leona Valley Sertoma has a proud history of involvement in the community, whether it is helping someone enduring a hardship, or stepping up to help make a community improvement project a reality. (To find more to read about, click the “Home” button in the navigation menu at the top of the page.)

If you are interested in learning more about Sertoma, why not attend a breakfast meeting to see it for yourself. You’ll find the members are a warm, welcoming group ready to share their enthusiasm for being a part of making their communities a better place to live, to raise families, and to make friends. Leona Valley Sertoma meets at 8:00am, on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month at Jack’s Place, on 90th Street West, in Leona Valley, California.

Opportunities to teach children to share happen every day and Saturday, September 26, 2015, was no exception. Shirley Kraft, secretary of the Leona Valley Sertoma, had the good fortune to have her grandchildren with her during the Leona Valley Community Garage Sale and she took the opportunity to explain to them how honorable it would be to share a portion of their sales proceeds with a nonprofit organization. The kids agreed and chose to present Beverly Brownfield with a check for $10.00 to go in to the Leona Valley Sertoma general fund.

The Leona Valley Community Garage Sale is an annual event that gets people out and shopping with their neighbors. It’s an event Alice Kravitz would love as it gives her the freedom to snoop for bargains and one-of-a-kind items that her neighbors have decided they can live without. Of course, it all serves a good purpose, as it is a fundraiser put on by the Leona Valley Community Town Council.

Shirley Kraft understands the importance of giving back, not only financially, but through volunteering and participating in the events and the organizations available in the community. Shirley is providing the kind of lessons that help build character and great citizens. We are truly honored that Shirley is a member of Leona Valley Sertoma and how she is actively involved in making a difference in her community and in the lives of her grandchildren.

Well done, Shirley!

Pictured L to R: Ray Mullins, Owen Spencer (4), Beverly Brownfield, Jan Clark, Jackson Spencer (10), and Madeleine Spencer (7). Photo by Shirley Kraft.