Valley press, Monday August 15, 2011

LANCASTER – Antelope Valley Community Clinic got a $17,400 boost, thanks to the Boogie Woogie Mamas dance troupe. Twenty-Two members of the Boogie Woogie Mamas met at the Lancaster clinic last week to give clinic CEO James Cook a check in the amount of $17,400, proceeds from two performances June 11 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center of their variety benefit show “A Class Act…. With a Broadway Flair.” In the last two years, the women have staged two charity shows netting a total of $32,900 for the community. “A Salute to Veterans in 2009 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center netted $15,000 for the William J. “Pete” Knight Veterans Home in Lancaster.

The Antelope Valley Community Clinic is a publicly supported program that provides medical treatment to low-income residents who have no health care insurance or rely on state-funded Medi-Cal coverage. The Boogie Woogie Mamas a senior dance troupe that began in the Antelope Valley in 1987, has members who range from their 50s to their 80s. the group dances at local nursing homes, senior day-care centers, at the High Desert Medical Group annual Senior Expo and at other community events.

SHAKE YOUR MONEY MAKERS- Members of the Boogie Woogie Mamas dance troupe pose with Antelope Valley Community Clinic CEO Jim Cook and their donation of $17,400, raised in two performances of their variety benefit show.

Wellness Home project shows how to grow produce, flowers

LANCASTER- Master gardener Elizabeth O’Brien and Jean Varden helped Lancaster youngsters learn the fundamentals and value of growing their own vegetable gardens. Sixth-graders from Mariposa Elementary School met once a week all summer at the Mariposa Wellness Home to learn how to garden and successfully grow flowers and vegetables, with help from O’Brien and Varden, who is on the board for Antelope Valley Partners for Health. “The children made it known that they wanted to have a garden, so that’s why I was asked to come in and help them be their consultant for their garden,” said O’Brien, who completed a master gardening program this year. O’Brien said it’s her job to volunteer in the community and teach people how to grow their own food.

At the end of June, O’Brien and Varden started their work at the Mariposa Wellness Home which features school and community gardens for students and nearby residents to cultivate. Antelope Valley Partners for Health, in partnership with the city of Lancaster and the Lancaster School District, received a $300,000 Healthy Eating Active Living Zone grant in March as part of a Larger Kaiser Permanente investment to encourage healthy choices throughout Southern California. The Mariposa neighborhood, near 10th Street West and neighborhood advantage, though, was that wellness home was already in place to promote healthy lifestyles and serve as a source of health information, care and education in the community.

GARDEN: Four wellness homes have community gardens now!

Four schools in the school district are included in the targeted zone for the grant, including Mariposa, Desert View and Linda Verde elementary schools, and Piute Middle School, whose surrounding neighborhoods each have a wellness home. So far, six of seven wellness homes are operating and work in the same way, offering free health classes and immunizations taught and administrated by a staff of volunteers who also help residents manage and treat chronic disease. Health experts, workshops and reference materials at the home provide residents with information needed to help them. Free classes are available on a variety of topics, including; nutrition, parenting, financial strategies and anger management. The wellness homes are part of a joint operation organized by Lancaster Housing and Revitalized Director Elizabeth Brubaker and her staff along with Antelope Valley Partners for Health and sponsors such as Kaiser Permanente, High Desert Medical Group and Antelope Valley Hospital.

In addition to the Mariposa neighborhood, wellness homes have opened in the Trend the Piute neighborhood surrounding Fifth Street East and Avenue H-11; the Lowtree neighborhood near 10th Street West and Avenue J-5; the Desert View neighborhood surrounding Kingtree Avenue and Avenue H-5; and the Linda Verde neighborhood surrounding, near Fifth Street East and Kettering Street. “What we hope is that people get to know their neighbors which creates a safer neighborhood, better bonding for the kids and more playing outside together because a lot of times they won’t play outside because they don’t feel safe,” said Trish Bogna, who does community outreach for AV Partners for Health. “That’s one of the hopes, too that we’ll reduce crimes in the areas that we’re in.” Brubaker said a housing needs assessment was done to determine which housing needed the most assistance in terms of their health. “If you have healthy people, they’re more apt to receive educational material better. They also are better at coming together now.”

Brubaker said the schools where wellness homes are located are beginning to see improvements in student scores, and residents can be seen walking and riding their bikes. In one of their strategies to combat obesity, AV Partners for Health designated three plots at the Mariposa Community Garden for students attending Mariposa Elementary School to learn how to grow their own food and make healthier choices. Several other plots are designated for residents in the neighborhood to grow the garden as well.

“With this garden, we’ve had a really good response. One of the families has at least 10 kids, so we’re excited about them being able to have that fresh produce for free,” Bogna said. “it makes it a little easier.” The community garden, cultivated by Mariposa residents, includes corn, beans, watermelon, zucchini, squash and tomatoes. In the school garden, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and sunflowers, all of which were planted more than 2 ½ months ago, have grown to exceed 5 feet. O’Brien said by the end of the month they may be able to make a snack using the beans, tomatoes and carrots. O’Brien added that students may also be able to take home a head of sunflower seeds. In another plot, students grew flowers like marigolds and zinnias, which are now starting to bloom. “The kids really wanted to do flowers. They had in mind that they could take some to their mother, that sort of thing,” Varden said. “It was really kind of touching.”

O’Brien is also teaching students how to layer a compost pile with scraps, dried leaves and other materials. Since students have returned to school, O’Brien and Varden are trying to work out a schedule that will allow them to tend to the garden but not disrupt their school work. A fall garden may include lettuce and spinach, followed by a spring garden. “We might be a little more ambitious next year. Some of the kids are interested in growing more ambitious crops like asparagus and fruit trees, so we want to get some pomegranate trees along the well,” O’Brien said pointing to the bare wall running along the north side of the garden. So far, four of the wellness homes have community gardens, but each one is expected to have a garden in the future. “It’s been really successful so far, so we’re excited,” Bogna said.