Susan Davis

DRE: SA645422000


(406) 439-7594
(520) 495-4740 (Office)

The Essence of Green Valley

Please take a minute and read the excerpt below from the Green Valley News which talks about an amazing example of the essence of Green Valley - a small town with a great big heart. Whether or not you are a "thrift store" person, you have to appreciate the contribution that the Green Valley White Elephant Thrift Store makes to the area. Every year the store which is run totally by volunteers gives away over a million dollars to charities, schools and worthy causes from the profits it makes selling used goods to folks all over southern Arizona. Green Valley is a town that excels in kindness and generousity while providing a great place for seniors to age in place with an active and full lifestyle. Give a read to this story which can't help but warm your heart and amaze you with its story.

 

 

The Country Fair White Elephant handed out $1.4 million in checks Thursday, and more of it is staying in Southern Arizona than in the past.

"We decided we wanted to give more money to the individual groups in our local community rather than the large national health organizations," said Tom Kelley, a CFWE board member and head of the store's Contributions Committee. "We had given the national disease groups checks in the past but those amounts were just a drop in the bucket since they get donations from across the country."


Another $100,000 was allocated for college scholarships, pushing the total this year through the thrift store's sale of donated goods to $1.5 million.


In 2014, five national disease control groups received checks totaling $52,000. Dropped from this year's list of national recipients were the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society, which last year received checks for $11,000 and $10,000, respectively.


On Thursday, three groups received checks totaling $30,000 in the national disease control category — including the Sabbar Shrine Temple, the Alzheimer's Association-Southwest Chapter and the local American Parkinson's Disease support group, which received $16,000, or $2,000 more than last year.


Public and private schools from Sahuarita to Nogales shared $47,400 more than last year, while the Sahuarita Food Bank received a check for $20,000, $15,000 more than in 2014.


Of the $1.5 million distributed, 25 percent went to public schools and 45 percent to adult and child assistance groups.


Scott Hagerman, who became superintendent for Continental Elementary School District in July, collected the district's check.

"This is incredible what the White Elephant does," he said. "When you listen to the amount of money that is awarded and how much it means to everyone, then you understand how important the White Elephant and the volunteers really are to the community."


CFWE President Karen Rans welcomed the crowd of nearly 200 at the GVR West Center where the event was staged and kept the two-hour event rolling, crediting other volunteers for making her term "easy and rewarding."


Kelley said there were 132 applications requesting a total of $2.5 million this year, including seven new applications, one of which was approved — Wisdom Sports & Scholars youth group was awarded $5,000, its first contribution.


The Contributions Committee selected 122 organizations, including youth groups, nature study, and community arts support, whose representatives collected their checks and thanked the more than 600 White Elephant volunteers who work at the store. Many recipients brought along gifts of cookies, cards, photos and elephant statues.

The four groups receiving checks of $50,000 or more included Borderlands Food Bank, collecting $50,000; Amado Community Food Bank, $55,000; Green Valley-Sahuarita Community Food Bank, $60,000; and St. Andrew's Children's Clinic, which collected the largest donation of $65,000.


A special award of a ceramic white elephant was presented to Larry Kistler, president of GVR's Woodworkers of Green Valley. The Woodworkers Club has made the wooden bases for the ceramic white elephant statues that are presented to volunteers who have worked 20 years at the store for more than two decades. The trophies are also awarded to annual parade entry winners.


For the past five years, the White Elephant has awarded a certificate for the Best Annual Grant Application and this year the Tubac Center of the Arts won.


In the last 51 years and including Thursday's check distribution, the White Elephant has funneled more than $29 million to hundreds of organizations. The store's Hollace G. Roberts Educational Foundation alone has given more than $1.8 million for college scholarships.

2015 White Elephant Grants

SCHOOLS

Continental School District    20,000

Continental School (PTC)    2,000

Nogales School District    11,000

Desert Shadows Middle School     10,000

Wade Carpenter Middle School    10,000

Pierson Voc High School    4,500

Mary Welty Elem School     8,400

Coronado Elem School     10,000

Nogales High School     15,000

Challenger Elem School     8,000

Lincoln Elem School     10,000

AJ Mitchell Elem School     10,000

RM Bracker Elem School     9,000

Santa Cruz Valley School District

Santa Cruz Valley Foundation     2,000

Calabasas Middle School     22,000

Mountain View Elem School     11,000

Rio Rico High School     22,000

San Cayetano Elem School     15,000

Coatimundi Middle School     10,500

Sahuarita School District

Sahuarita High School     15,000

Sahuarita Intermediate School     15,000

Sahuarita Middle School     15,000

Sahuarita Primary School     17,000

Sopori Elem School     23,000

Anza Trail School     25,000

Walden Grove High School     14,000

Sahuarita Education Foundation     2,000

Copper View Elem School     10,000

Sahuarita Music Boosters     5,000

The Link Program     14,500

Great Expectations Academy    8,000

Montessori de Santa Cruz     6,000

Total Public Schools     379,900

Private Schools

Los Ninos De Valle Pre Sch     10,000

St Andrews Pre School     3,000

Lourdes Catholic School     5,000

Wings on Words     5,000

Sacred Heart Catholic School     7,000

Total Private Schools     30,000

Total Schools     409,900

Youth Organizations

Arivaca 4H     1,700

Ballet Continental     22,000

Big Brothers-Sisters     4,000

Boys & Girls Club - Santa Cruz     35,000

BSA - Catalina Council     6,000

Copper Hills Little League     7,000

Funhouse Movement Theatre     3,000

Sahuarita/GV 49ers Youth Football  

and Cheer     3,000

Wright Flight     20,000

Girl Scout of Southern Arizona     5,000

Sahuarita Stingrays Swim Team     2,000

Rich River Athletic Club     1,800

Wisdom Sports & Scholars     5,000

Exchange Club     3,500

Total Youth Organizations     119,000

National Disease

APDA Parkinsons Support Group     16,000

Sabbar Shrine Temple     2,000

Alzheimers Assoc - SW Chapter     12,000

Total National Disease     30,000

Adult / Child Assistance

Amado Community Food Bank     55,000

Amado/Sahuarita Adult Learning     6,000

American Heartline     1,000

Arivaca  Human Resources     10,000

Arizona Children’s Assoc     15,000

Borderlands Foodbank     50,000

Casa Community Service - Adult     30,000

Casa Community Service - Behavior     18,000

Casa Community Center     19,000

Crossroads Nogales Mission     20,000

Desert Dove Farm     1,000

Valley Assistance Services     35,000

Green Valley CERT Council     1,000

GV-Sah Community Food Bank     60,000

Green Valley Recreation     6,000

Green Valley Senior Games     1,500

Military Order of WWS     1,500

Arivaca Comm Center - Facilities     8,000

Arivaca Comm Center - Park & Rec     5,000

Rebuilding Together     10,000

Ronald McDonald House     8,000

Sahuarita Police Citizens VIP     5,000

St Andrew’s Clinic     65,000

Santa Cruz Sheriff DARE     5,000

Sahuarita Police Youth Fund     2,000

Santa Cruz County Search & Rescue     2,000

Santa Cruz Training Program     10,500

Sheriffs Auxiliary Volunteers     7,000

So Az Va Health Care System     10,000

Sun Sounds of Arizona     9,000

Teen Challenge     8,500

The Salvation Army     35,000

Tu Nidita Childrens & Family Clinic     5,000

Tucson Children’s Museum     6,000

United Community Health Care     30,000

Woodworkers of Green Valley     1,100

Santa Cruz Young Audiences     6,000

Youth on Their Own     7,000

Bag It     7,000

Angels Purse     4,000

Hands of a Friend     5,000

Nogales Community Food Bank     45,000

Pima Council on Aging     2,000

Arivaca Action Center     2,000

Sahuarita Food Bank     20,000

GVC Foundation     9,000

Friends in Deed     2,500

Arivaca Helping Hearts     2,000

Total Adult / Child Assistance     673,600

Community Arts Support

Arizona Aerospace Found - Titan     6,000

Green Valley Concert Band     3,000

Green Valley Stage Band     1,500

Hilltop Art Gallery     4,000

Tubac Center for the Arts     8,000

GEA Jazz Band     3,000

Community Center Performing Arts     10,000

Green Valley Community Chorus     1,500

So. Arizona Symphony Orchestra     1,000

Total Community Arts Support     38,000

Area and Nature Study

Friends of the Presidio     1,200

Green Valley Gardeners     5,000

Santa Cruz Humane Society     25,000

Friends of Madera Canyon     2,800

Tubac Historical Society     3,000

Median Green     6,000

Paws Patrol     2,000

Equine Voices     4,500

Total Area and Nature Study     49,500

Rural Fire Depts

AFD Auxiliary     11,000

Elephant Head Volunteer Fire Dept     32,000

Helmet Peak Volunteer  Fire Dept     32,000

Green Valley Fire District     5,000

Total Rural Fire Depts     80,000

Total Outside Grants     1,400,000