Volunteers are strength of the community
Thanksgiving is an appropriate time to remember that Yorba Linda’s great strength as a community is due to the large number of volunteers who each year devote thousands of hours to the events and organizations that make this city an outstanding place to live.
And for 95 years, articles in the weekly pages of the Yorba Linda Star have recounted the activities of these civic-minded individuals who comprise this community’s religious and charitable institutions, youth organizations, sports leagues and service clubs.
Two volunteer groups deserve additional recognition for important contributions in the diverse tasks of helping residents celebrate community identity and assisting neighbors during times of emotional distress.
The return of the Fiesta Days parade on Imperial Highway and day-long festival on Main Street after a three-year absence was an exceptional achievement, thanks to the dozens of volunteers, led by Craig Hall, who worked for a year to renew this cherished tradition.
The non-profit Yorba Linda Fiesta Days Foundation now handles the event, taking over from the old Yorba Linda Service League that organized activities for 40 years, beginning in October 1968 when league members sought to heal wounds from a contentious incorporation election the previous Fall.
Not all community members favored cityhood in the 1960s, and early advocates carefully drew the city’s first boundaries to exclude pockets of opposition when the matter reached the ballot, with the left-out areas added by annexations in later years.
The first parade involved volunteers who had fought on both sides of the issue and much of the campaign’s bitterness dissipated during planning for the first city-wide celebration.
One wise decision this year was to hold the event after the November election, instead of the traditional late-October date, so office-seekers couldn’t use the occasion to campaign, distribute flyers and otherwise button-hole residents out to enjoy a fun weekend day.
A different group of volunteers that has undertaken an especially tough task work under the banner of a nationwide non-profit called the Trauma Intervention Program. Some of the Yorba Lindans involved described their activities at a recent City Council meeting.
TIP volunteers respond to traumatic incidents at the request of public safety personnel to aid victims, their families and friends. Founder Wayne Fortin told council members the volunteers assisted 121 Yorba Linda residents last year and introduced five of the city’s volunteers, Debbie Collins, Paula Diluigi, Paula Dubois, Cindy Gosting and A.J. Licausi.
Yorba Linda has contracted with TIP, at an annual cost of about 12 cents per resident, since 2001 to provide “emotional first aid” after a variety of traumatic events, such as a death, violent crime, fire, accident or suicide, to help individuals needing immediate support.
Volunteers attend a 55-hour training academy, pass an extensive background check, take continuing education coursework and are “on call” 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Visit tiporangecounty.org for volunteer information.
And for 95 years, articles in the weekly pages of the Yorba Linda Star have recounted the activities of these civic-minded individuals who comprise this community’s religious and charitable institutions, youth organizations, sports leagues and service clubs.
Two volunteer groups deserve additional recognition for important contributions in the diverse tasks of helping residents celebrate community identity and assisting neighbors during times of emotional distress.
The return of the Fiesta Days parade on Imperial Highway and day-long festival on Main Street after a three-year absence was an exceptional achievement, thanks to the dozens of volunteers, led by Craig Hall, who worked for a year to renew this cherished tradition.
The non-profit Yorba Linda Fiesta Days Foundation now handles the event, taking over from the old Yorba Linda Service League that organized activities for 40 years, beginning in October 1968 when league members sought to heal wounds from a contentious incorporation election the previous Fall.
Not all community members favored cityhood in the 1960s, and early advocates carefully drew the city’s first boundaries to exclude pockets of opposition when the matter reached the ballot, with the left-out areas added by annexations in later years.
The first parade involved volunteers who had fought on both sides of the issue and much of the campaign’s bitterness dissipated during planning for the first city-wide celebration.
One wise decision this year was to hold the event after the November election, instead of the traditional late-October date, so office-seekers couldn’t use the occasion to campaign, distribute flyers and otherwise button-hole residents out to enjoy a fun weekend day.
A different group of volunteers that has undertaken an especially tough task work under the banner of a nationwide non-profit called the Trauma Intervention Program. Some of the Yorba Lindans involved described their activities at a recent City Council meeting.
TIP volunteers respond to traumatic incidents at the request of public safety personnel to aid victims, their families and friends. Founder Wayne Fortin told council members the volunteers assisted 121 Yorba Linda residents last year and introduced five of the city’s volunteers, Debbie Collins, Paula Diluigi, Paula Dubois, Cindy Gosting and A.J. Licausi.
Yorba Linda has contracted with TIP, at an annual cost of about 12 cents per resident, since 2001 to provide “emotional first aid” after a variety of traumatic events, such as a death, violent crime, fire, accident or suicide, to help individuals needing immediate support.
Volunteers attend a 55-hour training academy, pass an extensive background check, take continuing education coursework and are “on call” 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Visit tiporangecounty.org for volunteer information.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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