Contents

08 YOUR CHAMBER

10 Community Impact Partners

12 The impact of nonprofits in Tulare

14  United Way of Tulare County fights for
the success of the community

16  Encore Theatre offers entertainment on
and off stage

20  Tutoring with a touch of TLC at
Grandma’s House

24  Tulare Boys & Girls Club continues
tradition of serving all kids

26  Renovation project provides
foundation for education program

30 Boxing Club brings community together

33 2023 Events

On the Cover

The Impact of Nonprofits in Tulare

Vol. 3 | Issue 2 | Fall 2023

220 E. Tulare Ave. | Tulare, CA 93274 | (559) 686-1547 | tularechamber.org

This is a Town Square Publications, formerly MetroMedia (since 1997), publication created and produced for the Tulare Chamber of Commerce
220 E. Tulare Ave. | Tulare, CA 93274 | (559) 686-1547 | tularechamber.org

Copyright © 2023 Town Square Publications
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Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication. The Chamber and Town Square assume no responsibility for misinformation. Please contact the Chamber with any additions or corrections. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of the Chamber and Town Square is prohibited.

Chairman, CEO and Publisher | Douglas K. Ray
President and Chief Operating Officer | Scott Stone
Vice President / Director | Scott Ray
Managing Director | David Small
Director of Production | Ryan Moore
Sales Executive | Angie Riffel
Editor | Bob Oswald
Project Manager | Mike Nickells

United Way of Tulare County fights for
the success of the community

By Mike Danahey

For United Way of Tulare County Executive Director Rosemary Caso and her staff, the most rewarding aspect of what they do is helping people to be successful.

“There are many times that we don’t hear the end result from families that have come to us for assistance, but when we do, and see that they continue to rise, it is motivating to continue our work,” Caso said.

United Way of Tulare County formed in 1985. Prior to that it was a community aid program.

Throughout the decades, the organization has always supported nonprofit development, planning and funding. Today, United Way of Tulare County directly funds 14 organizations and supports 26 others with resources, strategic planning and training.

Its own programs include a 211 Information and Referral Call Center, where anyone can call, text or visit the website, www.211tularecounty.org, for resources.

“The biggest number of calls that we get to our 211 program are for food, housing and utility assistance,” Caso said. “Our families are hurting, and more so those that have never needed assistance before. Our role is not only to advocate and fundraise to help support families, but also to help them navigate the resources that are available.”

Another program, the College Access Initiative, is designed to help students and their families navigate education and discover how to continue their education after high school. This initiative provides tools for technical, certificated, 2 -year and 4-year education programs along with financial aid and scholarship information.

“We are also proud to work closely with the County of Tulare in disaster response. We actively participate in providing assistance to those affected by drought, fires, floods and other situations,” said Caso, who has been with United Way of Tulare County for 11 years.

The United Way of Tulare County’s Farm and Food Worker Relief Program provides $600 relief payments to eligible farm and food workers who incurred expenses preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, United Way of Tulare County has 10 listings on its website under the “Our Work” heading.

“Although all these efforts are equally important, making sure that Tulare County residents receive resources and support is our overall goal — to see that our residents are successfully employed, housed and that their basic needs are met,” Caso said.

To accomplish its mission, United Way of Tulare County partners with 53 businesses and holds fundraising campaigns. This has resulted in nearly $580,000 being raised over the last three years. The group passes that money to the organizations it supports which, in turn, provide support to Tulare County residents.

To share its annual report and to highlight businesses and individuals who have gone above and beyond in helping the organization and the community, United Way of Tulare County is holding its annual recognition breakfast Friday, Oct. 13 at Happy Trails Riding Academy in Tulare.

The following is a list of those being honored:

Advocate of the Year: Senior Producer Payroll Coordinator Karen Bravo, Land O’ Lakes

Hand Raisers: Senior Administrative Assistant Tracie Beltran-Menchaca; Customer Service Supervisor Danny Nunez; Provider Contract Senior Analyst Jose Farias; Contract Supervisor, Cigna Supplemental Benefits, Brandy Bell; Professional Relations Manager Jeremy Morris (Cigna Crew)

Community Involvement: SoCalGas

Spirit of Education: Fashion Department Professors Michelle Gilbert and Tiffany Wainwright, College of the Sequoias Giant Threads

Community Spirit: Visalia Rawhide Baseball Club

The event provides an opportunity to show what United Way of Tulare County has accomplished with the generous support of its partners.

“United Way will continue to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every Tulare County community,” Caso said. “We can’t win the fight without you.”

For information, visit www.unitedwaytc.org/.

Encore Theatre offers entertainment on and off stage

By Dave Hoffman

Encore Theatre is an all volunteer community theater that has been entertaining Tulare residents and visitors since 1979. It grew out of a summer program that had been discontinued.

“When it ended, we didn’t want to see theater in Tulare die, so we founded Encore,” said founding board member Jill Barnier.

From the beginning, the City of Tulare supported the effort, finding the group a 45 square foot building to get started. As community interest in the theater grew, so did the space.

“We’ve added to the property three times, as well as constructing a warehouse for storage space,” Barnier said. “Over 45 years, we’ve accumulated a fair amount of stuff so the warehouse holds larger things: furniture, set pieces, larger props, things like a desk chair or sofa, or some larger 10 foot tall pieces that can be used for different things we bring in to put on stage.”

The first add-on provided a lobby with upstairs space for storage. The next increased the stage space and provided a backstage area. The third addition to the original building provides an area for set construction, a dressing room, with a second story for costume storage.

The theater started out with one or two shows a year, and has expanded the main stage offerings to five plays a year. They primarily focus on musicals and comedies, with an occasional more serious play thrown in for variety. Some of the shows they’ve performed include “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Annie,” “The Music Man,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Matilda.”

As the theater expanded, the extra space allowed for the initiation of youth programs in the 1980s.

Encore Kids is an auditioned program for students in third to eighth grade that runs from August to May. They are a polished song and dance performance group that performs before each of the plays. Typically, 25 kids are members each year.

The other youth program is called Stages, which is an introduction to theater. This includes being on stage, the basics of performance, and stage work. It’s for students in third grade to high school. There are usually 40-50 members.

“A lot of kids come back year after year as long as they’re able to participate,” Barnier said. “Over the years, Encore has touched hundreds of lives. It’s been very cool to have people who have grown up and gone away to school, started families and careers, and then return to Tulare and share fond memories of what their time in Encore meant to them.”

Participants grow in ways beyond theater as well. Board Member and current Treasurer Vivian Hamilton observed how her own children grew through the training they got while fundraising for the theater.

“One of the things they do is teach the students how to talk to people,” Hamilton said. “They sell ads in the program. They teach them how to talk to a business and how to approach them from a very early age. They teach them how to interact with people, how to present themselves in the community, how to shake hands, and introduce yourself, and how to explain the advantages of supporting the theater. My daughter was quite shy and soft spoken. The first year she struggled a bit, but by year two, she had no problem being assertive and professional in reaching out.”

Bob Barnier, Jill’s husband and also a founding member, enjoys building sets and even wrote a play that was performed by the Stages group. He has observed how the community has grown along with the theater.

“The neat thing about this theater is that it’s attracted others who have given of their time,” he said. “I enjoy building sets, but there are others who put me in the shade in terms of ability so we challenge each other in turning out sets to promote the plays. Over 40 odd years, the children of our participants are now involved in it.

“So you have a community renewal as far as keeping the theater going. It’s gratifying teaching a child the value of theater and watching them come back as adults to help in professional ways and volunteering their time. The biggest thing is the volunteer efforts it’s taken to build and maintain. It got started humbly, got going through donations and volunteers, and now is part of the makeup of Tulare in general.”

Upcoming shows include “Rock of Ages,” “Blithe Spirit,” “Anne of Green Gables” and “Dogfight.” The theater is located at 324 South N Street in Tulare. Tickets are available at www.encoretulare.org.

Tutoring with a touch of TLC at
Grandma’s House

By Dave Hoffman

Grandma’s House is an after-school tutoring program for at-risk kids, and it’s done with a touch of gratitude that springs from experience. For children who are working below their grade level, have suffered trauma, or live in a challenging home situation, founder Flora Johnson gives back the kind of encouragement and guidance that positively shaped her childhood.

“I grew up in the valley working in the fields. I never thought I was very smart and I was worried about that,” Johnson said. “But I met some people who believed in me and got a job at a pre-school in Tulare.”

While working there, an administrator encouraged her to further her education, and even helped fund her as she pursued a BS degree in Early Childhood Development and a lifetime credential.

“And with all that, I still didn’t have a lot of confidence,” Johnson said. “I always felt like it was because someone liked me or I got lucky. So I went back to that pre-school, and there was a position for me.”

That early bit of encouragement led to an illustrious career in education. Over the course of 20 years, she held positions in districts located in Tulare, Oakland and Sacramento rising through the ranks to become an administrator, vice principal, and finally principal of the school.

At the end of her career, she was inspired to return to Tulare and continue teaching children in her own way.

“I retired and moved back to Tulare and the vision of Grandma’s House unfolded while I was packing up my office,” she said. “I stood in that room and thought of all the love grandparents give to grandchildren, how we guide them through life and give them things emotionally we couldn’t even give our own children. So I decided to open an after school program called Grandma’s House, a vision of hope”

Grandma’s House began in 2007 in the parsonage next door to Mount Zion Temple. It’s roughly 800 square feet and allowed Johnson to use three classrooms for small group instruction. Her staff of volunteers were able to give instruction to classes topping off at 6-8 kids for individualized learning.

In 2013, due to the support of the community, she was able to purchase a 3,900-square-foot property where they’re located today.

“I had taught in Tulare from 1976 to 1982. When I came back, one of the kindergartners had become a city councilman. He and a friend of his in real estate helped me raise $80,000 to buy this property,” she said.

The after-school program runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from when school lets out until 5 p.m.. They have a capacity for 36 children to be enrolled. Students are accepted through an application process that allows them to accept kids with the greatest risk profile. Screening through the application process coupled with small class sizes allows instructors to teach to each student’s identified need rather than to a larger group of children.

In addition to the after-school program, there is another building that hosts a preschool program for 2-6 year olds. It was started in 2017 and is licensed for 24 children. They also run a math academy for seventh and eighth graders that can serve up to 18 children.

Most of the students’ families have heard of Grandma’s House through word of mouth or through news coverage.

“I went to the city council and told them about my program, what I wanted to do,” Johnson said. “Then I made a presentation to the superintendent and various people at the school. We made an application on our website that if a kid was struggling, teachers and parents could apply to send them to Grandma’s House. Some local papers and the TV news covered us, so people knew about it and the word spread.”

Local teachers recognize the value of Grandma’s House and support the efforts. When they retire, they drop off teaching supplies they no longer use, such as binders, folders, pencils, textbooks, and books for the library.

Johnson credits her oldest grandchild Jayda Johnson for inspiring the vision for Grandma’s House, along with her experience as a teacher.

“Having worked as a teacher and administrator, it does not matter how good your school is, or how hard your teachers work, you’re always going to have kids falling through the cracks,” she said. “We don’t control what happens outside the school. That can limit how much you can do in the classroom. It allows the school to reach out a little further and reach the kids who are struggling.”

Learn about Grandma’s House at www.grandmas-house.org.

Tulare Boys & Girls Club continues
tradition of serving all kids

By Dave Hoffman

The national Boys and Girls Club has a long tradition of serving children, dating back to the 1800s. The Tulare chapter continues that tradition, under the guidance of CEO Galen Quenzer, who has a long history with the club. He was a member as a child.

“I attended a Boys Club, as they used to be called, way back when in the Fresno area when I was a kid,” he said. “My education is in Mental Health. At some point my past and present came together and I decided my best way to help kids was through the Club because I had such a good experience when I was a kid. So 34 years ago, I left traditional mental health so I could be more effective with the Boys and Girls Club.”

The youth development organization serves children ages six to 18. They are open to all children, and emphasize creating opportunities that may be lacking. There are eight Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Tulare County.

“We have a lot of kids who don’t have as many opportunities in life, or kids who don’t have a lot of friends,” Quenzer said. “We serve kids who have had a hard time growing up. We serve kids with disabilities. But all kids are welcome.

“Our motto is, ‘To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.’”

The Boys & Girls Club focuses on three priority areas: academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship.

“The kids don’t necessarily know this, but everything we do is helping them be successful in those three areas of their life,” Quenzer said. “They come to the club to have fun and have a safe place and because they like the adults that are hanging out there. But behind that, we’re doing activities that help them grow and become successful adults.”

Some of the activities take place in a classroom setting. For example, they learn straightforward lessons about the harmfulness of drinking and smoking at an early age. They also have daily programs and activities where they’re physically active, and cooking classes.

“We’re moving them away from sitting in front of a screen after school,” Quenzer said. “Kids love learning how to cook and they’re learning about how to put healthy food into their bodies. They’re running around playing games in the gymnasium, and they don’t think of themselves as exercising because it’s not an exercise class. They’re just having fun.”

The club is developing more programs specifically for teenagers. They are currently working on turning one of their largest centers, the Visalia Club, into a teen center. The program, called Serve Corps, is designed to help teens grow by helping the community in areas they may not be familiar with. They may work at a local food bank or box food for people in need.

“It all started when we observed our teenagers continually asking staff if they could help. ‘Can I help run this activity? Can I help with cleanup?’ It became evident to us that we needed to stop spending so much time trying to entertain teenagers, but rather needed to give them something meaningful to do where they’re helping other people,” Quenzer said. “It’s our answer to vocational training, not a skill per se, but we’re teaching them that they have a place in the community. They get to see other parts of the area and learn what happens out there.”

It’s not just the teens who benefit from the experience. The community itself gains new insight into the helpful nature of its teenagers.

“People in the community start to have a jaded view of teenagers,” Quenzer said. “At best they’re self absorbed, playing video games, or aimlessly hanging out. At worst it’s criminal activity. So it’s good for them to see the teens out serving the community. It changes the potential of young people because people see the youth have a lot of value. We often say that kids are the future, but they also have the potential to do a lot right now. When the community sees them as valuable parts of the community, they treat them differently and send different messages. It’s a healthy cycle.”

Area business owners or residents looking for volunteer opportunities or to invest in the Boys & Girls Club mission can reach out at www.bgcsequoias.org

Renovation project provides
foundation for education program

By Dave Hoffman

The Tulare Joint Union High School District Foundation has helped students in the areas of Academics, Agriculture, Art, and Athletics (The Four As) since 2016, but its genesis goes back to 1999 as a modest renovation project.

The foundation was formed in 1999 in order to renovate an auditorium on the school campus. The performing arts center seats 2,100, and is used by schools in the district as well as hosting concerts, dance troupes, and other performances. It has been a staple in the community since the 1930s. After the auditorium was renovated, the Foundation went quiet, having served its purpose.

In 2016, new Superintendent Sarah Koligian came onto the scene, and recognized the value of an educational foundation. She revived the group and refocused its purpose to the four A’s.

“Everything the Foundation does now focuses on those four areas,” said Founding Board Member Vivian Hamilton. “The foundation is like a fundraising arm of the school district, it has school employees and community people on the board.”

The foundation supports the district in a myriad of ways beyond what the district already provides — and it provides a lot.

The district has a 60-acre farm with a dairy facility. Students learn to work with cattle, sheep, goats and chickens, as well as raising pumpkins, sweet corn, fruit trees, alfalfa and wheat. The foundation has supported this program by providing trailers to transport animals to the farm or to the Tulare County Fair.

The foundation has also helped fund student trips, for example it sent the drama department to New York to experience Broadway.

“We’re a very small, rural school district in Central California. There are a ton of things grown in this area, but it’s not a very wealthy area,” Hamilton said. “Students don’t always have the opportunity to travel. Some kids have never been to the beach or mountains which are only two hours away. So as a district we try to help kids get those experiences. The foundation doesn’t fund all of it, but it does fund some.”

Closer to home, the foundation helps booster groups raise funds for things like uniforms, ball bags, or trailers for the band program.

Through its fundraising and donation activities, the foundation gives the community more opportunity to connect with the school district. They hold two fundraisers a year, including a foundation showcase in the spring which includes a dinner and silent auction. For this event, the Foundation taps into the skills of one of the school’s video production classes, who produce a video summarizing all of the organizations who received support over the prior year.

“The group thanks everyone for the donations, and explains what they got and how it helped, so the community can see everything that happened over the last year,” Hamilton said. “Last year there were about 22 groups that had some sort of benefit from the foundation. That is a way for the foundation to be very visible about who they’re helping and how the community is a part of it. The more we can point to our successes, the more people become aware.”

The district has eight high schools, and the foundation utilizes the ingrained competitiveness of high school students to its advantage with the fall’s Rivalry Run fundraiser. The eight schools include three that provide comprehensive high school experience, plus five opportunity education programs for students with different needs or circumstances. Participants in the Rivalry Run are asked which school they’re going to support when they pay the entrance fee. The school that gets the largest share based on percentage of school enrollment gets a cash prize of $1,000.

“High school kids tend to be competitive, so we take advantage of that in our fundraiser,” Hamilton said.

Throughout it all, the efforts that have been facilitated by the foundations may be overshadowed by the ability it affords the residents of Tulare to come together as a community to improve the lives of its children.

“A lot of people will help you if you just ask them,” Hamilton said. “They love to help if you just tell them what to do. The more these non-profit groups tell people about what their focus is, it lets the community know that there is more to the community than just working. We’re very blessed to live in a community that is very supportive.”

Boxing Club brings community together

By Dave Hoffman

Boxing may be a one-on-one sport, but the Tulare Athletic Boxing Club brings out the best in the entire community. When young people turn to the club for personal improvement, the whole town finds common cause in the efforts.

The club has shaped three generations of the Torrez family. Current owner Richard Torrez’s father founded the club in 1945 after returning from the Air Force.

“It started out with him providing exercise, but police officers and parents began bringing in troubled kids and asking him to teach boxing as a form of discipline, staying healthy, and taking care of yourself,” said Kim Torrez, Richard’s wife. “You start a project to help at-risk youth in the area, and everyone jumps in to help.”

Richard himself is an avid boxer, going so far as participating in Olympic trials. When he outgrew that era of his life, he became a teacher at Mission Oak High School. He is now an administrator at that school.

It is also where he met Kim. They got married and have two children, Marjorie and Richard. Both followed in their parents’ footsteps, Marjorie is now a teacher. While the entire family participates in boxing, the younger Richard followed in his father’s footsteps and dove into the gym as a way of life. After graduating from high school as valedictorian, he earned a spot on the USA Olympic Boxing Team, winning a silver medal as a superheavyweight at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

The community support has been extreme from the beginning. They owe their current location to a generous donation from Scott Daley of Daley Enterprises.

“Back when we were boxing out of a hole in the wall, we went to a Rotary Club meeting, and (Daley) said ‘Come down to my office next week,’” Torrez said. “We thought we were going to be fined or something! He invited us into a conference room, rolled out these plans and said, ‘Here is your new boxing club.’ And the community rallied behind us to build a new boxing facility.”

Other families Torrez named include the Valovs and Gorelicks.

“They’ve been strong supporters. If you say you need something built, knocked down, a medical procedure, a uniform or travel to another state, if they hear about it, I guarantee we will have it. It really touches my heart,” Torrez said.

The Torrez family makes sure to give back as well, hosting tutoring programs, dental clinics, clothing giveaways, sports physicals, and helping with job applications, job referrals and tutoring.

“You name it, we’ve done what we can to make those things happen for those kids and their families,” Torrez said. “We still do a lot of that, and now we’re focused on healthy eating and the physical fitness of boxing.”

The Torrezes endeavor to make the club accessible for everyone. They don’t charge for the program, only ask for $10 a month from whoever can afford it. For others, they find alternatives, such as helping clean up the gym in exchange for a membership.

The club teaches Olympic style boxing with a strict code of conduct, no gang membership, and a focus on getting a good workout. Members are registered with USA Boxing out of Colorado Springs. Classes are Monday through Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., averaging 50-60 participants per night. Tuesday and Thursday, they get in the ring to spar.

“You see these kids and after the match, they have respect for each other,” Torrez said. “‘He who sheds his blood for me today is my brother,’ is a motto we teach. It has a meaning of mutual respect that cuts down on fighting in the area.”

Some members join in order to be a part of this supportive group, and some to exercise, but a good core are there to box. The club sends kids to tournaments all over the state, country and world — including trips to Ukraine, Russia, and Italy.

“We’re the number one boxing club to produce champions in the whole United States,” Torrez said. “The way the kids work is touching. They put their heart and soul into it. Some days it’s really hot in the gym, but they don’t miss. They come in every day.”

As kids improve, the Torrezes said parents and other family members begin to get involved, and through the coaches they get another mentor.

“The connection with the kids is amazing,” Torrez said. “Training kids to go in closer while they’re getting hit needs trust, so they need to learn to trust their coach and that is the basis of a relationship. A lot of parents become coaches themselves.”

With all the community support, it is still the personal touch that means the most.

“At this point, business owners and police officers will come in and say, ‘I used to box here.’” Kim said. “That kind of support feels great, we really love our hometown.”