Village Laguna presents potluck and funds

BARBARA DIAMOND

Village Laguna held a unique meeting Monday that combined a

scrumptious potluck dinner and the presentation of financial awards

to community groups.

"This is a special evening for Village Laguna," President Ginger

Osborne said. "We are recognizing the wonderful organizations that

help make this the community we so love."

Osborne presented checks to the representatives of the Friends of

the Library, Community Clinic, Historical Society, Laguna Art Museum

and to Laguna Beach High School 2004 graduate Jacquelin Reed.

Reed received the $1,000 scholarship announced at the Honors

Convocation.

She received a total of $7,000 in scholarships, including ones

from Laguna Greenbelt Inc. and the Blackburn Family Foundation.

Reed will use the money to attend USC where she'll major in

environmental engineering. She became interested in the field as a

city lifeguard when pollution closed the beaches.

Former Mayor Charlton Boyd accepted a $200 check on behalf of the

Friends of the Library.

"Many people participate in this organization that has raised

significant funds to purchase books for the library, for which there

was no other money," Boyd said.

Boyd is a twice-a-month volunteer in the tiny Friends' bookstore,

which contributes more than $20,000 a year to the library.

"It's a wonderful experience," he said.

In an effort to pick up more of the slack in public funding,

especially hurtful due to the state's recent economic crisis, Friends

of the Library President Martha Lydick extended the bookstore hours

to include Wednesday nights, which she staffs, according to Boyd.

Volunteers would be welcomed. For more information about

volunteering or becoming a member, call (949) 497-4637.

Community Clinic Executive Director Ericka Waidley accepted a $500

check and talked briefly about the clinic's accomplishments,

particularly its push for more visibility for its vital services.

"When I started at the clinic 3 1/2 years ago, I thought it was

the best kept secret in town," Waidley said. Funding comes from

grants and donations, 83% of which goes directly to patient care.

"That doesn't leave much for marketing," Waidley said.

The Friends of the Community Clinic was created to help raise

funds and recently celebrated its first anniversary by donating

$10,000. The clinic is also putting together an Advisory Council of

Ambassadors to make the community more aware of the services.

"We have more than 17,000 patient visits a year and the number is

growing," Waidley said.