Building the SHC Rose Parade Float 2012

http://youtu.be/bFI1YjypnFY

The art of Santa Claus

For one Saint Nick with nine years experience, Christmas time is a state of mind  0 Comments

	By Charlie Kaijo

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	Stan Taub greets families as he makes his entrance into the auditorium. Signal photo by Charlie Kaijo. View More »  1 2

	Stan Taub had no idea the minutia involved in becoming Santa Claus. There’s the hair issue, for example. During his early experiences, the veteran Santa of nine years used a theatrical hair spray to whiten his hair. But he discovered bleaching through a beautician he met at his grandkid’s school. “I talked to several Santas,” Taub said as he awaited the directive to go on during a recent Christmas party at the Newhall Community Center. “A lot of guys will bleach it.” “I met this guy Ron, he told me he would bleach his hair every six weeks. I started doing it. I like it. It was fairly grey when I first started.” The Winnetka resident made several appearances as Santa Claus in the Santa Clarita Valley this season.Sometimes, he says, his wife portrays Mrs. Claus. But the career never occurred to him at a younger age, especially as he grew up in a conservative Jewish family. “I never thought of being a Santa,” Taub mused in a Community Center break room. The opportunity just sort of popped up when a friend asked him to take over because he was too tired to continue. The event was a holiday party hosted by the Encino Shrine Club and held for a school with students suffering from Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. After suiting up as Santa, Taub walked up on the stage and read “The Night Before Christmas,” then spoke to the children. He was hooked. “It was such a great feeling when I walked in to the auditorium with all of those children sitting there and the response that I got from them, the warm welcome, the coming up to me, the hugging me,” he said. “It was one of those situations where you never really pay much attention to the Santa community till you get involved with it.” Taub says his Jewish background doesn’t conflict with his portrayal of the classic Christmas symbol. “People ask me about portraying Santa being Jewish,” he said. “I don’t think Santa is necessarily a religious symbol of the Christmas holiday. He is a symbol of giving, love and kindness, which I think should be involved with all religions.” His daughter helped him develop the Christmas character by recommending he join the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas — a group that holds a Santa reunion and luncheon every January to promote the positive image of real bearded Santas while connecting them to community service organizations. The fraternity is only one of a dozen different Santa organizations Taub has considered joining. “Different organizations do different things,” he said. “The one in January is a luncheon. They tell stories on what they did during the season, how to get your name out in the public, how to groom your beard and your hair, and they teach you different things on being Santa. People hold classes on these things.” One of the things he’s learned, he says, is that being Santa isn’t just a wintertime thing. During the off season, Taub continues to stay in character. “I dress in red,” he said. “I have my red suspenders that I wear. In the summer, I have shorts and long calf socks that are red and tennis shoes with Santa Claus embroidered on them.” A die-hard Dodgers fan, Taub even has a red Dodgers hat with the letters “LA” embroidered in green and a white jersey that says “North Pole” with the name “Claus” stitched on the back.

Wishing everyone the Best New Year

Ca. Masons and San Jacinto Schools

SAN JACINTO: Masons make holidays meaningful

DECEMBER 24, 2013 BY DIANE A. RHODES

The San Jacinto Masons provided gifts and food for needy families of students attending Megan Cope Elementary School in San Jacinto. (CONTRIBUTED IMAGE)

The San Jacinto Masons has always donated time, resources and financial assistance to local schools as a way to help young people succeed.

Programs such as Raise a Reader, Teacher of the Year, Constitutional Observance and scholarships have become regular events at local schools thanks to the group. This year the Masons helped sponsor a student of the month program.

In 2010, the administrators at Megan Cope Elementary School in San Jacinto, asked the fraternal organization to do a cornerstone for the new school.

“Master of the Lodge, Jim Ridley, and the Masonic family came together to make it happen,” said Michael J. Sekera, School Advisory Board/Grand Lodge of California and Senior Warden of San Jacinto Masonic Lodge No. 338. “We adopted (the school) since the laying of the cornerstone, meaning we help them with school supplies they need for the year.”

A relationship between the San Jacinto Masons and Megan Cope Elementary School has been very successful. Those involved with this year’s Christmas Cheer program included from left, Megan Cope Elementary health clerk, Beth Johnson; Supervisor Abeer Sekera; San Jacinto Masonic Lodge representative Michael Sekera; school principal Ken Swanson and assistant principal, Lauren Armijo. (CONTRIBUTED IMAGE)

For the past two years, the group has helped four needy families from the school as part of its Christmas Cheer program. The group raised $2,000 and purchased gifts and food.

Abeer Sekera said she enjoyed shopping from the provided wish lists knowing that each person would receive a gift they really wanted.

“Meeting these families was great – the expression on their faces of joy was so rewarding,” Michael Sekera said. “It was very emotional to hear their stories and how thankful they were to the Masons for helping them out.”

The Masons have been involved with schools since the 1600s, even starting school systems in many states. The first superintendent of schools in California was a Mason, according to information provided by Sekera.

In the past two years about $75,000 has been donated to the San Jacinto area from the Grand Lodge of California and the San Jacinto Masons. Sekera said there are about 200 Masonic members in the San Jacinto Valley.

“It is very important that people in our communities realize that people do care and that someone out there is trying to make a difference,” Sekera said. “I, myself, feel very humble when having the opportunity to see firsthand these people receiving help.”

Information, www.sanjacintomasons.org.

FILED UNDER: LOCAL SCHOOLS, NEWSTAGGED: MEGAN COPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SAN JACINTO MASONS

United we can get our share of 10million Miles

Please help us maintain our first place position by voting at http://10millioncharitymiles.com 

Voting is easy, just click the link above and roll your mouse over the Shriners Hospital box, then
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Remember, you can vote once per day, per device. Be sure to vote daily from all of
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your social media channels. Ask them to vote and create a global network of online supporters
for Shriners Hospitals for Children. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2013.

Shriners Hospitals for Children Receives Charity Navigator’s Highest Rating

December 18, 2013

Charity Navigator, America’s premier independent charitable organization evaluator, has awarded Shriners Hospitals for Children® with its prestigious 4-star award. Such distinction recognizes Shriners Hospitals for Children for its sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only 25 percent of the evaluated charities have received the coveted 4-star award, thus signaling that Shriners Hospitals for Children outperforms the majority of charities in America.

“On behalf of Shriners Hospitals for Children, we are pleased to receive the 4-star distinction from Charity Navigator,” said John McCabe, executive vice president. “For more than 90 years, it has been a concerted effort to remain a prudent and responsible steward of our mission and charitable contributions.”

Charity Navigator applies data-driven analysis to provide donors with the essential information needed to make educated charitable choices. This unique and highly praised approach takes into account organization spending per dollars raised, program spending versus administrative and fundraising expenditures as well as the organization’s long-term financial health. Based upon the results across the various categories, Charity Navigator will assign the appropriate rating, ranging from one to four.

Douglas E. Maxwell, chairman of the board of trustees remarked, “Receipt of the 4-star award directly compliments our unwavering commitment to providing expert specialty pediatric care across all 22 locations of Shriners Hospitals for Children regardless of the families’ ability to pay for services. This award signifies the continued trust in our mission which has flourished since 1922.”

About Shriners Hospitals for Children
Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. Our 22 facilities, located in the United States, Canada and Mexico provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.

About Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is the most-utilized charity evaluator in America. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the Financial Health, Accountability and Transparency of nearly 7,000 charities. Charity Navigator accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor does it charge the public for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) charity itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations and foundations that believe it provides a much-needed service to America's charitable givers. Charity Navigator, can be reached directly by telephone at (201) 818-1288, or by mail at 139 Harristown Road, Suite 101, Glen Rock, N.J., 07452

Shriners Hospitals for Children Media Contact:
Fabiana Lowe | Filowe(at)shrinenet(dot)org | 813-281-7164

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1647883#ixzz2nqtw5yx0

Debutante Ball Fundraiser for SHC

•  Shriners Hospital for Children. The 2013 Debutante Ball will be Sunday at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento, with festivities beginning at 5:30 p.m. More than a perennial holiday event, the Deb Ball serves as a fundraiser for Shriners Hospital for Children. The 2012 ball raised $40,000 for the hospital. The 2013 debs and their university/college sites are: Carolina Marie Brown, Southern Methodist University; Kaitlyn Ford Cozens, University of Michigan; Virginia Anne Doherty, Loyola Marymount University; Ruth Ann Kaplan, Whittier College; Marisa Elena Kolokotronis, Brown University; Payton Catherine Ksidakis, Texas Christian University; Darci Sydney Naftulin, University of Colorado; Marea Newell, Bryn Mawr College; Casey Joy Parish, University of Alabama; Haylee Michelle Rademann, Washington and Lee University; Madelyn Victoria Rollofson, University of Arizona; Lauren Nicole Schaefer, Texas Christian University; Claire Louise Schauer, California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; Caroline Pauly Stauffer, Academy of Art University in San Francisco; Sophia Jiahn Weber, University of Washington; and Alexandria Meaghen Whaley, St. Mary’s College. Sharing the chair responsibilities are Margaret McKinnon and Christine Skreden. Inquiries may be directed to McKinnon at (916) 765-1060; mckinnon@surewest.net.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/18/6009320/fundraising-events-shriners-hospital.html#storylink=cpy