The Buena Park Coordinating Council has announced its next fundraiser as Casino Night is coming to the city on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 6 until 11 p.m. at the Sons of the American Legion, 8071 Whitaker St. Tickets for the event are $40.
Coordinating Council President Brian Chambers is also the Sons of the American Legion commander, and said bringing the two groups’ together makes sense.
“The legion has the space to host the event and can prepare food for dinner,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to raise money.”
The Buena Park Coordinating Council has announced its next fundraiser as Casino Night is coming to the city on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 6 until 11 p.m. at the Sons of the American Legion, 8071 Whitaker St. Tickets for the event are $40.
Coordinating Council President Brian Chambers is also the Sons of the American Legion commander, and said bringing the two groups’ together makes sense.
“The legion has the space to host the event and can prepare food for dinner,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to raise money.”
Participants will also receive an additional $500 of gambling money for a $20 investment.
“If people signup before Sept. 7, they get an additional $100 of gambling money,” Chambers said. “People who want to continue gambling can purchase an additional $500 of gambling money for $20.”
The featured games will be blackjack, craps and roulette.
“It will be mostly blackjack,” Chambers said. “There will also be volunteer dealers trained by the casinos.”
The Coordinating Council has a need for funding that extends beyond casino night.
“There will lots of opportunities to participate with the Coordinating Council and donate,” Chambers said. “We are working on a brand new website that is currently under construction and people will be able to donate via PayPal.”
Fundraisers in the discussion include a “dialing for dollars” effort.
“That will involve money being donated to the Coordinating Council for every family we bring out for a dinner in a prescribed timeframe with a flyer,” Chambers said.
Chambers said the Coordinating Council distributes lots of food to people who need assistance, and the problem is getting worse.
“We have taken in over 250 applications for assistance this month,” he said. “Workers come in from different various groups and help, and get everything ready in advance. The food is supplied through Second Harvest.”
The busiest time is the first week of the month, or whenever the first order comes in.
“We may get up to 500 families in those first three days, and the largest crowds come on Tuesday,” Chambers said. “There is very minimal storage for refrigerated and freezer items so we are very limited on the meats we can give out.”
After the first week the clients get whatever is left over.
“After all the meats are given out, we supply canned foods, beans, cereal, rice, anything that is non-perishable,” Chambers said.
The facility has nine refrigerators and freezers total, but three are currently out of order.
“Our funding is very minimal,” Chambers said. “Basically we pay the bills, lighting and rent on the space and minor office supplies. There is a lot of maintenance that needs to be done here.”
Short of funding, he is starting to put together a list of people who can help with in-kind donations, like refrigerator repair.
“There are volunteers from the Sons of the American Legion and Legionnaires who are employed in different trades,” Chambers said. “They do the same thing over at the American Legion. I have been president for a little over a month, and we are really trying to put some things together as quickly as we can.”
The group had a serious funding gap earlier in the year, but the council provided the funds to maintain services.
“They had cut our funds to about $17,000 and found the money for the additional $8,000 we needed to get through this fiscal year,” Chambers said. “However, they have decided that we should have fundraisers moving forward to make up the difference.”
Chambers said the group expects another 20 percent funding cut next year.
“With the number of families in need of assistance we hope they don’t,” he said. “We obviously need the help.”
The Coordinating Council began over 60 years ago, and Director Concha De La Cruz will celebrate her 33-year anniversary with the group in December.
“It is a critical service and it stays within the community,” Chambers said.
In the past, the Coordinating Council used to provide clothing for people with a need, he said, but that service has stopped due to a lack of funding.
“We used to provide referral services and hotel vouchers,” Chambers said. “It is my goal to be able to do that again.”
Everyone who works at the Coordinating Council is a volunteer.
“No one gets paid,” Chambers said.
People who come looking for help usually get an equal portion.
“If you have a very large family you may get a second box,” Chambers said. “That depends on the availability. Sometimes we have to close the doors towards the end of the month because we do not have food available, and that is a shame.”
There is a large cross-section of people who need help.
“Under employment is a big problem right now,” Chambers said. “People who made $35 per hour and now make $10. There are single income families that need help and people on welfare and disability. Veterans also need help.”
De La Cruz said her desire to get involved and help those less fortunate grew from a bad experience she had when asking for help.
“You never know what is going to happen,” she said. “I was making $300 and my husband made good money. He fell down 17 steps and was disabled and I became disabled because a forklift ran over my foot. My money ran out and I am not the type to sue. I went to an agency to ask for food and felt bad. The agency asked me how many children I have and I said five. They said don’t you believe in birth control? I am Catholic and that is against me religion.”
The agency she went to gave her three loaves of frozen bread and some canned goods that children would not eat.
“They made me feel worse,” De La Cruz said. “I came here and started helping and really felt good. When they put me in charge I said no one is to be belittled and they are to be treated with respect.”
Of all the people who come in for help, De La Cruz said the people who are homeless sticks out in her mind.
“They get a bag of food three times per week, but on Thursday I give two because we are closed Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” she said. “I worry they won’t have enough to eat. There are a lot of children, homeless parents and motel families that I worry about.”
That does not discount the low income families who depend on the Coordinating Council for assistance week.
“You have to have a relationship with the people in need,” De La Cruz said. “They need someone to depend on and even if we give them a little bit, it helps. That is my goal.”
People who want to volunteer their time to the Coordinating Council should speak to De La Cruz.
“She runs this facility,” Chambers said.
For more information or to order tickets for Casino Night, call Cynthia Thacker at 714-670-6915.
