Club’s outreach to homeless continues
SENIOR PEACE CLUB
The Senior Peace Club will meet on Tuesday, March 8, at 2 p.m. in Clubhouse 3, Room 8. Arrangements for the speaker and topic are still in process, and the club will inform members via email once details are set in place. Those who are not on the club’s mailing list can call Pat Kruger at (562) 357-4040 for updated information.
The Senior Peace Club is grateful for all of the donations by members and non-members to aid homeless Californians. The contributions filled three SUVs, with items ranging from canned foods, blankets, jackets and many articles of warm clothing and shoes.
In return, Steve Miller and Heather Roberts, the speakers at the Feb. 9 meeting, brought gifts to the Peace Club in their moving and informative presentation of working with the homeless on Skid Row, highlighting the sense of community that exists in the encampments and the rewards of volunteering. Their personal accounts, based on two years of experience, provided a glimpse of life on the streets which people don’t normally see from the media. Though chaotic in appearance, the homeless communities are loosely organized with unofficial block leaders who care for those in their area and are grateful for small acts of kindness as well as the Thursday peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made by Miller, Roberts and other Seal Beach volunteers.
Attendees at the meeting were able to sign up for links to important services and some of theartworkintheencampments. People can view the photos from the past year of volunteering and artwork around Skid Row by going to https://photos.app. goo. gl/ H6yoLoeaH4Q5sTqv9 and https://photos.app.goo.gl/ kDpdfF9NeeH9Xtaa8.
The Peace Club is thankful to all who participated in the event. The need for low income housing persists, and the problems of the unhoused remain unsolved, but the humanity of all was profoundly recognized. Donations are still needed, so people are asked to keep the Peace Club in mind. For information on how to make a donation, call Kathy Nadeau at (562) 357-9231 or Jacquie Clarke at (562) 896-4453.
On Feb. 16, the newly elected Senior Peace Club Board met to select officers for the coming year. They are as follows: Kruger, president; Clarke, vice president and treasurer; and Nancy Goldstein, secretary and membership chair. Other board members are Janice Laine, newsletter editor; and Ordie Kim, Kathy Nadeau and Lynne Burt-Jenkins, membersat- large.
Clarke stepped down from the presidency after guiding the club through the very difficult pandemic years. Her devotion to the causes of peace and social justice never wavered in spite of COVID-19, Zoom challenges and all the political chaos. During her time as club president, the club held a memorial for George Floyd; organized a large demonstration against Asian hate; held Zoom meetings on racism and anti-racism, plus a postcard-writing event addressing infringements on civil rights and homelessness; launched its own in-house newsletter with editor Laine; and continued to have monthly peaceful protests under the globe on social justice issues.
The club is grateful to Clarke for her love, support and commitment to the Senior Peace Club.
