News Nuggets: National Charity League, library pickup service, Coast Walk Trail and more
National Charity League salutes its 2020 senior class
National Charity League Inc.’s San Diego chapter announced that the members of its 2020 senior class have completed more than 3,600 combined philanthropy hours during a six-year period, which equates to more than $109,800 of volunteer time.
During their six-year commitment, which began in the seventh grade and runs through their senior year of high school, the girls and young women, known as Ticktockers, performed volunteer service for more than 30 charities and nonprofit organizations, including Meals on Wheels, San Diego Food Bank, I Love a Clean San Diego and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“These ladies have exemplified what it means to serve our community. ... On behalf of the many charities served, we thank them for their service,” said Kathryn Gayner, president of NCL San Diego.
La Jolla’s Riford Library to begin pickup service
La Jolla’s Riford Library will begin offering contact-free pickup Tuesday, May 26, as the San Diego Public Library offers the service at 11 of its branches.
Pickup service will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Riford branch at 7555 Draper Ave. The library will not be open to the public and will not accept returns.
Patrons with existing holds will be notified by email when their materials are available. The San Diego Public Library will begin accepting new holds for pickup on Monday, June 1.
Customers will need a valid library card or card number to pick up materials. Due dates on items currently checked out have been extended to June 12.
Coast Walk Trail to close for repairs
Friends of Coast Walk Trail is moving ahead with a project to repair portions of the trail starting Monday, June 1. It will be partially closed to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The section from the Cave Store entrance to Prospect Bench just above the bridge will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 1-5. The portion from Prospect Bench to the Coast Walk parking lot will close from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 8-12.
Friends of Coast Walk Trail is seeking “trail ambassador” volunteers to redirect pedestrians and bike traffic and provide project information during the day as repairs are being done. The time commitment would be in two- or four-hour shifts to sit at one of two ends of the trail repair area.
For more information, email Brenda Fake at befake@aol.com by 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30.
Local school and caterer provide meals to medical workers
The San Diego French-American School, which for 10 years has contracted with La Jolla catering company Girard Gourmet to serve daily lunches to roughly half its student body, found itself unable to do so when its La Jolla campus was closed due to the COVID-19 crisis.
A family at the school came up with the idea to donate the unused portion of their Girard Gourmet lunch fees to provide catered food for front-line medical workers battling the coronavirus outbreak, and eventually more than 60 families followed suit, totaling more than $8,000.
Girard Gourmet and SDFAS Enrichment Manager Valérie Asensio delivered 90 meals to UC San Diego’s Jacobs Medical Center and the Scripps emergency departments in La Jolla.
City seeks input for climate action plan update
The city of San Diego is seeking input on its climate action plan and has released an online survey open to all residents.
The 2020 update of the plan, called “Our Climate, Our Future,” will incorporate changes in state laws and policies, advances in technology and new goals for creating a more sustainable future, with an emphasis on climate equity and economic opportunity.
“Input from community members is our most important resource to help guide the development of the climate action plan update,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Cody Hooven. “The more responses we receive, the better we can tailor the goals and actions for all San Diegans.”
The climate action plan calls for the city to cut half of all greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Strategies include 100 percent renewable electricity; water and energy efficiency; zero waste; bicycling, walking, transit and land use; and resiliency measures.
To learn more about the climate action plan and take the survey in English or Spanish, visit sandiego.gov/sustainability/climate-action-plan.
National League of Young Men members maintain philanthropy
Local members of the National League of Young Men have been keeping up their philanthropy projects during the coronavirus pandemic.
Siblings Will MacDonald (NLYM member) and Kate MacDonald (National Charity League member) delivered food by the La Jolla Open Aire Farmers Market to La Jolla’s four fire stations and Scripps Memorial Hospital.
Will also helped the farmers market with its reopening by mapping out the new space to ensure social distancing, updating the website to reflect changes in procedures and the updated vendor contact list, and helping with vendor and customer communication.
Fellow NLYM member Nico McCann volunteered at the Jacobs and Cushman Family Food Bank in a variety of capacities, including working at the Miramar warehouse to pack boxes of food for distribution.
NLYM is an organization of boys and young men in grades nine through 12 that provides leadership, service, cultural and protocol opportunities.
UCSD softball star named Sports Scholar of the Year
UC San Diego senior softball player Mikaila Reyes has been named a 2020 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year in the publication Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
The annual honor is awarded to minority student-athletes who have stood out in their academic and athletic pursuits. Reyes, a physiology and neuroscience major and cognitive science minor, has generated a cumulative 3.98 grade-point average, accomplishing 10 quarters with a perfect 4.0.
San Diego extends eviction moratorium
The San Diego City Council has decided to extend an eviction moratorium designed to protect renters and small businesses struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council voted 8-1 on May 19 to extend the moratorium until June 30. It had been set to expire May 31.
Under the new measure, tenants who are provided financial relief will have until Sept. 25 to pay any missed rent payments.
Most council members said they would like a rent relief program but that it would take time and they wanted to at least extend the moratorium as the area’s unemployment rate continues to grow. ◆
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