Dear Ladera Ranch Residents:
Thank you so much for your participation and generous contribution in this year’s Taste of Ladera 2008. You have helped so many people within our Ladera Ranch Community.
The charity organizations utilize this venue to not only raise funds but awareness about their charity and increase their volunteer base which is critical to the survival of so many of these organizations.
Over $50,000 was raised this year for participating charities, almost three times as much as in the past.
What makes this event so special is that it is entirely put on by residents who volunteer their time. The event is completely self sufficient and receives no monetary assistance from the community, which is pretty amazing considering it is Ladera Ranch’s largest event.
Here are just a few examples of the benefiting charities and how you have helped support their efforts…
1. The Tinkerbell Guild of CHOC is a volunteer organization of women committed to raising funds to support the growth and development of Children’s Hospital Orange County and CHOC at Mission.
Due to their hard work, these women were awarded $8000 for manning the ticket booths and working the overwhelming ticket lines. (None of us had any idea over 15,000 would show!)
In addition to manning the booths they were selling raffle tickets for a two-year car lease for $50 each, bringing in another $10,000 from the approximately 200 tickets sold. The winner of the car was awarded right before Berlin played.
When the 2007 -2008 fiscal year commences in June Tinkerbell will have raised over $500,000 for CHOC since 2003 by hosting annual galas, selling Christmas cards, walking as a team in the CHOC Walk and participating in local community events such as Taste of Ladera.
2. The Ladera Ranch Education Foundation was created to raise funds to enrich and improve the quality of the educational environment at the public schools that serve the community of Ladera Ranch.
"The Taste of Ladera is a great community event where residents can have fun, have some great food, listen to music and learn about what is going on in our community," said LREF President Sherry Brooks. "It provides us with an opportunity to raise funds for our schools while also providing residents an opportunity to learn about LREF."
This year the Ladera Ranch Education Foundation did over three times as much in fundraising at the Taste of Ladera than last year, raising over $15,000 at the silent auction venue.
3. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) passed out water this year which, of course on a hot day, was a big hit! Dan MacMillan and Yong Lee every year come out in full force to make sure this event is a huge success.
This year they raised over $3,000. During the year, the Taste of Ladera continues to donate to this group of hard working individuals by contributing to the JDRF Katie Q event put on every summer in the pocket park at the end of Lewiston Court.
"It is an amazing example of neighbors coming together for a bigger cause", shared Fran Falino a committee member of both Taste of Ladera and JDRF.
4. One of the biggest contributors is Riptide Rockin’ Sushi & Teppan Grills. Not only did they have an award-winning executive sushi chef Ken Cruz and "Budweiser Ken" entertaining the crowd as the Platinum sponsors, they donated all of the proceeds back to the event.
Dan Lauriano, owner and resident of Ladera Ranch, is all about being part of the community. He is truly an example of what it means to be a giving Ladera Ranch resident. It was important for him to make sure everyone had a great time at his booth while at the same time giving back to his community.
The volunteers had a wonderful time working with his crew and enjoyed the fun they had at the "wrap" party at RipTide celebrating the widely successful event!
5. A few weeks before the event, the Taste of Ladera added the CUSD Foundation (Capo Unified School District), an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to fundraising for the benefit of all the students in the Capo Unified School District.
"It’s a critical time for our families and teachers affected by the situation," said Stacey Flynn, Executive Director of the Capistrano Unified School District Foundation. "They are cutting 266 teachers from Capo Unified School District alone. Oso Grande, which has 33 teachers on staff, is losing 19 and at Ladera Ranch Elementary of the 35 teachers, 23 are being cut." A campaign has started for funding from parents with a donation of $400 per child and corporate matches, for more info visit www.cusdfoundation.org.
The Taste of Ladera not only helped raise over $2,500 at the event, it also donated additional funds and advertising support to help put on the Family Fun Day event the following weekend at Mercantile West organized by Claire Shepard at Infusions who did an extraordinary job in organizing the event and raising an additional $30,000 for the CUSD Foundation!
6. The Unforgettable Foundation helps families who have suffered the unthinkable death of a child pay for their burial. This year it raised almost $5,000, and the TouchPointe booth donated its $2,500 to this amazing charity.
Under Michael Hart’s leadership, The Unforgettable Foundation organized Ladera Ranch’s first annual Ladera’s Got Talent show with over two dozen acts performing and the finalists performing on stage before Berlin! Ladera’s Got Talent will only continue to grow in popularity every year (see page 27).
7. Pacific Whey owner Marc Wilsey and Taste of Ladera sponsor showed how important it is to be part of the community of Ladera Ranch by getting involved. Pacific Whey donated their proceeds back to the event. Marc is thrilled to be a part of a community that can come together and put on an event of this magnitude - all with volunteer residents working as a team. It is a great example of what a group of neighbors are capable of accomplishing for the benefit of the community, not to mention a load of fun!
8. Alexandra Scott first held a lemonade stand in 2003 to help her doctors find a cure for childhood cancers. She lost her own battle in 2004, but not before raising a million dollars. Her family, and volunteers around the country, continue to be inspired by Alex’s dream to find a cure for childhood cancer, one cup at a time. Alex’s Lemonade has raised over $17 million since it first began, and the money goes straight to research.
Kim Sprague, of Ladera Ranch, whose seven-year-old son Andrew is an acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivor, shared, "As a mom who has watched her child fight to survive, I love that this money goes where it is needed most, to help find a cure for pediatric cancers." You can check out Alex’s website and see the list of all of the research getting funding by ALSF.
Andrew (shown left in his mother’s loving arms) has lost many of his friends to cancer, and he knows that his healing was a blessing from God. He looks forward to holding lemonade stands each year, and hopes that the cure can be found, so that he and his friends, and all children, can live a life free of cancer.
This year’s Taste of Ladera’s largest lemonade stand raised over $2,000 along with raising awareness for a great cause.
9. Taste of Ladera is a year long project put on by over 100 resident volunteers.
Lisa Cude a committee member and key contributor shared, "Its all about community, people helping one another to achieve great results. I do it every year because I love what it represents and the people I get to work with! It’s a wonderful event to be a part of!"
10. Two streets that have a large number of volunteers is Lewiston Court and Main street. The running joke shared Bob Brown, resident of Lewiston Court, is that "When you move on our street its in the CC&R bylaws that you must give three days a year to Taste of Ladera!"
The day after the event the cleaning crew we hired to clean up Founders Park did not show up. What a disaster! The park looked like a tornado hit!
Another great example of what the residents of Ladera Ranch are capable of is when it looked like the park might not get done in time for school on Monday the same residents who organized Taste (and a few passersby) sprung into action and cleaned the park (see before and after photos on the right and below). These are the same residents who were exhausted from working 16 hours the day before. The volunteer cleanup crew is shown above.
Meg Gwyn, Principal of Ladera Ranch Elementary School, said "I was amazed at how beautifully clean the field was. Thank you for being so conscientious about it."
Special thanks goes to Dan Holm, who rallied an entire BBQ party on Lewiston Court. Dan said, "Once everyone heard what had happened, they left the BBQ and headed right over to the park." 
(Michelle Patterson is founder and managing partner of TouchPointe, headquarter in Ladera Ranch. TouchPointe is a senior level consulting and recruiting firm, specializing in the placement of finance, accounting, IT, and human resources in both interim and permanent positions. You can contact TouchPointe at 949-218-0866 or at www.touchpointe.com.)