Chris Roberts of Glendora, the longtime radio voice of UCLA football and basketball, was also there. Roberts’ father, uncle and grandfather were all postal workers.

  The occasion was the culmination of last week’s National Association of Letter Carriers’ 20th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” national food drive. If you donated, you’ll be glad to know your donations went to good use.

     The donated items that were picked up by letter carriers in La Verne and Claremont were brought in to the La Verne post office and passed along to two area food banks, Sowing Seeds for Life (SSFL) and People for People.

    Vicki Brown, the CEO of the La Verne-based SSFL, said her organization received about 10,500 pounds of food and other non-perishable items from the La Verne post office, and another 1,500 pounds from the Pomona post office. Also, the Faith Lutheran Church of San Dimas donated 300 pounds of food items and 300 pounds of clothing.

A small army of volunteers, including, from left, Linda Mazuca, Greg DeSmet, Robin Carder, Robert Rodriguez, Tony Mazuca, Jorge Montero and Chris Roberts, were on the front lines organizing the successful food drive.

 Some of those donations were to be distributed to needy people at the bi-monthly SSFL food giveaway Wednesday at the DPI Labs parking lot at 1350 Arrow Highway in La Verne.   SSFL has food giveaways the first and third Wednesday of every month, providing food and other commodities to some 6,000 people per month.

   What is not distributed at this week’s SSFL giveaway will be stored for future distribution. The SSFL giveaways are held at DPI Labs because Brown is the CEO of that aerospace company.

    The activity at the La Verne post office Saturday included letter carriers and volunteers placing goods into big boxes, which were placed on pallets, weighed and loaded onto bobtail trucks. A total of 26,500 pounds of food was brought in, according to Tony Mazuca, the head steward of the local chapter of the letter carriers’ union.

      SSFL had two Penske rental trucks and about a dozen volunteers, including a group from the San Dimas Faith Lutheran Church, at the La Verne post office. The SSFL volunteers loaded up its 10,500 pounds of food, with the rest going to People for People.

     Henderson was responsible for participation by Faith Lutheran Church group.

Volunteers Hal Henderson and friends from the Faith Lutheran Church of San Dimas weren’t sitting at the loading docks, they were working.

After the loaded trucks arrived at the DPI, SSFL volunteers headed by Jim Anderson, laboriously organized the donations into various categories, such as soups, vegetables, cereals and so forth.

    The SSFL volunteers, besides Anderson, included Greg DeSmet, Melody Leader, Greg Tatsch and Jorge Montero.This is the third year SSFL has been a beneficiary of the letter carriers’ food drive.

    “There was less food in weight than last year,” Brown said, “but the quality was much better this year. I think people are learning what we can use. We have to throw out anything that is outdated.”

     Mazuca, the union steward, said, “I think we’ve done a good job of letting our customers know what to donate and what not to donate. For example, canned goods are ideal. But dairy products or anything that can spoil, are not.”

    As a reward to the letter carries and volunteers, Mazuca and his wife Linda put on one of their traditional barbecues, serving hamburgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings, as well as soft drinks. And, as in the past, they offered fried cactus, which they harvest from their own garden.

     “It not only tastes good, it is good for you,” Mazuca said.

     Brown summed up the day this way:  “You’ve got so many people — the letter carriers, all their customers and all the volunteers – working for a common good.  It shows how much people care about helping the less fortunate. It’s really amazing.”

     And it was amazing that Rodriguez and Carder took time out of their busy schedules to take part. But it figures. They’re both community minded.

     Rodriguez will be honored Sunday by the La Verne Chamber of Commerce for his 30 years of service. The event will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Hilllcrest Meeting House at 2705 Mt. View Drive. Tickets are priced at $30, with $15 going to the Veterans Memorial Fund.

       With people like Rodriguez, Brown and others mentioned in this story, is it any wonder that La Verne is considered such a great city?

UCLA announcer Chris Roberts, holding sign, is flanked by Greg DeSmet of Sowing Seeds for Life and letter carriers Linda and Tony Mazuca.

It’s all a part of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ 20^th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” national food drive. Letter carriers on Wednesday will be delivering cards that ask for donations and the following day will be delivering grocery bags for those donations.

The carriers will pick up the bags Friday and Saturday and deliver the donations to local post offices on Saturday.

In La Verne and Claremont, the food collected will be brought to the La Verne post office on White Avenue to be loaded onto trucks for delivery to two local food banks – Sowing Seeds for Life and People for People. Sowing Seeds will also get food from the Pomona post office.

Glendora resident Chris Roberts, the longtime radio voice of UCLA football and basketball, has lent his support to food drive locally.

Roberts, whose real name is Bob LaPeer, comes from a long line of postal carriers. His father, Willis LaPeer, and his uncle, Wellington LaPeer, worked for many years in El Monte. His grandfather, William LaPeer, was a postal worker in Detroit.

“This is a great cause and something close to my heart,” said Roberts, who this year begins his 21^styear calling UCLA games. “I’m glad to help out in any way I
can. I just wish my father was still around to get involved as well. He would
have loved this.”

Roberts said his father and uncle both went by Bill. And so did his grandfather.

“They were all Bill LaPeer,” Roberts said. And this project would have certainly fit the Bill.

Speaking of names, Bob LaPeer changed his to Chris Roberts while working at KFXM in San Bernardino in 1970. The program director requested a name change because the station already had a Bob on the air.

He chose Roberts as his last name because the name on his driver’s license is Robert LaPeer and he chose Chris because of his admiration for legendary broadcaster Chris Schenkel.  When Roberts moved on from KFXM, he kept his
new professional name. His legal name is still Robert LaPeer. Fortunately, his
bank accepts his checks in either name.

From 1982 through ’91, Roberts did play-by-play for Long Beach State football and basketball and some baseball. That stint included the 1990 season when the legendary George Allen was brought in as coach. Allen died after that season after football was discontinued after one more years.

Counting one year with Cal State Fullerton, since 1981 no one has broadcast more Division I college games in Southern California. Presumably, it is not even close.

Roberts reached such a lofty position in sports broadcasting the old fashioned way – he earned it.

When he was still Bob LaPeer, he played football, basketball and baseball at Baldwin Park High and baseball at Cal Poly Pomona. His love of sports drove him toward broadcasting. Early in his career he worked for such stations as KCIN in Victorville, KREO in Indio, and KWOW in Pomona prior to hooking up with KFXM and changing his name.

Later came stints at L.A. stations KUTE-FM, KFI and sister station KOST, and KMPC.

The letter carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive is the largest of its kind in the country.

Heading up the food drive in La Verne and Claremont is Tony Mazuca, the head steward to the local chapter of the letter carriers union. Among those assisting him is his wife Linda. Both are La Verne letter carriers.

“Our letter carriers devote a lot of their own time to this food drive,” Mazuca said. “And picking up all the donations is a lot of extra work. They do this to help those in need.”

What they get in return is a barbecue put on by Tony and Linda Mazuca on Saturday afternoon behind the La Verne post office. That is also where they load the donations onto trucks for delivery to Sowing Seeds for Life and People for People.

Mazuca said donations that come in after Saturday will also be delivered to the two charities.

Greg DeSmet, representing Sowing Seeds for Life, said, “This is the third year that the letter carriers have done this for our charity. It’s all pretty amazing.”

Sponsors nationally include the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, the Campbell Soup Company, Valpak envelopes, U.S. Postal Service, United Way, AFL-CIO, Feeding America, Uncle Bob’s Self-Storage and AARP.

Campbell Soup and AARP are donating the grocery bags for the donations of non-perishable food, including pet food.

“The employees of the Campbell Soup Company shared your passion for ensuring the health and welfare of individuals in every community,” said Campbell President Denise Morrison.

“Our support is an important part of this effort,” said AARP President Jo Ann Jenkins, whose organization is also helping promote the “Stamp Out Hunger” drive.

And so are many others.

Dr. Issam Ghazzawi and Sowing Seeds for Life CEO Vicki Brown

   
SIFE brings together a diverse network of university students, academic professionals and industry leaders around the shared mission 
of creating a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of 
business.
  
SIFE has a presence in more than 1,500 universities in some 40 countries, 
including 800 in the U.S. The University of La Verne has a strong SIFE program, 
headed by Dr. Issam Ghazzawi, an associate professor of business management. La Verne’s SIFE team consists of some 40 students.
   
One reason the La Verne program is so strong is because of community 
support. To recognize that support, the La Verne SIFE team held an event on 
campus May 4 to present awards to many of its supporters in addition to 
celebrating a recent regional championship.

One of the awards went to Sowing Seeds for Life, a La Verne-based food bank that serves some 6,000 needy people per month in the East San Gabriel. Another went to Glendora resident Vicki Brown, the CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life (SSFL).

La Verne SIFE students and SSFL have teamed up on a 
number of charitable projects.

An example of that came on a rainy day earlier this year when SIFE students, accompanied by two professors, showed up at DPI Labs at 1350 Arrow Highway, where SSFL conducts its food giveaways twice a 
month.

The students were there to help in any way they could. But their main purpose was offering business advice to the people there in need, most of who are currently unemployed. It could be as simple as offering advice on how to fill out a 
résumé, or offering advice on how to handle a job interview.

“Our students are helping and learning at the same time,” said Dr. Ghazzawi, who was joined that day by another SIFE advisor, law and economics professor Kevin 
Marshall.

“These kids are just tremendous,” Brown said at the time. “For them to come out on a rainy day and try and help people in need has to restore our faith in today’s 
young people.”

Daniela D’Angelo and her two teenage daughters, Nhancye (pronounced Nancy) and Roberta, made quite a sight. On a recent Friday night at the Target store in San Dimas, they were pushing around grocery carts filled to the brim with stuffed animals, various toys, plastic eggs and the like.

Sowing Seeds for Life CEO Vicki Brown, second from left, is surrounded by Daniela D'Angelo, left, and daughters Roberta and Nhancye.

A few curious customers stopped them to ask what they were doing. 

“When we told them we were going to fill Easter baskets for needy children,” explained Nhancye. “They thought that was pretty neat.”

Some 100 Easter baskets are spread out on the living room floor at the D'Angelo home in Via Verde.

Nhancye is senior at St. Lucy’s High, Roberta a junior. When they heard their parents’ restaurant, the Golden Spur at 1223 E. Route 66 in Glendora, was sponsoring an Easter basket giveaway for Sowing Seeds for Life, they jumped at the opportunity to take part.

The giveaway, which will involve 200 baskets in all, will take place Wednesday in the DPI Labs parking lot at 1350 Arrow Highway in La Verne. It is one of Sowing Seeds for Life’s regularly scheduled giveaways held the first and third Wednesday of every month from 3 to 5 p.m.

Sowing Seeds for Life, an East San Gabriel Valley food bank founded by CEO Vicki Brown of Glendora, provides food and other products to some 6,000 needy people per month, mainly through its giveaways at DPI Labs. They are held at DPI Labs because Vicki Brown is also the CEO of that aerospace company. DPI Labs also serves as the headquarters for Sowing Seeds for Life, or SSFL.

Vicki recruited Joe and Daniela D’Angelo, the new owners of the Golden Spur, as sponsors for the Easter basket giveaway.

The D’Angelos, who say they want to be more involved in community activities in the area, have done wonders with the Golden Spur since taking over the landmark restaurant nine months ago. The place has returned to its glory days.

And it appears their enthusiasm is contagious. Their daughters, in addition to working on the Easter baskets, say they want to get involved with other SSFL charity activities and also get their friends involved.

They spent around $300 on their shopping spree at Target, and spent the good part of two days filling 100 baskets with their goodies.

They then transported the baskets to the Glendora home of Mike and Merilee Goodwin, who are SSFL volunteers. At the Goodwin’s house were another 100 baskets.

Wal-Mart donated all 200 of the baskets. Volunteers – and two teenage girls – filled them. Some of the goodies came from various sources. For example, GiveBack2God, a national organization that supplies almonds to the needy, donated chocolate-covered almonds.

But the big givers were Nhancye and Roberta D’Angelo.

Nhancye and Roberta jumped at the chance to get involved with Sowing Seeds for Life

It’s the kind of thing that restores our faith in the youth of today.

Cool Cruise is a gathering of hod rods and classic cars in a family atmosphere.   As tradition goes, Cool Cruise will be held on the historic streets of Old Town La Verne, D and 3rd Street, south of Bonita Avenue.

If you attend, look for the SSFL booth.

For more information or to participate in this event, please contact new event promoter Doug Lorimer at (626) 332-1155 or visit the website at www.coolcruise.net.

A group of La Verne University students that are members of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) have hooked up with Sowing Seeds for Life (SSFL), a food bank that feeds some 6,000 needy people per month in the East San Gabriel Valley.

On a recent rainy day, the students, accompanied two professors, showed up at DPI Labs at 1350 Arrow Highway, where SSFL conducts food giveaways twice a month.

They were there to help in any way they could. But their main purpose was offering business advice to the people there in need, most of who are currently unemployed. It could be as simple as offering advice on how to fill out a resumé, or offering advice on how to handle a job interview.

    “Our students are helping and learning at the same time,” said Dr. Issam Ghazzawi, a professor of business management and an SIFE advisor.

Dr. Ghazzawi was joined by another advisor, law and economics professor  Kevin Marshall, at the recent SSFL food giveaway. And he said the group plans to continue working with SSFL on various projects.

There are 15 members on the SIFE advisory committee at the University of La Verne and more than 1,500 throughout the U.S. from more than 800 colleges and universities. Globally, SIFE has more than 48,000 participating students are more than 1,500 institutions of learning in 40 countries.

The goal of SIFE is to improve lives, strengthen communities and develope socially responsible business leaders.

Vicki Brown of Glendora, the founder and CEO of Sowing Seeds for Life, can vouch that the goal is being reached in the East San Gabriel Valley.

    “These kids are just tremendous,” Brown said. “For them to come out on a rainy day and try and help people in need has to restore our faith in today’s young people.”

The SIFE members aren’t the only University of La Verne students offering a helping hand to SSFL.  There was another group that planted orange trees at the Glendora Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Martin Luther King Day. That group included six members of the La Verne track team, one graduate assistant coach, two female students from the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and academic advisor Michelle Kerchichian.

There were all there on strictly a volunteer basis.

It was another uplifting story about caring young people at the University of La Verne.

Taking part in Sowing Seeds for Life project were University of La Verne students, from left, Matt Sustayta, Armando Capia, Lane Jackson, Albert “Pablo” Acosta, Jayden Earlywine, Ted Brestow, Cassandra Egan and Adriana Navarro. Far right is academic advisor Michelle Kechichian. Credit Marilee Goodwin

By Larry Stewart

Volunteerism was alive and well in Glendora on Martin Luther King Day. Probably the best example of that took place at the Glendora Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 770 N. Glendora Ave.

Eight students from the University of La Verne spent most of the day planting 20 orange trees on the church property and five more in a nearby backyard at the home of longtime Glendora resident Marian Reich.

The project was arranged through Sowing Seeds for Life, an East San Gabriel charity founded and headed by Glendora resident Vicki Brown, who is also CEO and president of DPI Labs, an aerospace company in La Verne.

Sowing Seeds for Life, or SSFL, provides food directly to some 6,000 needy people per month and a variety of other services. Planting trees is just one facet of the multi-faceted charity, which also operates a community farm at Falcon Ranch, a 45-acre spread owned by John Defalco in the foothills of the San Dimas Canyon.

 Brown said not only will the orange trees provide fruit for her charity but the trees also improve the environment. “Trees produce oxygen and just two trees provide all you need to breathe,” Brown said.

The trees planted by the La Verne students were donated through the courtesy of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Brown said the Fruit Tree Foundation, another non-profit charity, contacted the food bank’s Andrea Ramirez, who in turn contacted her.

 In November, the L.A. food bank named Brown the 2011 winner of the Tony Collier Award because of her dedication to the fight against hunger. The Fruit Tree Foundation connected Brown with the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, which donated the trees.

Greg DeSmet, Paul Bown and Jorge Montero of DPI Labs transported the trees to DPI Labs at 1350 Arrow Highway, where the University of La Verne students gathered Monday morning.

 The La Verne group included six members of the La Verne track team plus graduate assistant coach Jose Linker, two female students from Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, academic advisor Michelle Kechichian and school chaplain Zandra Wagoner.

The members of the track team, all distance runners, were junior Matt Sustayta, sophomore Albert “Pablo” Acosta, freshmen Lane Jackson, Ted Brestow, Armando Capia, and Jayden Earlywine.

 The two sorority sisters were senior Adriana Navarro and sophomore Cassandra Egan. Linker said Pat Widolff, La Verne’s head track coach, encouraged members of the team to participate.

 It was strictly on a volunteer basis – there was no school credit involved. Mike Downard, the owner of Rainbow Gardens Nursery in Glendora, served as planting consultant, working closely with SSFL member Mary Moody.

Other SSFL members playing key roles in the project were sisters Marilee Goodwin and Carolu Every, whose mother is Marian Reich, the Glendora resident who agreed to have five orange trees planted in her backyard. Muriel and Dennis Foster, the grounds managers for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and Steve Leonard, who provided an auger to dig holes, were others helping put the project together.

Mary Moody recited a Martin Luther King Jr. quote that sort of summed up the day: “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve . . . You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”

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Pomona Mayor Elliott Rothman and Vicki Brown worked hand in hand in making the fourth annual Sowing Seeds for Life "Christmas in the Park" event a huge success.

The spirit of giving has been alive and well during this past holiday season in the East San Gabriel Valley.

The second of two Sowing Seeds for Life toy and food giveaways was held Wednesday, Dec. 21 at the DPI Labs parking lot at 1350 Arrow Highway in La Verne. The first one was held Dec. 3 at Ganesha Park in Pomona.
 The Dec. 3 giveaway was the fourth annual Sowing Seeds for Life “Christmas in the Park” – and what an event it was.

More than 3,000 people participated, with 2,042 signing up to receive non-perishable food items. Also, 406 toys were passed out to children. And some of the best musicians in the area provided entertainment arranged by jazz radio station KTST (79.5 FM). Performers included the B-Keyss and vocalist Britney Young, the daughter of Sowing Seeds for Life volunteer Paulette Young. Also drawing lots of attention were performances the Pacesetters drill team and drum corps and the Rancho Dominators drill team. 

Among the entertainers who sang and performed at "Christmas in the Park" was Britney Young, daughter of SSFL volunteer Paulette Young.

Jediah and Jasiyah Rosales got the best seat in the house -- and a photo to boot -- at the "Chistmas in the Park event.

DPI also is the site of the SSFL food bank that hands out needed goods the first and third Wednesday of every month. SSFL, which also has several satellite pantries at various locations and locations throughout the month, gives award about a million pounds of food per year.

Molly the Clown was there to add to the children's enjoyment at "Christmas in the Park."

The charity also operates a community farm at Falcon Ranch, a 45-acre spread owned by John Defalco in the foothills of San Dimas Canyon. A major fundraiser for the organization has become its annual celebrity golf tournament. The first three were held at Sierra La Verne County Club. The fourth is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, at Glendora County Club.  The last two years, the golf tournament has drawn some of the biggest names in sports, including Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, James Worthy, Bill Sharman, Jim Harrick, Dodger legends Bill Russell, Tommy Davis and Al Downing, and legendary horse racing announcer Trevor Denman.