Community

To help children with new school clothes, volunteers from the Assistance League Sierra Foothills visit South Lake Tahoe each Fall to take local children shopping.

On the big day, the chosen students get a shopping voucher for $70 if in grades K-5, and $100 in middle school and hit the aisles for school-related clothing including shoes, pants, sweaters and other needed items. They also get to pick out a book of their choice and they all leave with a huge bag of new clothes, wide grins and a renewed sense of confidence.

The new clothes also help with the children's self-esteem.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Before schools were shut down in March, 2020 due to the pandemic, the 3,680 students registered in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) were able to have daily hot lunch and breakfast at school or delivered by school bus, should they desire.

Then COVID-19 hit, schools closed and people stayed home. There was worry that the 30 million school children in the United States getting free or reduced meals at school would go hungry.

That wasn't going to happen in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The pandemic changed life for many, and for many, a new way of life rose from that change.

Sebastiani "Bubba" Romagnolo was living in New York when coronavirus took hold of a city used to being a thriving center of culture, entertainment, commerce and international business.

To tackle the community's housing challenges, we must collaborate and convene with local leaders to bring change. The next virtual Tahoe Chamber Town Hall will focus on housing, current projects and innovative organizations working to bring solutions to the South Shore.

The Town Hall will be on Friday, March 19, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The speaker panel will include:

Jean Diaz
St. Joseph Community Land Trust ​Executive Director

Zach Thomas
City of South Lake Tahoe Housing Manager

Karen Fink
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Housing Ombudsman

One year ago, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District sent out a text that none of us were quite expecting: schools are closing and we're moving to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From that moment on, the lives of every teacher, staff member, parent, and student were drastically altered. Families had to change every part of their daily routine and everyone had to immediately adjust to a whole new world. This year has been hard. But we couldn’t have made it through without the support of the amazing people listed here (and so many more!)

MINDEN, Nev. - Bayview Farms Pony Club Riding Center has announced the certification of Bailey Brown, Briezy Caron, Madelynn Hodgkins, and Taylor Undercoffler from Unrated to D-1 at a testing held on March 7, 2021 in Minden.

To earn the certification, Bailey (age 7), Madelynn (age 7), and Taylor (age 16) of South Lake Tahoe, and Briezy (age 10) of Carson City passed an examination that tested horsemanship skills and equine knowledge.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) Club is honoring two local women this week, winners of the Live Your Dream and Ruby awards. They will be recognized during the club's meeting on March 11. Each will receive a check and certificate, and in the case of the Ruby Award, a donation also goes to the non-profit they represent.

As we approach the one-year marker of the pandemic, a local non-profit wanted to honor teachers and staff in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District! Teachers and staff have taken on new technology, distance learning, student mental health issues, and so much more!

Lift Literature is a new non-profit in South Lake Tahoe whose mission is to ignite the love of reading in every child. They want to upLIFT teachers, parents, and students through this time and encourage a passion for reading.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe will hold its next Community Conversation town hall meeting via Zoom this Wednesday, March 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Now is the time to ask city leadership those questions you've been wanting to know the answers to. Engage in meaningful conversation without the constraints of a normal agendized meeting.

Ask questions and get answers.

To participate in the virtual meeting, visit https://zoom.us/j/96519959557.

Yesterday schools across the country celebrated “Read Across America Day,”
and kicked off the month of March as Reading Month. Zephyr Cove Elementary School is celebrating Reading Month with two fundraisers to help raise vital funds for the school. This past year has been challenging for schools in unprecedented ways, and fundraising has become even more challenging with the continued limits on traditional in-person gatherings.

True Love is alive and well in South Lake Tahoe. This Saturday, February 27, 2021, Tom and Cheryl Millham will be celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was exactly 50 years ago, also on a Saturday, that the couple was wed in Temple City, California. The minister who performed the ceremony was Cheryl’s brother, Dr. Robert Bender.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a time when live performances are not possible, the Tahoe Arts Project (TAP) is bringing illusionist Alex Ramon to local school children and to the public with a special virtual performance.

Starting February 22, TAP and Ramon will be in local schools through March 5 with a 30-minute pre-recorded Magic show for grades K-5. Besides Lake Tahoe Unified School the show will also be at Zephyr Cove Elementary and Gardnerville Elementary.

Registered nurses from Barton Memorial Hospital will be conducting a virtual town hall to update the community on the current status with their contract negotiations with Barton.

The nurses and the hospital have been in contract negotiations for almost three years but things are currently at a standstill ad the contract remains unresolved.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The next Vitalant Community Blood Drive in South Lake Tahoe will be held on Friday, February 26 from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. It is being held in the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation gym.

Vitalant will provide free testing of donations for COVID-19 antibodies

To schedule an appointment go to: http://donors.vitalant.org and use blood drive code SMFM062 or call Vitalant directly at 866.822.5663. Appointments are suggested in order to comply with social distancing protocols but donors will still be accepted at the door without an appointment.

Every February, Live Violence Free joins organizations and schools across the country to raise awareness of teen dating violence. Dating abuse is a pattern of destructive behaviors used to exert power and control over a dating partner. Dating violence usually involves a series of abusive behaviors, and it can happen to anyone, regardless of their age, financial status, ethnicity, gender, or background.

Nonprofits in the South Lake Tahoe area are invited to apply for $100,000 in Focus and Impact grants from the Tahoe Women's Community Fund (TWCF). The 2021 grant application process is now open and will close at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 11.

Apply HERE.

In order to support as many great programs as possible, TWCF created focus grant and impact grants:

$40,000 Focus Grant #1 - Poverty, housing and basic needs (max $10,000 per grant request)

Join the Tahoe Chamber for their next virtual Town Hall meeting, Education During COVID-19, on Friday, February 19. Superintendent Dr. Todd Cutler of Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) will be the guest speaker for the hour-long event that starts at 11:00 a.m.

Dr. Cutler will be discussing the latest updates on the operations of our local schools and what parents can expect moving into the spring.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In the true community fashion South Lake Tahoe locals can be known for, a Carmichael girl's dream is coming true.

On Monday, February 8, Jennifer Palacios with Make-A-Wish in Reno posted on Facebook the story of 10-year-old Paola, a girl with a rare autoimmune disorder whose dream was to stay in a cabin with her family. She wanted to see snow, play games, watch movies, throw snowballs and make a snowman with her mother and siblings (ages 12 and 14).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As the Tahoe Women’s Community Fund embarks on its 6th year, they have announced that $100,000 will be granted to the South Shore Community this spring. This year, a record number 226 members have become part of the collective giving organization created in 2015.

Thanks to all of the members and a continued generous donation from Ms. Lisa Maloff, for helping raise this $100,000. This year is also exciting as all areas of need will be funded.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Students receiving weekly food bags from Bread & Broth 4 Kids will be able to pick them up at normal locations on Friday this week, due to the pending blizzard.

Buses from Lake Tahoe Unified School District normally distribute the bags to students with the breakfasts and lunches on Wednesdays, but with the possibility of a snow day and heavy snow, Bread & Broth moved to Friday for safety concerns.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - We've seen the stories and photos of trash left behind by the large number of people spending time in the snow from Truckee to South Lake Tahoe. A growing problem is the people finding whatever patch of snow is available, normally in areas not previously used for snow play.

The El Dorado Community Foundation is pleased to announce the 2021 Endow El Dorado Grant Cycle will open on February 1, 2021. Endow El Dorado is open to all nonprofits serving the residents and communities of El Dorado County. This year, this funding opportunity has three areas of focus for non-profits to choose from.

The three areas of focus for grants: :
1) Youth, 0-18 years of age ($5,000 application limit)
2) Social Services and Community Mental Health ($10,000 application limit)
3) Pandemic Response ($10,000 application limit)

Applicants may only apply in one area of focus.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra has been busy this winter with helping the children of South Lake Tahoe.

Club members started the season by providing snow pants and boots to children in the Tahoe Head Start program, knowing that every child deserves the opportunity to keep warm as they play in the snow. The club would like to thank Cheryl the K-Mart store manager for her support of the project.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev./Calif - The Tahoe Fund announced today that Tahoe Blue Vodka’s generous $100,000 match has been met, allowing the nonprofit Clean Up The Lake to begin its massive effort to remove trash around all 72-miles of Lake Tahoe this spring. Support to meet the match was overwhelming, with the matching $100,000 coming from more than 135 businesses and people donating to the cause, including $25,000 from Vail Resorts.