General
Westlake Village Junior Women’s Club Presents Wig & Stache Party
Don’t miss this wonderful event sponsored by the Westlake Village Junior Women’s Club benefiting Many Mansions, Triunfo YMCA, Conejo Free Clinic and Cancer Support Community. The Wig & Stache Party will take place at the Four Seasons Westlake Village on March 4th from 6-10 p.m. $95 per person includes one cocktail, food, raffle, dancing and a silent auction. Contact Heather McLeod to purchase your tickets: (805) 496-4948 ext. 212 or heather@manymansions.org.
Many Mansions Open House
Many Mansions New Office Premiere!
On Thursday, March 5th, 2015 Many Mansions celebrated the Grand Opening of a new donated office building. Ventura County City officials, State officials, Conejo Chamber of Commerce, staff members and community supports joined Many Mansions in a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception at the new location. The new office building was generously donated by Extra Space Storage and TO Storage. The new 3,170 square foot building is located at 1259 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Special thanks to the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce for a wonderful ribbon cutting ceremony. Special thanks to Senator Fran Pavley and Congresswoman Julia Brownley offices for certificate presentations!
Keep an eye out for Many Mansions’ Open House event this spring! The entire community will be invited to come take a look at our new home.
Ventura County Homeless Count
The County of Ventura needs your help to complete the annual Homeless Count on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. Many Mansions will lead the count for the city of Thousand Oaks.
Sign up to volunteer! Volunteers will work in teams and will receive training in recording the count. The teams go out in the early morning, during the day, and in the evening to places where homeless persons are known to gather. Most counters are in the field for a couple of hours at a time, and must be at least 18 years old.
The Homeless Count is a requirement for every community that receives federal funding from HUD. In Ventura County, local groups lead the effort in each of the 10 cities. HUD funding is extremely important in the effort to end homelessness and accounts for almost $2 million annually to support homeless individuals and families in Ventura County.
Because we need to cover so much territory and so many hours, we need a large number of volunteers. Won’t you consider joining us for this enormously powerful cause?
Register Now! Register as a volunteer through Volunteer Ventura County for the location of your choice. During the registration process, you’ll be asked to include your time preference(s). Volunteers will be kept informed of training schedule modifications, where to report, and other details as we move closer to the date of the count.
https://www.volunteerventuracounty.org/user/events/one_v2.tcl?event_id=10844541241
Many Mansions’ 35 Stories book is now available on Amazon!
In honor of Many Mansions’ 35th Anniversary we present “35 Stories: A Celebration of Hope,” a collection of stories from Many Mansions’ residents, staff, board members, volunteers, and supporters.
35 Stories is a collection of stories written and compiled by Many Mansions in recognition of its 35 year anniversary of its founding. This book contains a diverse set of stories—some from our founding, some from our recent past. Some are humorous, some tragic; some happy, some sad; some uplifting, some poignant.
These are complicated stories–as complicated, as diverse, and as rich as the thousands of lives that have been affected by Many Mansions since it’s founding in 1979.
Read them for yourself! Proceeds from the sale of the book will support Many Mansions’ housing and service programs. Follow this link to purchase “35 Stories: A Celebration of Hope” on Amazon.
Volunteer of the Year: Glenn Kassel
“We must not bury our heads in the sand instead of confronting the problems of homelessness. Difficult issues require brave, determined, intelligent confrontations.”
~ Glenn Kassel, Many Mansions Volunteer
Glenn discovered Many Mansions while researching local housing nonprofits for a friend who wanted to volunteer. Intrigued, Glenn immediately called and began her wonderful relationship with Many Mansions. Glenn is supportive, passionate, and outspoken about Many Mansions’ mission, and truly shares in our desire to provide families with “hope and homes.”
Glenn’s heart for service stems from two central beliefs she holds about the human experience. First, children are the reason and inspiration for many of our cultural practices, and yet the least represented members of society. She has always been deeply passionate about helping children in whatever way she can, and is committed to helping give them a voice. Glenn’s second core belief that provides a foundation for her volunteering service both at Many Mansions and elsewhere is the belief that if we call ourselves a civilized society, then we must house our citizens. To quote her, “We must not bury our heads in the sand instead of confronting the problems of homelessness. Difficult issues require brave, determined, intelligent confrontations.” Many Mansions is unique in our approach to combatting homelessness, providing a combination of safe housing and enriching services not seen elsewhere. This unique blend of service provision has drawn invaluable volunteers like Glenn to us, and leads them to truly become invested in our inspiring mission and service programs and to become advocates for us in the community.
Glenn volunteers for Many Mansions in several areas, and is thoroughly engaged in every aspect of our mission. Glenn volunteers as a tutor in the Children’s Program, as a receptionist in our front office, and assists with our semi-annual fundraising event, the Bowls of Hope.
With a deeply held belief that children are our future, and Glenn’s personal light, she first began working with our children’s program in 2009 and has never stopped. As a volunteer in our Homework Tutoring Club, Glenn has been a wonderful mentor, tutor, and friend to the children and an incredible support to the staff. Glenn is a wonderful, patient and compassionate woman. She is so very supportive of each and every one of the kids who attend the Homework Tutoring Club at Shadow Hills. The kids and staff adore her and look forward to seeing her every Thursday. Over the past six years, she has devoted her precious time, remarkable effort and her whole heart to assisting children with their education, forming deep and trusting relationships, and helping open their eyes to a better and brighter future full of potential and opportunities.
In addition to her commitment to the Children’s Program Glenn has been a very significant volunteer at the Many Mansions front office. She is not only flexible, committed and willing to work on any task; but she also has a very special way of taking care of everyone who walks through our door. Her genuine care for people is demonstrated in the way she greets the mail carrier to taking a personal interest in all of the staff’s lives. Affectionately known as the chocolate lady, Glenn provides so much more than the rejuvenating weekly chocolate fix for staff. She provides support and assistance by running our front office reception desk each week, and is a shining light to staff with her bright eyes and encouraging words.
Glenn’s commitment to Many Mansions goes beyond the weekly hours she is present at our organization. She carries her care and concern for Many Mansions with her wherever she goes, and is constantly sending opportunities and resources our way – from new funding sources to new volunteers – she is always looking out for us.