Local Salvation Army Director Marget Willer checks over a form from a client at the Salvation Army's Tehachapi Boulevard location. Gregory D. Cook/Tehachapi News

 Thanks to a $100,000 grant courtesy of The Bakersfield Californian Foundation the Salvation Army, Tehachapi Service Center will be able to fulfill its mission of creating a community center at its new location at 538 E. Tehachapi Blvd.

According to Center Director Marget Willer, the community center will include an Internet cafe and reading room, complete with three new computers and three tablets that visitors can enjoy on new couches or laptop counters. The project will also include a 15 by 40 foot patio area for croquet, badminton, and a barbecue.

Although the center will be geared towards youth between the ages of 12 and 17, and will primarily serve as a center for after-school programs, Willer said all members of the community will be welcome.

Visitors will be able to participate in free and low-cost art and dance programs, and a number of retired teachers in the area have already committed their time for an after-school tutoring program, as well.

The Salvation Army of Tehachapi is also teaming up with the Tehachapi Unified School District, which will allow the organization to use Monroe High School's gymnasium to supplement the community center.

Willer -- who has worked for the Salvation Army for the last 15 years -- could not provide an exact opening date, but did anticipate it will be a couple of months, accounting for the construction permit needed to create an entrance from the building to the outside patio, and other red tape will need to be cut before the organization can proceed with its plans.

"It has really been a long-term vision," and it is finally coming to fruition, she said.

Willer said the grant will be enough money to set plans for the center in motion, purchase necessary materials and cover construction expenses. However, she anticipates the Salvation Army will need community support to sustain the center in forthcoming years, and added that organizations such as the Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions clubs have already pledged their support.

In large part, it was that community support which earned the Salvation Army the grant, according to Tracey Cowenhoven, vice president of The Bakersfield Californian Foundation.

"The Salvation Army included eight letters of support for this project, from a variety of community members, and that, along with their active volunteer base, made the foundation's board feel that the $100,000 grant would be well-utilized," Cowenhoven wrote.

The Salvation Army was one of seven finalists considered for the grant, including the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter, Bakersfield SPCA, Boys & Girls Club of Kern County, Critters Without Litters, Girls Scouts of Central California South, and the Kern County Museum Foundation.

The Bakersfield Californian Foundation has two grant cycles per year, one in May and one in November. Typically, they deliver multiple smaller-sized grants to many organizations at a time, but for their fall 2013 cycle, the members chose to hand out one lump sum to a single winner.

Willer said the Salvation Army currently has 50 regular volunteers, but estimates an additional 30 will be needed to operate the community center.

The 3,000 square foot center -- which in June was relocated from "E" Street -- currently hosts multiple food programs, including Senior Sack, Commodities, and Fresh Rescue, which serves up to 500 families per week.

The Salvation Army will host a number of programs for the holidays, including "Giving Tree," which delivered Christmas gifts to almost 900 children last year.

These organizations submitted proposals that "had a narrow focus and clear budget so the money could really make a difference," said Tracey Cowenhoven, foundation vice president.

  "I'm very excited to hear that!" Independent Living Center of Kern County's resource development manager Christine Lollar said upon hearing Tuesday that the nonprofit had received grant money.

Lollar said one of the missions of the Independent Living Center is to provide cultural activities and awareness for people with disabilities. The grant funding will allow them to create a tactile art exhibit and hold art workshops for clients.

Lollar said people with disabilities sometimes tend to isolate themselves, but the workshops will allow them to express themselves and think about their creativity.

"Experiencing the freedom of choice can be given back through the experience of art," Lollar said.

Kim Albers, executive director of Flood Bakersfield Ministries, said the money the organization received will go toward funding incentive items for street outreach efforts. Basically, the incentive items -- snack bags, blankets, water bottles -- are used to get local homeless people into a conversation about getting long-term help and getting off the streets.

Albers said she was thrilled about receiving the grant.

Linda Hartman, executive director of the BARC Foundation, noted that many groups ask for money and said hers is privileged to have been selected. The money will support BARC programs, which have about 500 clients with various levels of disabilities.

BARC clients learn everything from how to run a cash register to working with tools and putting brochures together, Hartman said.

BY JASON KOTOWSKI Californian staff writer

AST — Arts, Science and Technology — board members used a donation from The Bakersfield Californian Foundation to help buy art supplies for Tehachapi schools. Pictured are, from left, Joel Beckmann, AST Board Member; Jackie Estes, THS Art Teacher; Carol Horst, THS Art Teacher; and Beverly Thompson, THS Principal.

In May 2011, the AST received a $2,300 grant from the Bakersfield Californian Foundation. The grant was made to AST so that they could buy supplies for art and music classes for Tehachapi schools.

The AST bought supplies for the THS art department over the summer and when those supplies arrived, the AST delivered them to art teachers Carol Horst and Jackie Estes at THS.

The Bakersfield Californian Foundation grant was especially timely because cutbacks in funding to education have resulted in virtually no budgets for art and music supplies for Tehachapi schools. Thanks to the grant, the AST was able to at least partially alleviate the lack of art supplies for our schools. Previous grants from the Mark and Jessie Milano Foundation, Union Bank, and individual donors have helped with similar situations at Monroe High School and Tompkins School, respectively.

The AST is continuing with other fund-raising initiatives to raise money to help provide art and music supplies and equipment for Tehachapi schools. If foundations, businesses, or individuals would like to help, you can donate directly by sending your check to “AST,” 23001 San Juan Drive, Tehachapi CA 93561. AST is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so your gifts will be tax-deductible.

Community members interested in becoming a volunteer for the AST’s many activities should contact AST by writing to the address above, e-mailing them at ast@hdwireless.net or calling 477-1071 or 823-0976.

Published June 7, 2011, in The Tehachapi News

For more than 25 years, the Bakersfield Californian Foundation has awarded grants to various non-profit groups that enhance the community. This year Tehachapi non-profit groups received a total of $61,693.02 in grants.

Foundation President Ginger Moorhouse, who also serves as the publisher and chairman of The Californian and is also the principal owner of Valley Direct, Inc., which publishes the Tehachapi News, said the privately funded nonprofit entity was established to build on the legacy of her great-grandfather, Alfred Harrell, who championed community philanthropy during his tenure as owner of the newspaper in the early 1900s.

Harrell was a teacher in Tehachapi before he moved to Bakersfield in the late 1800s.

The most recent cycle of giving focused on Tehachapii non-profits working in the area of arts, historic preservation and the environment.

Moorhouse, who lives part-time in Bear Valley Springs, said she was glad to see so many great applications.

The winners

The Arts, Science & Technology Education Corporation received $2,300 from the Bakersfield Californian Foundation. Grant writer Joel Beckmann said that the corporation was contacted by a teacher at Tehachapi High School (THS) who was concerned about the lack of funding for art and music programs. 

“Many teachers were buying art supplies out of their own pocket,” Beckmann said. 

This grant has contributed to buying musical instruments and various arts and crafts supplies for THS and Monroe High School.

The Tehachapi Community Orchestra was awarded $5,000 to buy a string bass. 

“We have been looking for a string bass to rent, but they are not easy to find,” said Gayel Pitchford, board president. 

The instrument will be owned by the orchestra and rented out to music students in the Tehachapi area.

The organization also helps to fill the gap left from the lack of school funding for music programs by offering a wide range of music lessons and providing free performances, like their upcoming Fourth of July concert.

The Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum offers a historic perspective on the railroads. The Friends of the Tehachapi Depot president Tim Trujillo said that they plan to use their $5,000 grant to install new display cabinets. 

“We need safe and secure shelving to hold a variety of fragile artifacts,” Trujillo said. 

They plan to have these built within the next two to three months.

The Tehachapi Community Theater (TCT) received the largest grant awarded.

According to Jonathan Hall, TCT president, this grant will fund a portion of the planned remodel of the Beekay Theater. The remodel will add wings on both sides of the stage and a multipurpose room for rehearsals and dressing rooms. 

TCT is looking for corporate sponsors and continuing fundraising efforts to help pay for the $88,000 remodel.

Hall believes this will be “a great expansion to the community’s assets.”

Tehachapi Wind Museum, a virtual museum, was awarded a grant to complete its six-mile interpretive trail, which will run along the Cameron Ridge section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Eight different plaques will be installed at particular points of interest, providing hikers with details on the history of the wind turbines along with various facts on the industries, land and wildlife of the area. According to treasurer and grant writer Sandy Murray, they “plan to have the project completed by the end of summer.”

The Tehachapi Heritage League completed the addition to the Tehachapi Museum but lacked the funding for a new computer, which they now plan on purchasing with their grant money. This computer and the software Past Perfect is essential in effectively preserving the history of Tehachapi by digitally cataloging artifacts. The Tehachapi Heritage League not only catalogs items from the Tehachapi Museum, but from the Errea House Museum and the Tehachapi Depot, as well as various items from the City of Tehachapi and the Kawaiisu Tribe. 

Charles White, president of the Tehachapi Heritage League Board, said “As a non-profit, we rely heavily on grants, especially during these times.”

Other winners were:
• American Lung Association in California: $1,500
• Have a Heart Humane Society: $3,000
• National Chavez Center/Stonybrook Corp.: $3,000
• Rotary Club of Tehachapi: $2,300
• Tehachapi Community Orchestra: $5,000
• Tehachapi Mountain Foundation: $10,000
• Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Foundation: $5,000
• Tehachapi Pops (T-POPS) Orchestra: $3,500
• Tehachapi Wind Museum: $5,596

Award Recipients

• AFFORD Foundation $2,875
• Bakersfield Museum of Art
• Bakersfield Art Foundation $1,000
• Bakersfield Music Theatre $5,000
• Bakersfield Police Activities League $4,000
• Bakersfield SPCA $3,500
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County $5,000
• Buena Vista Museum of Natural History $2,650
• CASA of Kern County $2,000
• Community Action Partnership of Kern $4,850
• Covenant Community Services, Inc. $4,834.85
• Golden Empire Gleaners $3,000
• Kern Adult Literacy Council $1,000
• Kern Assistive Technology Center $5,628.97
• Kern Bridges Youth Homes, Inc. $347.72
• L.O.V. Sunshine Band $2,000
• League of Dreams $5,000
• MARE & Henrietta Weill Memorial
• Child Guidance Clinic $4,202
• National Alliance on Mental Illness $5,630
• New Life Recovery and Training Center $5,000
• North of the River Recreation $2,932
• Panorama Vista Preserve $6,000
• Paramount Bard Academy $5,000