*** REQUEST FOR A FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ***

The Annual Calabasas Pumpkin Festival is happening this year! This has been our annual fall festival where we meet, greet and celebrate with the community. You can not celebrate a fall festival without pumpkin pies! We will be selling 'pumpkin pies' whole and by the slice. We will be hosting the Beer & Seltzer Garden again this year. Our featured brewery is 8one8 Brewing Co in Canoga Park. They will be offering a selection of beers, including a fall season brew! This year we will be including 'hard' seltzer, and the infamous Pumpkin Beer.

This is our fall fundraiser to help provide funds to support the needs in our local community. Come join us, have a slice of pumpkin pie, and visit us at the Beer and Seltzer Garden!!

Fellowship - Cisco's, Thousand Oaks

On Saturday September 17th, one those wonderful sunny days when you absolutely KNOW why you live in Southern California, not too hot, not too cold, the Rotary Club of Calabasas members wended their way to Cisco’s Restaurant in Thousand Oaks. There we spent a fun filled afternoon, listening to our Club President Daniele’s father and his band, 'Set of Nines', playing music that WE all knew the words to, and the beat had our toes tapping and even some souls up dancing! The food was great, the drinks too and we were even joined by our wonderful Assistant Governor, Senior Assistant Governor Glenn Gomez!

It was a very special afternoon, and we cannot WAIT to do it again! For those of you who missed it, you REALLY did miss a treat! As soon as we know where they are playing again, we will let you know so you can get it on your calendar!

2021-22 Rotary Citation

Congratulations Rotary Club of Calabasas!

We received the Rotary Citation for the 2021-2022 Rotary year from 2021-22 Rotary International President Shekhar Metha. We received this recognition from Rotary InternationaI based on our demonstration to a commitment to achieve Rotary's goals, which ultimately helps strengthen our Rotary clubs and to positively shape our future in our local communities and globally.

Once again, congratulations Rotary Club of Calabasas!!

Together We Rise - Foster Youth Project

On Saturday September 10, 2022, the Rotary Club of Calabasas collaborated with 12 other Rotary clubs in District 5280, family, friends and the community to help with decorating canvas duffel bags and assembling bicycles for the organization 'Together We Rise". The organization's vision is to improve the lives of children in foster care, who find themselves forgotten and neglected. This project will provide foster kids with personalized canvas duffel bags for their belongings instead of having to use trash bags and assembled bicycles to help them get to school with a little more independence, and the experience of just being a kid.

Thank you Rotary Club of Greater Van Nuys for the invitation to join in this heartfelt family project event.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Conejo Valley

At our Tuesday September 6, 2022 meeting, we were honored to welcome two visitors from The Greater Conejo Valley Boys and Girls Club, CEO Mark Bargaason and Area director Leslie Lemus. CEO Mark shared a lot of the history of the Boys and Girls Club, from its humble beginnings, to where it is now, providing both before, and after school care to children with working parents. A safe place to go, where they complete their homework, and not only learn social skills but also additional educational skills. Area Director Leslie shared with us some of the success stories, of returning Boys and Girls Club alumni, who return to share their time and skills and then go off to college and return to share THEIR own successes! Those stories warmed our hearts and we were thrilled to be able to present a Community Grant check for $4,000.00, to be used at the four Boys and Girls Clubs in Calabasas. This money will go towards improving the educational programs being provided at the clubs.
We have also learned of other volunteer opportunities for our members at these sites, and will be exploring those in more detail.

Sun Set Concert at Lake Calabasas

Joined by our very own member and Mayor of Calabasas Mary Sue Maurer, a group of us got together for an evening of fun, food, fellowship and may I say it again FUN!! We also had the joy of meeting the brand new member of the Estrada’s household their lovely new pet! So well behaved and affectionate little dog!

We all met up for the last in the Sun Sets Concert Series at Calabasas Lake to listen to, and to sing along with of course, the Surf City Allstars who performed a tribute to the music of the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean! Aaah – I think it took us all back to those “Surfing USA” days!

It was a beautiful evening, surprisingly even got a little chilly, and we heard our Mayor announcing her last ever concert as Mayor and a member of the City Council! We are so very proud to have her as a member of our Club! WHAT a joyful evening!

Mayoral Breakfast, Calabasas Country Club

Our members were honored to attend the Mayoral Breakfast honoring Mayor Mary Sue Maurer, and a Rotarian of the Calabasas Club. The Calabasas Country Club is a beautiful setting for an early breakfast among friends in the community. We learned more about our Mayor Mary Sue Maurer and the contributions she has made to the community of Calabasas through those who worked alongside her. When Mary Sue spoke the power was out and so was her powerpoint... but the Mary Sue way .... she presented with a smile, humor and her paper notes. Thank you Mary Sue for your many years of service to the community ... with the City Council and as a Rotarian!

Volunteering at Operation Gratitude

Members of the Rotary Club volunteered at Operation Gratitude in Chatsworth. What a wonderful opportunity to spend the evening stuffing teddy bears that will be given to the children of deployed military service persons. Teddy bears provide a sense of comfort while a military parent is away. We were also given a container of paracords to re-braid, if any members are interested. These paracord 'survival' bracelets provide a military or first responder with a tangible, lasting expression of gratitude. They are included in Care Packages and can be used to save a life in an emergency situation.

Lost Hills Sheriff Station Comfort Room

Our Rotary Club of Calabasas members worked closely with the Lost Hills Sheriff Station to remodel the existing Comfort Room located on the premises as our District 5280 Community Grant project. The tranquil environment affords individuals who are victims of domestic or other forms of violence, children who have been removed from their homes, or those who have lost loved ones in local tragedies to have access to clean clothing and personal care items. Additional comforting items such as small teddy bears for children to keep, personal blankets, and even new pillows with pillowcases sewn by our club members for children who will be entering foster care are organized for easy access.

The Lost Hills Sheriff Department, including a Watch Deputy, several Sheriffs, and trustees, assisted in preparing the room, from painting the walls to affixing new light switches. The furniture was replaced, including the purchase and assembly of a new couch, storage cabinet, and child table with matching stools. A new smart television and a DVD/Blu-ray player were also purchased and installed. We were also fortunate to get help from a retired LASD Sheriff, Kenney Keyes, who owns Carpet Savers Carpet Cleaning. He was proud to have his company assist in this important project.

We are grateful to Calabasas Mayor Mary Sue Mauer for her support and the City of Calabasas for providing additional funds. A big “thank you” goes out to Captain Jennifer Seeto for helping our club to unveil the new Comfort Room and for her commitment to serving the community.

We are also very proud that one of our Rotary Club of Calabasas members, renowned artist Angie Whitson, donated two beautiful original oil paintings for the room. A new plaque adorns the wall to note the partnership between the Rotary Club of Calabasas with the City of Calabasas.

2022-2023 Rotary Club Board Installation

Our first meeting of the 2022-2023 Rotary year under the leadership of President Daniele. President Daniele shared with the membership her leadership team and her goals for the year. Thank you to PDG Jay Saltzman and his wonderful wife Fern for joining us. PDG Jay installed the 2022-2023 Club Board, and was our guest speaker. He shared interesting information - 'Did you Know...Fun Facts of Rotary' which prepares us to play Rotary Trivia. Looking forward to an exciting Rotary year of new friendships, new service opportunities, and Rotary growth. Have a wonderful year, President Daniele!!

City of Calabasas July 4th Celebration

City of Calabasas July 4th Fireworks Celebration at Calabasas High School. Some of our members spent the day volunteering at this celebration event...and I believe we enjoyed the fun just as much as the kids and their parents. We spent the day helping the kids with arts and crafts, activities, listened to music and enjoyed the dancing. What a wonderful day to celebrate with our Calabasas community!

Rotary at the Bowl Fireworks Extravaganza

Our annual Rotary at the Bowl event happened this year! We were all excited to be out with our Rotarian friends across the Rotary District 5280. This year's entertainment featured Steve Martin, Steep Canyon Rangers and Martin Short....such a fun night!! We were all rolling with laughter in our seats. Since this was the celebration of July 4th, we saluted our military services, and we were mesmerized with the fantastic fireworks show to end the night.

Demotion / Celebration Party

Thank you Rotary Club of Calabasas for a wonderful Demotion / Celebration Party. I was honored and truly enjoyed the year as Club President. Our successful year happened because of our club members' support and teamwork! We did this together! Thank you to our Rotary friends for joining us...we loved having you all there to celebrate with us. Thank you Sherry for opening her home, Manny, Bette and Daniele for the fun hawaiian golf theme!! I love the President Award!!

Fireside Chat

The Rotary Club of Calabasas held their Fireside Chat on April 12th at the beautiful home of Angie Whitson. What a wonderful evening of fellowship, fun, laughs and learning a thing or two about Rotary. It was great to see our newest members, and interested potential members joining us. We are excited to welcome our new Rotary family members...who have already stepped up to lead events and projects. We love our members!!

City of Calabasas Bunny Trail

City of Calabasas Bunny Trail Jr. April 9th at the Juan Bautista De Anza Park in Calabasas. The Rotary Club of Calabasas volunteered to pack 350 bags of candy for the event. We also volunteered on the day, at the photos with the Bunny Rabbit, Bunny Trail, and handing out candy. What a fun community event to watch the children hunt for eggs, face painting, an obstacle course and enjoying the petting zoo.

Malibu Creek Park Tour - Chumash Lecture

It was a beautiful warm Sunday to be out in nature. The joint Peace Committee of Calabasas and Woodland Hills arranged this event that we spent the morning touring the Malibu Creek Park with Docent Eduardo Estrada. We also heard the history of the tribes Tataviam and Chumash in our local area from a member of the tribe....Alan Salazar. There is history of the area including the famous backdrop of many movies and TV shows for the past 100 years. Thank you to our Peace Committee for arranging this wonderful day and our speakers who educated us on the history of our neighborhood park.

District Grant Meal Packing with Rotary Clubs Hollywood, Columbo Americano, Thai Town

On Saturday, March 5th, we joined the Rotary Clubs of Hollywood, Columbo Americano and Thai Town District Grant Meal Packing through the Outreach Program and Hollywood Food Coalition. We volunteered to pack their goal of 19,000 bags of oatmeal and pasta. What an amazing project to be involved with and we spent hours with our Rotarian friends packing food for those in need in the community of Hollywood!!

Camp Pendleton Donation

Our Rotary Club of Calabasas delivered diapers, baby wipes, bags of baby clothing and donated baby formula to give to our military families at Camp Pendleton! We are always excited to help our military through our donations to support their families ...

Calabasas Pediatrics Donation

Thank you to Dr. Tanya Altmann and the Calabasas Pediatrics for their generous donation of cases of baby formula. This came in such an opportunity time. The baby formula was donated to the military families at Camp Pendleton. Baby formula is such a needed donation and was so appreciated! It is exciting that our local businesses are reaching out to Rotary to help donate to those in need. Thank you Calabasas Pediatrics!!

Dance for PolioPlus Fundraiser

Over $1,100 Raised for PolioPlus!

Thank you to Kybele Dancers, Daniele D., Sally G., and a very big Thank you to everyone who participated & donated!

Adopt a Senior / Child Family for the Holidays

Much of the joy of the Holidays comes from the ability to give rather than receive! And, so in this case we, the Rotary Club of Calabasas members,are so fortunate and have been receiving an abundance of joy this year! First of all, by being given the opportunity to help out some of our deserving seniors in our community by filling their wish lists, and then if that was not enough, being able to assist some of our students who are in much need of some Holiday cheer! We worked with Amber Fullenbach from OneGeneration, and Veronica Esqueda from Family Resource Center at the Las Virgenes Unified School District. These students will be receiving packages with much needed items and also gifts to make sure their Holidays are brighter than they otherwise would have been!

Calabasas Holly Jolly Trolley

Tis the Season! Sunday we became Santa's helpers, joining up with the Calabasas Parks and Recs Department on the Jolly Trolley tour, where we assisted with the photos with Santa, and shared some goodies with the children who attended! Smiles all around with happy children talking to Santa, (well, maybe not ALL, some weren't quite sure about this jolly man with the red suit and white beard!!!!) It was truly wonderful to see families out and about, having fun and enjoying themselves.

Calabasas Senior Center Holiday Musical

The spirit of the Holidays is shining brightly within the Calabasas Rotary Club. We had the pleasure of sponsoring the refreshments for the Senior Holiday Concert, actually held in person at Founders Hall, while following all the required safety measures for COV-ID. To see folks all dressed up in their Holiday clothes and having such a good time being together was so very special! We were all treated to wonderful music from the Calabasas Music Club - how talented those musicians and singers are and what a joy to be able to hear them in person. Many thanks to our young folk for sharing their talents with all.

City of Calabasas Reorganization Meeting

Joining our very own Club Member, Calabasas Mayor Mary Sue Maurer, by signing in the guests and checking vaccination status at the City of Calabasas Reorganization Meeting, as she was sworn in as Mayor, by her own son no less - again, wonderful experience - so proud of you Mary Sue and so grateful for all your support, referrals and introductions! We are so fortunate to have you as such an involved Rotarian!

Thanksgiving Baskets

"The Holidays are upon us, and it is time to give not only thanks but back to those whose lives have been so disrupted during this pandemic! Some of the Rotary Club of Calabasas members came together to create Thanksgiving baskets. These, in turn, were delivered them to the Las Virgenes Unified School District Office. From there, the staff will make sure these baskets are handed to the families who need them the most."