BRIEFLY IN EDUCATION

Boys & Girls Club exposed to African culture

Members of the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach went on a field trip Nov. 26 to Muzeo in Anaheim to learn about Africa. Muzeo, Southern California’s new museum and cultural arts center, provided the members with an interactive exhibit titled “Africa Past, Present, and Future,” in which kids were able to discover common ground as they learn about Africa’s people, land and cultural history.

The 14 kids learned the difficulties of living in Africa when they used the model for getting water with a pulley. This experience gave them a clear understanding of the work involved with getting water.

Club members also learned how to tell one gorilla from another by looking at their nose wrinkles. Muzeo also showcased a photography exhibit titled “Sudan, the Land and the People.” Club members asked questions about Sudan’s people while they examined photos depicting the war-torn nation.

For more information on the Boys & Girls Club, call (949) 494-2535.

Club now offering charitable gift annuities

The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach is now offering charitable gift annuities as a new option for donors.

A charitable gift annuity is an agreement by which the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach guarantees to pay an income for life in exchange for a gift. An annuity can be designed for one or two people.

When a donor makes a gift of cash or appreciated stock, they will receive an annual income for the rest of their life, or in the case of two persons, for both of their lives.

Payments will be made in quarterly installments. After death, the annuity becomes available to the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach to support programs of the donor’s choice.

Advantages to the program include: guaranteed income for life; a portion of the income is tax free; charitable tax deduction the year of the gift; capital gains savings with gifts of appreciated stocks; no investment responsibilities; and the satisfaction of supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

“People who are interested in charitable gift annuities are tired of the ‘roller coaster ride’ and uncertainty of the stock market,” said Pamela Estes, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

“They are also concerned with the current low interest rates on their bank CDs. Those that have a Charitable Gift Annuity enjoy and appreciate the certainty of the fixed, level and guaranteed payments they receive like clockwork and the increased payout amount they enjoy over their old CD rates. And of course the most important part is the chance to help a great organization like the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna.”

For more information contact Michelle Ray, development director, at (949)494-2535, ext. 103 or visit www.bgclaguna.org.

St. Catherine Girl Scouts help the homeless

St. Catherine Girl Scouts gathered recently to make 31 hygiene boxes for residents of the Friendship Shelter. Participating girls were members of Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes, which include girls from first through eighth grades.

Hygiene boxes include shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and paste, razors, socks, Chap Stick, deodorant and other personal items for the homeless while they stay at the Friendship Shelter. Many of the girls sought donations while others compiled boxes at home. The girls spent a meeting day assembling and decorating the boxes and also making Christmas cards for recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital.

St. Catherine Girl Scouts are members of the Laguna Beach Service Unit 1 and the Girl Scouts of Orange County.