Conejo Community Outreach (CCO for short) is a local non-profit organization comprised of six local moms.
Tell me about CCO -- what's the goal of the organization?
We aim to connect local generosity with local need for support by hosting a variety of community fundraising events that directly give back to individuals and families in the Conejo Valley.
We believe that communities gain strength when all residents are appropriately clothed and fed.
Sounds great... what sort of resources do you provide?
When CCO first launched, it was during our first Conejo Community Thanksgiving. Having all met through local online mom groups ourselves, we noticed a true need for a community resource for local families. Daily, we observed posts from moms in need -- whether they were low on formula, needed baby clothes, or were struggling to make ends meet and needed support -- it was clear to us that something needed to change.
We aim to connect local generosity with local need for support by hosting a variety of community fundraising events that directly give back to individuals and families in the Conejo Valley.
We believe that communities gain strength when all residents are appropriately clothed and fed.
Sounds great... what sort of resources do you provide?
When CCO first launched, it was during our first Conejo Community Thanksgiving. Having all met through local online mom groups ourselves, we noticed a true need for a community resource for local families. Daily, we observed posts from moms in need -- whether they were low on formula, needed baby clothes, or were struggling to make ends meet and needed support -- it was clear to us that something needed to change.
Since then, we've launched our Community Closet -- a free resource for local individuals and families who need assistance in the form of receiving gently used donations such as baby and kid clothing, work attire, coats and jackets, and a variety of miscellaneous baby items such as bottles and bibs and diapers (as we receive them).
We've also hosted a Paint Nite fundraiser that we themed as a parents' night out event -- complete with affordable babysitting next door to the Paint Nite location, complimentary hor d'oeuvres and wine, and amazing raffle prizes from local businesses. Our goal with this fundraiser was to create a budget-friendly family-friendly event for local parents to mix and mingle, while supporting us in our mission.
Additionally we just wrapped up a fun Holiday Family Photo Mini-Session fundraiser and our second Conejo Community Thanksgiving, in which we provided 36 family-sized meal packages filled with Thanksgiving Day staple ingredients, the turkey, and recipe cards that were dispersed between 26 local families from all different sizes and backgrounds.
How do you generate these resources?
We're fortunate to be part of a very generous community that answers our call for donations, and attends our fundraising events such as our most recent "Parents' Night Out - Paint Nite" event, fundraising days at Cronies Sports Bar and Grill, and our Holiday Family Photo Fundraiser. After our donations drive week for our Community Closet, we garnered enough donations to fill two storage units! We've fulfilled a number of Closet package requests and hope to continue to do so as we head into 2017, and start offering volunteer opportunities with the Closet.
We've also hosted a Paint Nite fundraiser that we themed as a parents' night out event -- complete with affordable babysitting next door to the Paint Nite location, complimentary hor d'oeuvres and wine, and amazing raffle prizes from local businesses. Our goal with this fundraiser was to create a budget-friendly family-friendly event for local parents to mix and mingle, while supporting us in our mission.
Additionally we just wrapped up a fun Holiday Family Photo Mini-Session fundraiser and our second Conejo Community Thanksgiving, in which we provided 36 family-sized meal packages filled with Thanksgiving Day staple ingredients, the turkey, and recipe cards that were dispersed between 26 local families from all different sizes and backgrounds.
How do you generate these resources?
We're fortunate to be part of a very generous community that answers our call for donations, and attends our fundraising events such as our most recent "Parents' Night Out - Paint Nite" event, fundraising days at Cronies Sports Bar and Grill, and our Holiday Family Photo Fundraiser. After our donations drive week for our Community Closet, we garnered enough donations to fill two storage units! We've fulfilled a number of Closet package requests and hope to continue to do so as we head into 2017, and start offering volunteer opportunities with the Closet.
What's ahead for you now that you've wrapped up your Conejo Community Thanksgiving?
We're moving full steam ahead, supporting Operation Hope, a group that provides holiday gifts to children who come from all different backgrounds -- children who are victims of domestic violence, children who have lost a parent recently, children who are in foster care, children who have parents going through chemotherapy, and children whose parents have fallen onto extreme financial hardships. If you'd like to learn more about that event, please visit their FB page.
Additionally two of our board members, Kinsie Flame and Jessica Weihe are serving as event chair and community champion, respectively, for this year's Conejo Valley Relay for Life event (this May!) and we plan on forming a team for the event! We hope you'll support us, or consider forming a team of your own!
Our Community Closet will also be an ongoing year-round resource.
What can I do to support your organization?
Lots of things!
1) Spread the word about our organization -- we want our resources to be able to find those in need, and half the battle is making sure that our community knows about our organization. Please encourage local friends and family to support our page and our efforts, and please point anyone you know of that might benefit from our resources to our website!
2) Sign up as a volunteer -- as we continue to expand, we'll have more opportunities for those who would like to be active in their community to give back. In 2017 we plan to launch "open" Closet days for those who would like to help us sort and organize our inventory. We're so grateful for those who have reached out and helped us with our events!
3) Donate -- whether you'd like to donate a monetary amount to CCO, or a gently used item for our Community Closet, every bit helps. We are a 100% volunteer-based organization. ALL donations go toward operating costs (yearly insurance, Community Closet storage unit cost) and directly back to the community in the form of our resources we provide.
4) Become a sponsor -- are you a local business that would like to support us? We've created a variety of sponsorship opportunities if you would like to continue helping CCO with our mission. Sponsors assist us in ensuring that our organization's operating costs are met so that we can continue to create more community family-friendly events and resources. To inquire about sponsor packages, please email us at: [email protected]
Have questions? Email us at: [email protected] or check out our EVENTS tab for information on all of our current and past events.
To stay updated with us, please follow our Facebook Page.
We're moving full steam ahead, supporting Operation Hope, a group that provides holiday gifts to children who come from all different backgrounds -- children who are victims of domestic violence, children who have lost a parent recently, children who are in foster care, children who have parents going through chemotherapy, and children whose parents have fallen onto extreme financial hardships. If you'd like to learn more about that event, please visit their FB page.
Additionally two of our board members, Kinsie Flame and Jessica Weihe are serving as event chair and community champion, respectively, for this year's Conejo Valley Relay for Life event (this May!) and we plan on forming a team for the event! We hope you'll support us, or consider forming a team of your own!
Our Community Closet will also be an ongoing year-round resource.
What can I do to support your organization?
Lots of things!
1) Spread the word about our organization -- we want our resources to be able to find those in need, and half the battle is making sure that our community knows about our organization. Please encourage local friends and family to support our page and our efforts, and please point anyone you know of that might benefit from our resources to our website!
2) Sign up as a volunteer -- as we continue to expand, we'll have more opportunities for those who would like to be active in their community to give back. In 2017 we plan to launch "open" Closet days for those who would like to help us sort and organize our inventory. We're so grateful for those who have reached out and helped us with our events!
3) Donate -- whether you'd like to donate a monetary amount to CCO, or a gently used item for our Community Closet, every bit helps. We are a 100% volunteer-based organization. ALL donations go toward operating costs (yearly insurance, Community Closet storage unit cost) and directly back to the community in the form of our resources we provide.
4) Become a sponsor -- are you a local business that would like to support us? We've created a variety of sponsorship opportunities if you would like to continue helping CCO with our mission. Sponsors assist us in ensuring that our organization's operating costs are met so that we can continue to create more community family-friendly events and resources. To inquire about sponsor packages, please email us at: [email protected]
Have questions? Email us at: [email protected] or check out our EVENTS tab for information on all of our current and past events.
To stay updated with us, please follow our Facebook Page.
RSS Feed