Volunteer Spotlight: Cory O'Meara, "The Poster Woman of a Helper" Born and raised in Wisconsin, Cory O’Meara graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. After moving to Washington DC, where she met her naval service husband, her boomerang journey around the US started. Every two years or so the family, including their daughter and son, moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico, around the US and back. Despite the regular upheaval, Cory speaks very fondly of her years on the move. “We have enjoyed it, with the best part being the opportunity to live in and explore different places from mountains, deserts and oceans to lakes. There are nice people everywhere; that’s the joy of travelling,” she explains. Six years ago, when Cory moved to Redondo Beach, she looked around to see which organizations were seeking volunteers. Cory was drawn to BCHD by the variety of activities across all ages and areas of the community, from school events to supporting seniors. She soon started as an Errand Volunteer for a local lady named Pat, who’s in her 80s.

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Volunteers Continue Supporting Vulnerable Residents

While most BCHD volunteer roles continue to be on hold for safety reasons, some groups are meeting virtually and others are providing support to residents, like running errands for essential supplies. We also have volunteers making check-in calls to BCHD clients which increases connection and reduces social isolation from a distance. In June, volunteers began assisting with delivering ready-to-eat meals to vulnerable community members. These volunteers made 39 trips, delivering 86 meals in June!

Volunteer Hours In 2019, volunteers reported more than 36,000 hours which made a big impact on the individual and collective level. We know that 2020 will not reach that level because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, considering the situation, we feel the number of hours you’ve given to our programs are remarkable and don’t even fully capture the support people have given to the community. June saw a big jump because we received so much support from the Harbor College Nursing Students at the COVID-19 Test Site!  January: 2,863 February: 2,491 March: 1,073 April: 412 May: 344 June: 1,454 2020 Total: 8,627

Volunteer Anniversaries Although many of you aren’t actively volunteering in your usual roles right now, we are endlessly grateful for your commitment. The many collective years of effort toward a healthy beach community from our volunteer corps is truly incredible!

July Anniversaries Meri Baskin, 2 Susan Brilliant, 5 Emi Brown, 3 Virginia Campbell, 6 Teri Cannon, 9 Kate Doll, 2 Joan Edelmann, 9 Howard Fishman, 1 Carol Halfaker,9 Cheryl Kahnamoui,3 Karen Kane, 2 Kim Neglia, 24 Marcia O'connor, 6 Keith Sommerer, 2

Volunteers with Medical Experience Needed  We have a remote opportunity for BCHD volunteers with medical backgrounds (nurses, doctors, contact tracing, etc). Volunteers will help call people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Availability needed: Shift times vary based on length of calls but the ideal volunteer would be available for 2-3 hours 3 times per week, any day of the week. A computer and headset are needed to make calls. If interested, please complete our form.

Click Here to Complete Form

Send us Your Photos We want your photos! Whether you're meeting virtually or supporting residents and running errands, we want to see you in action! Photo Requirements: Must be we wearing a face cloth covering or mask (no N95 masks) Must be wearing your teal Volunteer t-shirt with the word Volunteer visible Please send your photos to Cassidy.Roosen@bchd.org.

Beach Cities Health District continues to publish a regular newsletter, website updates and social media posts to inform the community of the latest guidance regarding COVID-19 health guidance, testing, closures and recovery. Everyone can be a health leader in the community by staying informed and staying safe. In addition to physical distancing and wearing cloth face coverings when we are around others, we all still need to take the same precautions that we were taking earlier on in the pandemic - wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands and self-isolate if you are sick. These actions combined are the best defense against COVID-19.

While BCHD general operations have shifted to community response to COVID-19, we currently aren’t doing in-person events or on-boarding new volunteers for our regular roles. However, we still want to connect our volunteers!

Join Our Virtual Social Hours Thank you to all who have been able to join our Virtual Volunteer Socials thus far! We’ve had so much fun sharing and connecting and feels nice to “see” you! We will now host our Socials on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursdays of the month at 1pm and welcome you all to join! Please reserve your spot, as space is limited. August Virtual Volunteer Socials Thursday August 6 th at 1pm Thursday August 20 th at 1pm * Zoom info will be emailed to those who RSVP the morning of event.

Reserve Your Spot

Join the Moai Movement Looking to connect with others in the community who share similar interests? A Moai (pronounced “Mo-Eye”) is a group of people meeting for a common purpose and can include activities like walking, purpose discussions and potluck meals. The word “Moai” comes from Okinawa, Japan, where neighbors use Moais as support systems. Based on this tradition, Moai groups are considered just as important to a person’s health as the benefits of being active, healthy eating, and finding a purpose.

Connect with a Virtual Moai Group

Just For Fun Puzzle! Enjoy some downtime solving this super fun Word Search by finding all of the words hidden in the puzzle. The words may be placed diagonally, horizontally, vertically, or backwards.

July Word Bank BELONG DOWNSHIFT FIREWORKS GRILL INDEPENDENCE MOVE PURPOSE SOCIAL SUMMER VACATION

Whether you're looking for COVID-19 or testing information, a local mental health provider or wanting assistance with errands, call the Assistance, Information & Referral line at 310-374-3426, ext. 256 , seven days a week, 8:30 a.m.– 5 p.m. to access the below services during COVID-19. Our errand assistance program provides essentials to Beach Cities residents including groceries and household and cleaning supplies. The program now includes meal delivery services, providing affordable and healthy meals for home delivery to vulnerable populations and those safer at home in the Beach Cities.

Learn More About Meal Delivery

Virtual Summer Free Fitness Break a sweat and de-stress safely from your home! Mondays in July 6-6:30 p.m. | Family Yoga 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Mindful Yoga Mondays in August 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Zumba Register Here

Virtual Mindfulness Drop-In Take 30 minutes to downshift and practice mindfulness techniques. Wednesday, August 5 4-4:30 p.m. Register Here

Virtual Happiness Chat Support your well-being with casual discussions focused on connection and resilience.  Tuesdays 12:30-1:30 p.m. Register Here

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