October 2020 Letter from Rancho Bernardo Board President Steve Dreyer

This year has been one like none other. Even our holidays will not look the same as before.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to celebrate the 33rd Annual Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation (RBCF) Thanksgiving Luncheon together this year.

While this is not a year to gather together, it is a year to GIVE TOGETHER.

Giving Together

This year, we are asking Rancho Bernardo community members to please consider donating the price of your Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon ticket.

Think of the table of people you have enjoyed celebrating with over the past 33 years. Consider donating in their name or asking them to join you in making a donation.  ALL donations collected will be used to provide individuals and families in need with food during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Additionally, all donations will be matched by Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation, up to $10,000! Food insecurity is at its highest level ever during this pandemic.

Together we can make a difference.

Donate Today

Your generous donations are helping with COVID recovery. RBCF deployed $10,000 for immediate recovery efforts in April.  We will announce our 2020 grants in late November, even though we can’t be together to celebrate them.

Pathway of Pride Honorees

We’re also celebrating our donors to the Pathway of Pride. We have 12 honorees this year, including:

• Bill Chaffin
• Bonnie Dowd
• Ben & Sue Dyas
• The Horndorf Family
• Brandi Horton
• John Kasser
• The Miyasaki Family
• Mark & Farzin Morris
• Frances B Peterson
• The Saks Family
• K. Schade & L. Cassidy
• Jim & Karen Sommer

Your board continues to stay hard at work in support of our community. But nothing is possible without your generous donations. It is your membership that makes all of this possible.

Please know how grateful we are for your continued support of the community that we all love.

Have a happy holiday season. Stay safe and stay well. We look forward to being together as soon as it is possible.

Member Spotlight

Debbie Kurth is founder and President of Business Services International (BSI), a company that specializes in meetings and special events worldwide. She lives in Rancho Bernardo.

Debbie is very active in the local community and serves on several boards and committees. In January, she finished serving her second two-year term as RBCF President and has been the Chair for the Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon for the past seven years.

She is immediate Past President (four years) and current Treasurer (seven years) for the RB Business Association.  Debbie serves on several other boards as well.

Debbie is a past Rancho Bernardo Honorary Mayor. She has been named “Volunteer of the Year” for the RBBA, RBCF, CABH, and also the North County Philanthropy Council.

Debbie was a 2019 inductee into the Rancho Bernardo Hall of Fame for her many years of leadership and service in the Rancho Bernardo Community.

In 2020, Debbie was recognized as the 77^th Assembly District’s 2019 “Woman of the Year” and attended a special ceremony in Sacramento.

“Growing up in Wisconsin, I started volunteering at an early age,” Debbie shared. “Helping your community is very important to me and what better way is there than through the Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation!”

“I especially love working on the Thanksgiving Luncheon,” she continued. “This is our biggest fundraising event where we award our grants to various worthwhile organizations.  It is very rewarding to know the support RBCF is providing and the impact it is having on so many people in Rancho Bernardo.”

Grantee Spotlight

With generous support from RBCF and its members, Alzheimer’s San Diego was able to continue to provide their caregiver Support and Discussion Groups held at the San Rafael Parish in Rancho Bernardo.

These support groups were free to attend and open to caregivers of people living with any form of dementia. From December 2018-December 2019, the support group had a record number of participants with over 350 attendees, including 15 new caregivers.

“This is the first group I’ve been to that I felt comfortable sharing with others. I’m a very private person and this group gives me the security I need, with the freedom to speak as well,” said one support group participant.

“Going to this group has helped me so much,” said another participant. “I always feel so much comfort. I describe going to this group as my warm blanket.”

This funding also empowered Alzheimer’s San Diego to provide four dementia education classes in Rancho Bernardo. The classes were offered free of charge and to the public, reaching approximately 60 people.

Alzheimer’s San Diego thanks RBCF and its members for supporting dementia patients and their families with this generous funding.

Alzheimer’s San Diego has shifted these programs online in response to the pandemic.

Get Involved with RBCF