SITS News October 16, 2025

President Paula opened today’s Meeting.

Invocation: Lydia’s invocation spoke to this week’s weather. Our gorgeous fall season being somewhat abbreviated due to the first snowfall of the year arriving early. Remember that the first snow is magical, you go be bed in one world and wake up to another one. If this isn’t enchantment, what is?

Sunshine

Our “Sunshine” is something we do each week to promote those who need more support and a bit of a pick-me-up. We continue to send our thoughts and love to all.

LOTS OF SUNSHINE TO SEND THIS MORNING:

Sunshine continues to be broadcasted for our warrior Wendy, positive thoughts to Jeanne P., Andie and to everyone dealing with a personal struggle of their own.

Guests: Ernie Claudio

NOTE TO MEMBERS: Check your homes for any tablecloths you may have from SITS. Cookie needs them back ASAP

HWHW is sponsoring and providing workers on Monday Oct. 20th for Bread and Broth at St. Theresa’s from 3-6. Thanks ladies for always stepping up in our community.

Our guest speaker today was Jenna Green, the COO of El Dorado Community Health Centers, a federally funded health center that serves more than 12,000 community members across El Dorado County. She has over 10 years of executive leadership, has led community health centers in four states, built programs in nonprofit health systems and has worked for 5 years in healthcare Information Technology.

Jenna came to announce that El Dorado Community Health Center is opening a dental clinic in South Lake Tahoe. See flyer below

El Dorado Community Health Center, located at 4212 Missouri Flat Road in Placerville, is a Federally Qualified Health Center. They can provide Uninsured patients a sliding fee discount based on family size and income. They also accept Medi-Cal, Medicare, CMSP/Connect to Connect and most private insurance. Federally Qualified Health Centers have existed for quite a while. watch the Video to see how they started. Our local Barton hospital is a Regional Health Center which provides some of the same services as El Dorado Community Health Center.

The new dental office, located at 3443 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Ste #2 is affiliated with EDCHC. We hope to get more services offered to our Lake Community in the near future.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

• HWHW (Healthy Women/Healthy World) is organizing a Monthly Movement series. Each will take place following our business meetings around 9 am. Join us and bring a friend! Save the dates and let’s move! Oct. 9, Leaf Peeping Hike at Fallen Leaf Lake! (it was so fun!) (Nov. 13, Dec. 11, Jan. 8, Feb. 12, Mar. 12, Apr. 9, May 14, and June 11….activities will be announced)
• SOCIAL COMMITTEE fun activities include: Nov. 16, 4 PM on is Friendsgiving at Laurie Flesher’s. Signups coming soon Max. 30 peeps. Dec 18, following our SITS Holiday Party, will be a Cookie Exchange. Jan. 22 at 9 AM, let’s all gather at Elements for breakfast following our meeting. MORE SOCIAL to follow!
• Technology Committee is thrilled that many of our members attended the Tech Cafe training October 9th.
• Dream It Be It Committee: We spent the morning with the DIBI girls from Mt. Tallac (snow kept many out of school that day) at the Library. Annie gave us a wonderful tour which introduced the girls to many services and opportunities available at this lovely facility. Their TEEN corner is a safe and adult free area in the library for them to work, read or just chill.
• Dream It Be It also works at the high school. As you can see in the second photo, Vivi, Piper and S club members at STHS write letters to themselves as part of Dream It Be It program.

SITS Member Quick Reminders

Quarterly Member Dues and Happy Dollars: These funds are how we pay for our overhead expenses so they are very important. Dues is generated by our Treasurers. Happy Dollars can be paid directly online on our website www.sitahoesierra.org on the Donate button. “Note” what the payment is for to help out our team!

SITS Committee Signups~ Go to our signup listing site for this new year of fun committee options here!

SITS Newsletter wants YOU! Our newsletter is amazing and so is our team! The process is easy to learn and your commitment time is scheduled by you! You can prep ahead of your publication and make it a snap. Our team will be happy to teach you the point-n-click program and we’ll be at your side throughout the year. Sign up for your weeks now!

Our Soroptimist apparel line is ready for purchase! Liz Prestella’s Torq’d clothing line for women is our supporter of this endeavor. Members and appreciators of SITS are now able to purchase apparel and items from her website. See what items are offered and to order go here. Thank you to the SITS team and to Torq’d for all of the hard work.

NON-SITS

Fun and Opportunities in Tahoe

There’s actually so much going on so you’re going to want to check out the EVENTS tab on www.southtahoenow.com, but here’s a few to get you started!

LTCC Art Exhibition featuring Ian Ruhter. Open reception Oct.9 from 5 – 9 PM with his work being shown to Dec. 11, 2025. Read more about “The Lake” here.

On Oct. 18th, the Care for the Earth Committee of the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church will host a Sustainable Tahoe Seminar featuring local experts who will address how we can support a sustainable future for our community. Dianne Rees, Core Team Leader of Al Tahoe Community Firewise USA, will discuss mitigating fire risk in our Wildland Urban Interface communities. Catherine Howell from South Tahoe Refuse will speak about what happens to our trash after it leaves our homes and how the three cart system is working. And finally, Courtney Baumann from Keep Tahoe Blue will speak about their programs and how you can get involved to keep our lake pristine. This program is free for all, so please invite your friends and neighbors for a fun and informative afternoon on Oct. 18, from 2-4 pm in the church family room (lower level) at 2733 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Light refreshments will be served.

El Dorado Community Foundation is seeking community voices through our Engage El Dorado initiative on the topics of attainable housing and accessible transportation within El Dorado County. It is important that as much of the community as possible is represented in this feedback so that future policy enacted by the County can be developed with the community in mind. 

Through a collaborative approach between El Dorado County and the El Dorado Community Foundation, Engage El Dorado will center community voices, especially underrepresented populations, seeking to understand needs and connection between attainable housing and transportation access. The outcomes that we are striving to achieve with Engage El Dorado include community-centered engagement, collaborative planning & leadership, policy & strategy development, understanding equity as it pertains to access to housing & mobility, as well as transparency & impact, with the ultimate goal being County led long-term implementation of community driven solutions that fit the needs of El Dorado County. Please ensure your voice is heard by taking the survey, in either English or Spanish, below:

Engage El Dorado Community Survey

Encuesta Comunitaria de Engage El Dorado Survey

Estate Planning and Philanthropy! This complimentary informational workshop on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 6 PM, is designed specifically to discuss how you can help minimize your estate taxes while maximizing the assets you pass to your heirs. Topics covered include: What is Estate Planning and Who Needs it, Estate Taxation, Trust Planning, and our favorite, Charitable Giving Strategies. This is an ONLINE presentation and the details are here!

To register for the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless FACES event, click here.

Nov. 9, 2025

This is the 39th Season of Tahoe Arts Project. TAP performances include: Push Physical Theater-Jan 26-30, 2026, Katie Jane Band-March 2 – 6, 2026, Living Voices-March 23-27, 2026.

The Tahoe Women’s Community Fund is having their membership drive! The Tahoe Women’s Community Fund, a philanthropic leadership organization, is dedicated to building and engaging an inclusive and diverse membership of women interested in strengthening our community through the power of collective giving. Be a part of something big!

Vista Rise Collective (previously Live Violence Free) is always looking for volunteers. There are many opportunities, for both direct and indirect services. Cash donations are always welcome, but every Tuesday they accept non cash donations such as furniture, clothing, etc. For more information about volunteering, donations and/or services provided click here.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care could use donations of towels if you have some to take to goodwill, take them here instead. Check out their Facebook page here

PETAL KINDNESS is a non-profit organization that rescues flowers to uplift others and helps divert green waste from landfills. They are in desperate need of vases. Drop them off at 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Leave behind wooden pallet wall.

Petal Kindness rescues these flowers from the landfill and provides them to non-profits, hospitals, senior centers, and community-based organizations to bring comfort, joy, and healing to our local community members. Donations and volunteers are always needed!

Blood donations are needed and four are scheduled in our community. Please see details here and make your appointment today!

Looking for up to date resources in our community? Barton Health has a list for all of us and it is actively updated! SHARE this link with others!

ALL YEAR LONG!

LTCC Basic Needs Center is looking for food donations. A variety of foods and basic need items are on the list. Click here for full list and drop off details

If you’d like to donate through our club, please bring your donations to the monthly business meeting and Lisa C. or Andie will make sure they are delivered to the college. Please include an estimate on the value as LTCC needs to keep records of that information.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue has a quarterly newsletter to keep us all updated on fire safety info. Their goal is to help people learn about the fuels reduction products they are working on, seasonal fire safety info and other fire dept related news. Click here to sign up for the newsletter

Saint Joseph Community Land Trust has changed their Motel to Home (MTH) program from a loan program to a grant program and we’re hoping this will attract families living in substandard housing, who would like to live in a more permanent and adequate home. Please click here for more details

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless seeks community support in keeping people cared for.

Our South Shore community has been able to sleep better knowing that our homeless population has an indoor option. This winter season marked the 10th anniversary of the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) providing warm beds to the most vulnerable in our community.

The office hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12-4 at the Red Lodge, 1137 Emerald Bay Rd.

More details here

Between Horses and Humans continues to grow! If you’re a lover of youth and a lover of horses, this is a program for you! You can keep up on their information by reading their newsletters here! Volunteers and donations are always needed. BHH Update-they are soon relocating to the Amacker Ranch!

Food Assistance Guide for So. Lake Tahoe. If you know of anyone in need, please share this information. Click and print!