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22 | THE COLONY NEWS | JUNE 2022 | COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD By Rita Nastri, 698-8640 I'm not sure that our new residents and neighbors know how involved The Colony is with the Marines at Camp Pendleton. Sharon Boll has had a wonderful response to "Invite a Marine to Thanksgiving Dinner," and I have collected Toys for Tots. Thank you again for your overwhelming support of that program. Now it's time for the Formal Attire collection. After a lapse due to COVID, the YMCA at Camp Pendleton has again requested The Colony's assistance in collecting gently used ball gowns, tuxedos and fancy formal accessories (purses, cummerbunds, dressy shoes, etc.) in preparation for the Marine Corps Birthday Balls held throughout the Base on Nov. 10. The gowns and tuxes are offered free at an open house at the "Y" for the Marine spouses who cannot afford to purchase a tux or ball gown for these events. Over the past years, your neighbors and friends have generously donated trunk loads to this cause. While spring cleaning, sometimes we don't just want to donate our fancy dress clothes to a thrift shop. This is your chance to provide a special dress or tux for a wonderful cause. It is a 501c3 project, and I will provide you with a thank you letter. In the past, I have made as many as six trips to Pendleton with your finery. I will pick up at your home and deliver the items to the Camp, where the "Y" has set up a showroom for display and distribution of your beautiful clothes. It has been my pleasure to help you donate for this program. Through it, I have met so many kind people in The Colony and I now hope to meet more of our new neighbors. Please call me at the above number to book your pickup date. If I don't answer, please leave a message. I may be traveling, but I will get back to you. The cut-off date for this program is Thursday, Sept. 1. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Ball Gowns & Formal Attire Needed for Marines The Ronald McDonald House of the Inland Empire gives families a "home away from home" while their children receive medical treatment at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital and other nearby hospitals, no matter what their ability is to pay. The Colony at California Oaks Homeowners Association and St. Martha Catholic Church have partnered together and donated 46,890 pull-tabs in April 2022 toward this effort, as well as tens of thousands of tabs over the years. The pull-tabs are aluminum tops from cans of soda and other beverages, which are recycled to pay for the day-to- day operations of the Ronald McDonald House. Most of the children are in critical condition, making it very important that the family is near their ill child. Last year, 1,806 families stayed at the Ronald McDonald House, 14,688 volunteer hours of service were provided and 39 families used the Day Use Visits program, which allows families to use showers, napping room and house amenities while visiting their child. Your donations make a difference! Please bring your pull-tab contributions to Kimberly Evans in the HOA Office, M-F, 8:30 am to 5 pm. Special thanks to John & Marty Tighe, who collect for St. Martha's Catholic Church, and to the Founders of the Ronald McDonald House Pull-Tabs Collection here at The Colony, Marge and Dick Miller. Pull-Tabs Collection For e Inland Empire Ronald McDonald House