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Ramona Food & Clothes Closet turns tables on volunteers

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Ramona Food & Clothes Closet turned the tables on its volunteers recently by treating them to dinner and gifts during Appreciation Night.

Jae Marciano, general manager of the nonprofit, served as master of ceremonies for the event, held Feb. 21 in First Congregational Church of Ramona’s Pilgrim Hall.

Based on donations and selling people’s unwanted items in its Thrift Shop at 773 Main St., Ramona Food & Clothes Closet gave away $60,000 last year and hopes to make $500,000 this year, said Marciano.

“The volunteers keep our train running,” she said, crediting them and the nonprofit’s board of directors for making it possible to give to and do so much for the community.

After dinner, Marciano presented each board member with a plaque and certificate and each volunteer with a certificate.

She read an essay titled “It Only Takes A Few” and then said Ramona Food & Clothes Closet started with a few people in 1983. Its 14-member board meets once a month and also volunteers between meetings.

“It’s the best board I’ve ever worked with,” she said. “...They’re the reason we’re still alive.”

Among volunteers at the event was Betty Tepozano, a Class of 2012 Ramona High School graduate and Ramona Food & Clothes Closet scholarship recipient. She attends University of California at Irvine where she majors in psychology and social behavior. She plans to graduate this year.

Among its activities, Ramona Food & Clothes Closet provides emergency food and clothing to individuals and families in need, aids the homeless, gives grants to other nonprofits, awards scholarships to qualified high school graduates, and loans medical equipment to those who need it. It coordinates the annual Share Your Christmas effort, gives books to schools and Head Start, and provides clothing, furniture and other items to schools, churches and Scout groups when needed.

Recipient of Ramona Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit of the Year Award for 2014, it serves as a clearing house for Feeding America San Diego’s Mobile Pantry at 9 a.m. the third Thursday of every month and gives donated Panera Bread to lower income families at 9:30 a.m. every Wednesday. The perishable food delivered in the Mobile Pantry truck each month is available to anyone, no matter the income. About 20 to 25 pounds of food goes to each family on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ramona Food & Clothes Closet’s mission is “to serve as a humanitarian organization providing emergency food, clothing, and other resources and aid to individuals and families in need in Ramona, Santa Ysabel, Julian, Ranchita, Borrego Springs, Warner Springs and other outlying rural areas.”

Each month an hour-long volunteer orientation meeting is held in the Thrift Shop.

Tax-deductible donations of money, nonperishable food and items for the Thrift Shop are always welcome.

The Thrift Shop is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

For more information, see www.foodandclothescloset.org, follow the nonprofit on facebook.com/RamonaFoodandClothes, visit the Thrift Shop or call 760-789-4458.

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