Marie Steckmest Says Goodbye to the Palisades

The Longtime Community Member Seeks Help to Continue Palisades Cares

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Longtime Palisadian Marie Steckmest and her husband have left their Marquez Knolls abode to join their daughter and her family in Marin County after 37 years in Pacific Palisades.

Steckmest has been a light in the community: an educator, leader and Citizen of the Year in 2008 for spearheading a greener community.

Her contributions have connected neighbors through volunteer work and donations, with a focus on the environment and working with children.

In 2006 she founded nonprofit Palisades Cares with the mission to encourage people to volunteer. The organization networks with groups like Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, YMCA, Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, Westside Food Book, Heal the Bay and more.

Palisades Cares has organized holiday toy drives, school supplies drives and more, including the installation of recycling bins and bike racks in the Palisades, as well as the installation of a Little Free Library at Marquez and Jacon with the help of a few Girl Scouts.

Steckmest shared there has always been an outpouring of support from members of the community—from the local businesses that have allowed donation drop-off bins to the neighbors who have generously contributed donations, time and efforts.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with people in the community,” Steckmest said to the Palisadian-Post. “It’s a great community, and whatever project I teamed up with or worked on, there were always people who wanted to help.”

For the last eight years, Steckmest has also volunteered her time as a garden teacher at Marquez Charter Elementary School, teaching children and their families how to eat healthy, grow their own vegetables and cook with them.

“I’ve really enjoyed being a volunteer, but now I get to teach my 3-year-old grandson how to garden and how to cook,” Steckmest said. “There are just so many opportunities and different phases of life … When I created Palisades Cares, I was looking for something to do after my kids went to college and I’ve worked with lots of members of the community doing projects …

“This is a wonderful place to live and there are so many great people and it will be fun to see what the next phase holds.”

As Steckmest leaves the Palisades, she is hoping members of the community offer help to Palisades Cares and its annual projects. For more information on how to get involved, email info@palisadescares.org.

“We’ll miss the Palisades, where we’ve lived since 1983,” Steckmest said. “But family calls … I’ll still come back and visit Marquez.”