‘The Greatest Night in Pacific Palisades’

Woman’s Club Doles Out Annual Grant Awards

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Representatives from two dozen organizations—including one foster poodle—gathered in the clubhouse on Tuesday, March 3, for the 2020 Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club Grant Awards Night.

“Our grant program is one of our most important programs,” PPWC President Nancy Niles shared during opening remarks. “All of our fundraising throughout the year is done with the idea of working with the community.”

She added this year’s program went wonderfully, with voting done by members once grant applications were received.

“It’s sort of like a game show where everybody wins,” Niles shared to laughter. “All of the envelopes have something in them.”

Grant Co-Chairs Margaux Glaser and Joanna Curtis then took the stage to hand out 24 grants in four categories—Arts and Recreation, Community and Charitable Groups, Education, and Beautification—totaling $20,000.

“Welcome to the greatest night in Pacific Palisades,” Curtis said. “We have truly enjoyed getting to know each of our grant recipients and want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the great work that all of your organizations bring to making the Pacific Palisades special.”

One of the recipients in the Arts and Recreation category was Movies in the Park, which, led by Alphabet Streets resident David Williams, hosts free outdoor screenings of movies at Palisades Recreation Center on Saturday evenings throughout August.

“We just prayed that 50 people would show up because if 50 people showed up, we knew it would take some time,” Williams said of the first movie. “Well, almost 500 showed up and last season we averaged 800 people per movie.”

The 2020 grant will be used to replace a projector bulb and underwrite other general expenses.

Janie Crane brought foster poodle Baby on stage with her to accept a grant on behalf of Voice for the Animals before sharing his story. VFTA will use the grant to fund its elderly companion animal rescue, rehabilitation and adoption program.

Grants awarded in Education will fund things like music enrichment programming, science supplies, art-based projects and supplies for a design lab at the charter schools throughout the Palisades, as well as the Lucas Scholars Program at St. Matthew’s Parish School and Better Angels.

The night closed with the final grant, awarded in the Beautification category to the Village Green to assist with tree trimming, as it is not a city park nor does it receive city funding for upkeep.

“We are the heart of the community,” Marge Gold shared, “and have been since 1973.”