2024 Projects
2024 Annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt with AZ School for the Deaf and Blind School
SACC Pioneer volunteers gathered at Reid Park to assemble Easter baskets for the kids. We also did something new this year in cooperation with women and children at St Demetrios Church. Everyone enjoyed packaging and creating the baskets for AZDBS.
On March 28th we all met at the Arizona Deaf and Blind at 9:00am. Louise Rebholz dressed in her bunny outfit and all the children wanted their picture taken with the Easter Rabbit. We did the classes individually and it takes longer but it’s so much more enjoyable. We had a total of 19 volunteers and two Merit Financial representatives came to assist us and take the volunteers to lunch afterwards.
2023 Projects
2023 Stocking Delivery to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona
December 13. 2023. We’ve had a long time relationship with Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona and their clients. Often, these stockings are the only gift they receive at Christmas time. We cut and sewed all the stockings then volunteers filled them with goodies. We bagged them with handcrafted blankets by more volunteers. This year we gave out 125 stockings and blankets this morning and we went to their new location at 3355 W. 6th Ave. this is a project that we love to do and enjoy every year.
2023 Talking Books – Amphi HS Resource Fair
Patti Pace from SACC Pioneers and Talking books were at the Amphi High School Resource fair. Spreading the joy of reading to all. SACC Pioneers and Talking Books have been community partners for over 35 years.
2023 Annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt with AZ School for the Deaf and Blind
This was a great year for Pioneers, and the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. On a blustery spring day, SACC Pioneer volunteers gathered at Reid Park to assemble Easter baskets for the kids. The school allows us to store them at the school until we meet for the hunt.
On the day of the hunt, April 6, 2023, The SACC volunteers distributed the eggs and waited until the children are close to turn them on. They make a high pitch sound that can lead the blind children to the egg. Once the egg is retrieved; we exchange it for a basket full of candy and other small trinkets. No hunt is complete without the visit from the Easter Bunny. Our Bunny handed out candy and posed with the children for pictures. We did the classes individually and it’s more enjoyable getting to watch each class separately. There were over 125 baskets prepared for all the preschool and elementary age children who attend the school.
2023 Basket Assembly – Annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt
So AZ Combined Club assembled 130 Easter baskets this week at Reid Park. The baskets will go to ASDB – Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind during our annual beeping egg hunt on April 6th, 2023. Our project leader Sherry Daughtry was joined by our club president Mo Ryan, Senior VP Jan Pitts, and Pioneers including Larry Mingo, Patti Pace, Louise Rebholz, Ann Ray, Kay Rose and Donna Dominguez.
2023 Lab Robes – Starting the Year off Strong
SACC is starting 2023 off to a great start. Several members have been making beautiful lap robes and we received a wonderful donation of 21 hand made quilted lap robes in a rainbow of colors. If you would like to donate yarn or your time to this community project, please reach out to Barbara Palmer at (520) 403-4668 or via email at bpalmer@legacywestpioneers.org.
A huge thank you to to Renee Mercer and Pam Wolfe for their beautiful work on these handmade crocheted lap robes!
2022 Projects
2022 Stocking Delivery to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona
On December 14th, SACC made our annual stocking delivery to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona. We were able to create 140+ stockings and package them with a new handmade lap robe, all made and assembled by our members. We have been doing this project for several years and as a thank you for partnering with them, they gifted us with a beautiful glass paperweight which will be cared for by our project leader, Mo Ryan. This is a favorite project by our members and we look forward to creating the stockings and lap robes for the 2023 holiday delivery!
2022 Annual Beeping Egg Hunt with AZ School for the Deaf and Blind
On the day of the hunt, March 31st, Pioneers gathered at the outdoor grassy area near the cafeteria and laid out the baskets. This year, the children would be coming in small groups to hunt for their eggs and exchange them for baskets. This worked out well and the kids had a great time. The Easter Bunny was able to hand out suckers and pose with the children for pictures.
This was a great year for Pioneers, and the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. On March 16th, Pioneer volunteers gathered in the park outdoors to assemble Easter baskets for the kids. We coordinated with Dean Sarah at ASDB. She let us know we would be able to have an in person hunt this year!
These are so beautiful! We have such talented crocheters working on the lap robe project. Thank you Renee Mercer for seven more lap robes!
2021 Projects
2021 Mobile Meals Stocking & Lap Robe Delivery
2021 Sabino Canyon Rehabilitation & Care Center
On December 9th volunteers with the Pioneers’ Southern Arizona Combined Club along with Amphi Middle School students got together and wrapped lap robes. They will be given to patients at sabino rehab center On December 15th. Our volunteers were joined by the Superintendent of Amphitheatre school district and two school board members. It was a wonderful experience for everyone.
2021 Lap Rube Yarn Donation
This is a recent donation of yarn for our lap robe project. We are so thankful for people who contribute to us! 2021 we produced 190 lap robes, given out to seniors in need
2021 Beacon Foundation
Pioneer volunteers delivered 100 holiday bags to Amy Carlson of the Beacon Group in Tucson on December 7th. They will be used to package other donated personal items to Adults with Disabilities who are working through the Beacon Foundation. This will provide some holiday cheer to these hard-working individuals. Many acted quickly to bring this project to a conclusion, “answering the call of those in need.” Thank you to the board of Southern AZ Combined Club, Legacy West Pioneers and to our volunteers Anna Patton, Jan Pitts and Patti Pace for completing this in record time!
2021 Lap Robes
Renee Mercer has been busy crocheting lap robes for our on going project.
2021 Talking Books
Talking Books Outreach is continuing, and we did our first Zoom presentation for the Madera Daughters of the American Revolution. It worked out well and they really appreciated our joining their meeting. The Arizona Braille and Talking Books Library intends for us to primarily do our Outreach via Zoom through the rest of this year. We were able to attend a brief event in person at Park Senior Villas at La Canada on June 17th, handing out applications for services and networking with other agencies.
2021 Easter Buckets for the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind
We are again this year doing things a little “differently” when it comes to our annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt for ASDB. Thanks to our team of volunteers, we assembled 125 buckets! Each bucket was overflowing this year with candy, small toys, peeps, bouncy ball and a plush animal. At ASDB, they will distribute them for us since we can’t have a live beeping egg hunt this year. Our hopes are high for 2022! The children will be going home for spring break, and when they return their Easter baskets will be waiting for them. One of the Deans, Sarah Allen, said the kids really look forward to the Pioneers visiting them. This will let them know we care and are still thinking of them all.
Volunteers: Sherry Daughtry, Mo Ryan, Jan Pitts, Ann Ray, Larry Mingo, Kathy Kisro, Priscilla Lujan and Patti Pace
2020 Projects
End Of the Year Lap Robe Delivery – 2020
This year, we gave out 250 lap robes with with 5 left towards our 2021. We donated to 7 facilities, including:
Sabino Rehab – 70
Mobile Meals – 86
Groves Assisted Living – 23
Woodlands Palm Memory Care – 37
Frances Adult Care – 20
Ohana Senior Care – 4
All Comforts of Home – 10
A special thank you to John & Mary Seagle for heading up this special project. Touching the lives of so many in our community is both the goal and drive of the Pioneer spirit.
Stockings for Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona – 2020
We had another successful Christmas Stocking delivery, we delivered 86 stockings to Mobile Meals this morning, they were so excited to get them for their clients. We want to thank everyone who donated all goodies for our stockings. We’re glad they will have a Christmas surprise. Thank you to Patti Pace, Kathy Kisro, Larry Mingo, & Ed Ryan for getting all stockings delivered and a special thank you to Mo Ryan for being the lead on this project. Your dedication is inspiring. We hope you all have Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Lap Robes – 2020
Mary See with a few of the 11 lap robes crocheted by her Michigan friend Shirley King. Thank you ladies for your dedication to our community!
Lap Robes – 2020
A huge thank you to a trio of sisters who have really been using their time in productive and inventive ways. Nancy, Barbara & Cate! Nancy Kennon in California has been working overtime to crochet lap robes for SACC. She has been a mainstay creator for us for many years; however, during this turbulent time, Nancy has cranked out 100+ beautiful blankets like these you see modeled by her sister Cate. Cate Simpson & Barbara Palmer have also reached out to their neighbors on the NextDoor app and have collected items for many of our projects including Hug-a-Bears, Treasures 4 Teacher of Tucson, pill bottles for the American Legion and their most impressive sourcing has been collecting over 22lbs of yarn to help keep their sister Nancy in full supply. Thank you ladies for all your hard work!
Easter Basket Assembly – 2020
Tuesday the 17th, 10 volunteers gathered at Reid Park to assemble 125 Easter baskets for the children at ASDB – Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. We practiced social distancing by assembling them outside, and limiting our volunteers to ten people. We were very careful to wash, sanitize and glove up to keep the kiddos safe from us. We bagged the baskets, and the school is storing them until Easter week. Thank you to Mo Ryan, Sherry Daughtry, Ann Ray, Bobbi Taylor, Karen Schumacher, Larry Mingo, Kathy Kisro, Cathey Sibley, Lynette Clewley, and Patti Pace for meeting up at the park to get this project under way.
2019 Projects
Lap Robes Holiday Delivery – 2019
WOW look at all the bags of lap robes So AZ Combined Club delivered to Sapphire of Tucson Nursing and Rehab.
Mobile Meals Christmas Stockings – 2019
This morning, the Southern AZ Combined Club delivered 84 filled Christmas stockings to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona. They will send them out with prepared meals for their clients this week, spreading cheer and caring to home bound individuals. Our Pioneers, retired and still working, love this project. Each stocking is filled with love as well as goodies. Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona serves Tucson, Sahuarita and Green Valley.
Learn to Crochet Class – April 2019
Our 1st LEARN TO CROCHET CLASS sponsored by the So AZ Combined Club members, Melani Chavez, Sherry Daughtry & Adella Dzik.. Here comes more lap robes..
Beeping Egg Hunt – 2019
On April 18th, we volunteers met at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) campus for the Beeping Egg Hunt. Pre-school and elementary school age children came streaming out to gather eggs, beeping or not, and turn them in for a basket. The Tucson Fire Department came and handed out toys and let the kids experience looking, climbing and sitting in the fire truck. The Easter Bunny was on hand to give bendy toys to all the kids. This is such a fun event, and the kids at ASDB feel very special and valued by this attention. Our volunteers all go home with a sense of a job well done! Thanks to all!
Basket Making 2019
On April 17, 20 plus volunteers showed up to help create and fill Easter bucket baskets for the 120 children at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. We set up assembly line style, and had them filled, sacked and ready very quickly! Because we had so many children to serve this year, a lot of volunteers were recruited, and all were asked to bring some food to share for a pot luck. We met at the Northminster Presbyterian Church where we normally do Hug a Bears, and after stopping for a food break, we finished up the baskets with gaily decorated ribbons. John Seagle offered to take all 120 baskets in his covered pick up truck to the school for the hunt. Thanks John!!
2018 Projects
MOBILE MEALS—STOCKING DELIVERY – December 2018
Delivering Holiday Stockings along with active CenturyLink employees to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona. Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona is committed to helping housebound seniors and adults with disabilities thrive physically and emotionally in their own homes. With each medically-tailored meal delivery, our volunteers also bring essential human compassion and connection.
We are hoping these stockings bring a smile to everyone’s face this holiday season. Please contact Mo Ryan for more information about this holiday project. Can’t wait for next year.
Thank you to all our volunteers! Jan Pitts, Mo Ryan, Sherry Daughtry, Patti Pace & Janine Quinn, David McCarty, Patrick McCarthy, Rene Cruz, Frank Pierson, and Donnie Archuleta
Wreaths for Mobile Meals – December 2018
Delivering Christmas wreaths to Mobile Meals of Southern AZ
Talking Books – 2018
Patti Pace and Mo Ryan at an outreach event
Pioneers have a long history of volunteering with the Talking Books Libraries in the U.S. There is a library in every state. For over 50 years Pioneers have worked repairing the machines and still do, but now the machines are digital, there are fewer moving parts and the repair issues are way down. These Pioneers are at an outreach event, talking to potential clients and explaining how the program works, showing off the player and sharing information so more people can benefit from the free program.
2018 Easter Egg Hunt for the AZ School for the Deaf and Blind
The annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt was held at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind last Wednesday, March 28 in Tucson. A group of 24 volunteers worked the previous week to make up the baskets for the 91 children who participated. There were baskets of treats with plush animals for the preschool age and with playground balls for the elementary age kids. The Tucson Fire department was there with a ladder truck, the kids always enjoy visiting with them. We provided bubbles for the firemen to hand out to the kids. The bucket truck from CenturyLink was there with Anthony Gabrielson throwing out packages of gummy candy to the kids below. Anthony is fluent in American sign, and the kids love catching the candy from him and interacting via sign language. The Easter Bunny (Mary Rhodes) was there handing out bendy monster toys. 25 volunteers were on hand to spread out the beeping and large eggs. They were turned on at the same time, and the kids came flooding out to find an egg and line up to exchange an egg for their basket. The children at this school look forward to the Pioneers coming for Easter every year. This year it was a beautiful day, sunny with light breezes. From the looks on everyone’s faces you can tell a good time was had by all.
Chapter 66 Pioneers: Arizona/New Mexico 
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