Muffy Walker, Rosa Lopez, and Bryan Lopez

Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Rosa Lopez and her son Bryan blend in with the crowd hanging out at the Starbucks in Del Mar. Rosa, a petite woman with a sweet smattering of freckles across her nose, looks enviably young for a mom of two teenagers. Bryan, 15, sucks down a creamy orange drink topped with whipped cream.

The only thing that sets Rosa and Bryan apart from the other soccer moms and sons at this upscale shopping center is income. Rosa and her husband, Jesus, live with Bryan and daughter Mellanie, 13, on the grounds of a farm in Rancho Santa Fe. Rosa is a gardener and Jesus handles maintenance.

"My son and daughter get a good education," says Rosa, whose children attend the public schools in the affluent neighborhood.

Despite such opportunities — ones that she and her husband did not have growing up in Mexico — there are some drawbacks. Extracurricular school activities and outings with friends are often unaffordable for Rosa and her family, who live on a much more modest budget than most of their neighbors.

A Rancho Santa Fe nonprofit called NeighborHelp tries to fill in the gaps for residents like the Lopezes. "When I moved to Rancho Santa Fe, I had three boys and they were at the public schools," explains Muffy Walker, founder of NeighborHelp. "I’d ask how their day was, and they’d say, 'It was fun. I played soccer with Billy, Bobby, and Jose’. But when I’d take them places, I’d always see Billy and Bobby, but never Jose."

Walker learned that there were many families — and not just Hispanic ones — living in the guesthouses of ranches in the area. Their children integrated easily during the day but were largely left out of the after-school stuff — marching band, sports teams, chess club, tutoring programs, and so on. Pretty much anything that cost extra.

"There was a huge dichotomy at the Ranch," she says.

In the early days of NeighborHelp, Walker recalls that they worked hard to give the money away. But once the word spread, neighbors in Rancho Santa Fe and beyond got involved as both donors and recipients.

Rosa and her brood were among the first to benefit from NeighborHelp. Bryan played on a soccer team with Walker’s middle son, Tyler, and Walker found out that the membership and uniform costs were a stretch for the Lopez family.

"NeighborHelp gave me a scholarship for soccer," says Bryan, a well-mannered teen who loves sports and plans to go to college. "They also bought us Christmas gifts!"

"It’s a very good organization helping people out," adds Rosa in her soft accent. "It’s made a big difference for me. Sometimes we don’t have money to buy things like that." Team fees and holiday presents are just two examples of the many ways in which the nonprofit contributes. Walker and her 13-person board have received grant requests for everything from flute rentals and birthday parties to money for legal aid and healthcare.

NeighborHelp works with liaisons at the schools, churches, and community center in Rancho Santa Fe. When a liaison hears of a person in need — whether a child or a senior citizen — he or she puts in a request to the organization’s committee. The potential recipients remain anonymous.

Walker recalls only a few requests that were turned down, and those were only rejected because they fell outside NeighborHelp’s mission ("nothing brick and mortar"). She estimates that her organization has assisted more than 1,500 kids over the years.

To raise money, she and her volunteers throw three big annual events. In the fall, a celebrity waiter dinner raises between $4,000 and $17,000. "Not super-famous celebrities like Brad Pitt," mentions Walker, "But people from the community." A chic pre-Valentine’s dinner at upscale restaurant Pamplemousse Grille, which includes cocktails at the owner’s house and a silent auction, yields about $30,000. And a summer fashion show at the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club can bring in up to $20,000.

"It costs at minimum $125 to support any of these," says Walker. "I recognize that we need to do more entry-level fundraising as we move beyond the Rancho Santa Fe area." Volunteerism is hugely important to Walker. She used to serve on the board of the national youth volunteer organization Kids Korps. Her three children are active members of both Kids Korps and NeighborHelp.

Part of her mission with NeighborHelp is to encourage the people it helps to in turn lend a helping hand to others — and that doesn’t have to mean financially.

"I think it’s really important that the kids we’ve helped join Kids Korps. We had a membership drive and got the kids to come out and learn about volunteering. They’ve been on the receiving end; this way, they also discover the joy of giving." — AnnaMaria Stephens, photo by Vincent Knakal

NeighborHelp

Year Founded: 1998

Overall Mission: To advocate for opportunities for members of the North County coastal community; to create public awareness of NeighborHelp; and to raise funds and distribute to those in need.

Donation Administration Cost Ratio: Having just hired a part time executive director, administration costs are now 15 percent; prior to that, there were no administration costs.

Organization’s Biggest Challenge: Educating the public that the need exists.

Contact Information: Muffy Walker, president, 858/342-0327; John Valencia, executive director,
619/507-4213; www.neighborhelp.net