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Topanga Women’s Circle partners with the Army.
By Doris Hall-Tuner
The Topanga Women’s Circle (TWC), an organization of more than 60 volunteers, and The Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village have partnered for the past four years to assist families with home furnishings including pots and pans, bedding, curtains and towels.
“Homelessness is not tidy,” said Karen Sherwood, co-chair of TWC. “You can’t just wrap it up with a pretty bow and consider it a job well done, but we try.”
TWC is the brainchild of Arlette Parker, whose husband was involved with housing the homeless on the west side of Los Angeles. Parker noticed that when families moved in, they often had no more than the clothes on their backs and a black plastic bag full of their belongings. A group of 10 women volunteers emerged, believing every family deserves a place to call home.
When the Parkers moved back to France, she approached Sherwood and Linda Ilsley, active TWC volunteers, to take over management of the charity. The level of community activism, membership and volunteerism has since quadrupled. In the last three years, TWC has helped over 150 families.
“Our primary focus is serving veterans and families at The Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village and young children at the Bessie Pregerson Child Development Center,” Ilsley said. “We have the absolute, very best volunteers in the whole entire world! We may be small, but through generosity, time and commitment, we are mighty!”
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