Republic Services of Oxnard and Community Among Friends Present Awards to Benefit Local Nonprofits

OXNARD, Calif. - July 17, 2013 - PRLog -- OXNARD, Calif. (July 17, 2013) – Republic Services of Oxnard, one of the nation’s largest waste and recycling companies that works in conjunction with the City of Oxnard, and Community Among Friends, a 501 (c)(3) charity based in Ventura County announced today that five local charities received over $32,000 in contributions that was raised during a recent fundraising event. The donations were awarded at Community Among Friends’ annual awards luncheon event on Thursday, July 11 at The Kitchen in Downtown Oxnard.

FOOD Share, Big Brothers Big Sisters Ventura County, The Salvation Army of Oxnard/Port Hueneme and National Association Against Child Cruelty were awarded with $7,200 each and Gull Wings Children’s Museum with $3,600. In addition to these awards, Community Among Friends honored Gull Wings Children’s Museum as the 2013 Charity Challenge Winner for selling the most event tickets with an additional $500 along with Republic Services of Oxnard donating an extra $1,000. Also honored was 5th Street Steak & Seafood as the gourmet restaurant winner for exceptional food preparation and service.

“This award is such an honor and we couldn’t be more grateful for Community Among Friends and Republic Services of Oxnard,” said Julia Chambers, executive director of Gull Wings Children’s Museum in Oxnard. “This charitable gift will help us accomplish so many of our goals. We are thankful for the community’s help and teamwork.”

Community Among Friends was formed in 2011 after Gus Sanchez, operations manager at Republic Services of Oxnard, spoke to friends while attending a local city event. Sanchez wanted to give back to the community he grew up in and had a vision to help support and strengthen nonprofit organizations. What started out as a small group with nine members has now grown to 50 members that meet once a month at its breakfasts to network, partner and build relationships. The breakfasts are sponsored by Republic Services of Oxnard.

“Community Among Friends is an impactful nonprofit and Republic Services of Oxnard has helped us grow so that we can provide nonprofit organizations the support they need in order to lead the way toward a better future,” said Sanchez. “The awards luncheon was a great platform to award and recognize community organizations with charitable donations to help further their goals and celebrate the great success and teamwork.”

“It’s not all right that people are hurting and hungry in our community. We have to do what we can to change these families’ dire circumstances,” said Bonnie Weigel, president and CEO of FOOD Share. “With the help of Community Among Friends, Republic Services of Oxnard and our community, we are making an impactful difference.”

About Republic Services

Republic Services of Oxnard works in conjunction with the City of Oxnard as its partner and has operated the City of Oxnard’s Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station since 1999. Republic Services of Oxnard endorses and supports the city’s goals to improve the condition of the natural environment, significantly reduce the amount of municipal solid waste being disposed in landfills and maximize the awareness of recycling, reducing, reusing and composting of municipal solid waste through education. Through its Green Team educational outreach program, Republic Services of Oxnard has been able to reduce green waste contamination levels in local neighborhoods.

Republic Services, Inc. is an industry leader in the U.S. non-hazardous solid waste industry. Through its subsidiaries, Republic’s collection companies, transfer stations, recycling centers and landfills focus on providing reliable environmental services and solutions for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers. Republic and its employees believe in protecting the planet and applying common sense solutions to customers’ waste and recycling challenges. For more information, visit the Republic website at republicservices.com.  

About Community Among Friends

Founded in 2011, the mission of Community Among Friends is to support and strengthen nonprofit organizations by building relationships through networking, partnering and supporting its affiliates. Breakfast meetings are held once a month in Downtown Oxnard and the nonprofit hosts an annual Poker, Food & Wine event that helps support local charities. In 2012, Community Among Friends donated $30,000 to local nonprofits and expects to exceed that limit by contributing $40,000 in 2013.