ZGlobal commits $250K to local food bank

Thanks to a recent pledge from ZGlobal Power Engineering & Energy Solutions for $250,000, the Imperial Valley Food Bank has now raised more than $4 million in total toward its capital campaign to raise funds to open a new building that will meet its growing needs.

ZGlobal announced the donation pledge on Tuesday. The engineering and consulting firm will donate a quarter-million dollars to the food bank over five years to help their effort to fund the construction of a more modern and suitable facility that meets their needs.

Kudos to ZGlobal for becoming involved in the community it operates in.

Camarena Memorial Library for keeping children active, involved

Just because school is on summer recess does not mean students cannot keep fertile minds sharp, especially with a chock-o-block schedule of activities in the Summer Family Reading Program at Camarena Memorial Library.

Wednesday afternoons are STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) lessons at the library and for a final burst of STEAM children had a blast learning to make slime kits at the concluding class. Kudos to the library for providing needed activities to children during the summer.

El Centro Public Library’s Summer Reading Program

There were 234 students from across the Imperial County that participated in the El Centro Public Library’s Summer Reading Program.

The six week program concluded a week ago with a dazzling lion dance demonstration by Calexico Martial Arts Academy but the main goal of the 2017 Summer Reading Program was to keep students reading during summer vacation. Kudos to the library for sharing with children the importance of reading.

First organic citrus packing shed in Valley

An idea that first was seeded in the mind of the Dockstader family last year, came to fruition a week ago as the family who owns the organic citrus company Doc’ Organics inaugurated the first-ever organic citrus packing shed in the Imperial Valley.

The new $7 million facility is located east of the city of Westmorland and the facility will create 20 jobs in its first phase. Doc’s Organics currently operates more than 630 acres of organic citrus in the Valley. Because the company produces organic citrus, their product can only be packaged in packing sheds that only handle organic citrus crops.

Inmates that received associate’s degree from IVC

At the completion of the first full year of in-yard college course instruction, Calipatria and Centinela state prison inmates experienced pride and sense of self determination as they were recognized for successfully completing course work toward an Associate’s Degree in psychology.

More than 150 men in both programs received certificates of recognition from Imperial Valley College. There are now more than 32 prisons offering face-to-face education. Victor Jamie, IVC superintendent/president, noted 92 percent passed the course in the fall and 88 percent passed in the spring.

Kudos to those inmates for continuing to grow their education and to IVC staff for making it happen.