News From You (11/4)

Blanco offers zumba, helps community

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Lisa-Charisse Blanco, 20, brought zumba to the Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA about two years ago. She is a certified instructor in zumba, a Latin aerobics class, and is offering a variety of classes locally.

Classes meet 1 to 2 p.m. Sundays at Center Pointe Dance Studio, 12020 S. Warner-Elliot Loop; 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at Esperanza Lutheran Church, second floor, 2601 E. Thunderhill Place; and 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the Boys & Girls Club, 9225 S. Avenida del Yaqui, Guadalupe. Each class is $5, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Adopt -A-Family and Fit-Kids programs at Frank Elementary School in Guadalupe.

Blanco is a graduate of Desert Vista High School and is currently enrolled in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. She aspires to be a sideline sports reporter and has her own online sports segment for ASU. She is also a Sun Devil Spirit Squad Dancer.

Blanco organized the Spirit Squad Dancers to volunteer during physical education classes at Frank Elementary School to help prepare the children for four local races, including the P.F. Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon in January provided by Chances For Children-AZ.

Each year, she gathers her team and friends to adopt approximately 40 children and their families during the holidays by purchasing them gifts, food gift cards and necessities. At Easter time, she assists with the Easter baskets donated from the parishoners at Corpus Chrisi Catholic Church and helps distribute them to the children of Frank Elementary School.

For more information, call (480) 577-5139 or e-mail mundolatino4u@yahoo.com.

Cain wins horse-riding event

Matthew Cain of Ahwatukee Foothills won a championship in English Style horse riding at a charity event held Oct. 3 at Marley Farms in Gilbert to benefit the Against All Odds Foundation. Competing in the English Style Adult class against “typical adults,” Cain won an overall championship in his class, one first place ribbon and two second place ribbons.

Cain, 24, was adopted in 1987. He had been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome while he was a foster child. Having previously competed in Special Olympics events, he found his niche in equestrian competitions. Though he has only been riding horses for one year, he has already won three championships. His trainer is Kristin Cason with Silver Lining Hunters and Jumpers.

Johnson, Liles make Dean’s List

Ahwatukee Foothills residents Brooke Johnson and Daniel Liles were named to the spring 2009 Dean’s List at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Students must maintain a 3.5 GPA to qualify for the Dean’s List.

Mitzel named assistant executive director at ABIL

Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL), Arizona’s largest center for independent living serving people with disabilities, has announced that Ahwatukee Foothills resident Regina Mitzel has joined the organization as its assistant executive director.

Prior to her position at ABIL, Mitzel worked as the director of program services for Communities In Schools of Arizona (CIS Arizona), where she provided overall supervision and coordination of CISA partner schools related programs and services. Mitzel’s other previous positions include serving as assistant director at Interfaith Cooperative Ministries in Phoenix and as director of a Boys & Girls Club in St. Paul, Minn. Her work with nonprofit organizations spans more than 15 years.

Arizona Bridge to Independent Living offers and promotes programs designed to empower people with disabilities to take personal responsibility so that they may achieve or continue independent lifestyles within the community. ABIL is located at 5025 E. Washington St., Suite 200, in Phoenix. For more information, visit www.abil.org or call (602) 256-2245.

Hudson earns Eagle Scout rank

Michael W. Hudson, 17, has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He is a member of Troop 278, led by scoutmaster Alan Moore.

For his Eagle project, Hudson distributed fliers in Ahwatukee Foothills requesting food donations, then collected, boxed and shipped the donated items to a United States military unit stationed overseas. He raised $1,040 to cover the shipping cost of 100 boxes by asking for individual donations and holding a car wash at Taco Bell on Chandler Boulevard. Packages From Home provided the boxes and labels as well as the facility to box the items. The project involved 36 volunteers and took 174 hours to complete.

Hudson is the son of Robert and Connie Hudson and is a senior at Desert Vista High School.