April 16, 2018 by Melissa Fox

Irvine History Happy Hour: Secrets of the Irvine Ranch

Please join the Irvine Historical Society on Sunday, April 22 for a new “Let’s Talk History” happy hour from 3:00 -5:00 pm.

We’ll be talking about how the ‘Secrets of the Irvine Ranch” with Gail Daniels, longtime Irvine Historical Society leader and Irvine’s beloved “History Lady.”

The presentation begins at 3:00 pm and will be held at the Irvine Historical Society located at 5 San Joaquin, Irvine, CA 92612

Stay afterwards for light refreshments and a chance to meet fellow local history lovers!

Admission is free but a donation of $5 per person is suggested.

You can find the Irvine Historical Society on Facebook here.

Irvine Ranch workers with a hay press circa 1885

The Irvine Historical Society is located in the San Joaquin Ranch House, commissioned by James Irvine in 1868 and considered the oldest standing structure within the original boundaries of Irvine Ranch.

Built for $1,300, the home was the first wooden house to be erected between Anaheim and San Diego. A research library and extensive photo collection of local historic information are available.

Standard hours of operation are Tuesday and Sunday from 1 to 4; closed holidays. Members are free; a $1.00 donation per non-member is appreciated. One-hour walking tours of Old Town Irvine are available on the first Sunday of each month at 11:30 a.m. Free for members; $5 for non-members.

April 13, 2018 by Melissa Fox

Join Me for Irvine’s Breakfast and Hike Open Space Celebration!

Please join me as the City of Irvine invites the community to attend a 30th Anniversary Open Space Celebration Breakfast and Hike on Saturday, April 14 at the Quail Hill Trailhead.

This free public event will begin at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast, followed by a welcome at 9:15 a.m. and a 1.8-mile hike hosted by Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Please wear comfortable shoes.

Please park at the Quail Hill Community Center. Parking is not available at the Quail Hill Trailhead.

No RSVP needed. For more information, call 949-724-6077.

One of the best — and most distinctive — things about Irvine is our commitment to preserving open space.

The City of Irvine has more than 16,000 acres of permanently preserved parkland and open space – remarkable for a city of our size.

The Irvine Open Space Preserve features trails for hiking, mountain biking and, for part of the year, horseback riding.

In 1974, early in our city’s history, voters approved multi-million dollar measures to fund public parks and recreational facilities, and for the acquisition and development of bicycle trail and hiking trail improvements.

In 1989, the City negotiated an historic agreement with the Irvine Company that set aside more than 9,500 acres as permanent open space marshlands, bike trails, parks, nature conservancies and agricultural areas, protecting fully one-third of the city from development. It features wetlands, oak stands, grasslands and coastal sage scrub, and has been designated by the state and federal governments as a natural landmark.

In addition, in 2006, nearly 37,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch were selected as a National Natural Landmark, a designation which reflects the outstanding condition, rarity, diversity, and value to science and education of the natural resources on the land.

What: Irvine 30th Anniversary Open Space Celebration

When: Saturday, April 14, 2018. 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Where: Quail Hill Trailhead, 34 Shady Canyon Drive, Irvine, California 92603

Cost: Free

You can see the Facebook event page here.

See you there!

April 12, 2018 by Melissa Fox

Help Them Home: A Giving Day for OC’s Homeless on Weds., April 25

Help children find their way home!

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 is Families Forward’s Help Them Home Giving Day.

Mark your calendars!

On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, you can help homeless families have a place to sleep tonight – and every night. Every donation on “Help Them Home” Giving Day will be matched dollar for dollar! Gifts of any size will make a difference to help us reach our goal of $50,000.

Your donation helps a child have a safe place to sleep tonight!

Who are the children we meet every day at Families Forward?

They are hopeful, innocent children who don’t always understand why their parents have lost their home. They just feel fear and uncertainty because they are moving from place to place, with no bed of their own and no place to have a normal life. Their parents are mostly facing an unexpected crisis that turned their lives upside down – whether it’s a job loss, medical issues or fracturing of a family.

How can you help them?

With your support, Families Forward can move hundreds of children into immediate shelter, whether it’s a motel stay, locating an emergency shelter, or moving into one of our available homes for a short-term stay. Give now and you can make all these options possible for a local, homeless child today.

A Giving Day for OC’s Homeless: 24 Hours. 16 Organizations. 1 Cause. April 25, 2018.

Can you imagine a future in which everyone in Orange County has a safe place to sleep every night?

We can. But we need your help.

That’s why Irvine-based Families Forward and 15 other homeless service providers in Orange County are coming together for a day of giving on April 25, 2018 to restore dignity and hope to homeless men, women and children.

At one time or another, any family may find itself in need of some form of support.

Visit the Families Forward Website here.

Families Forward is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

You can donate to Families Forward here.

UPDATE: Success! The Orange County Register reports that “The first themed Giving Day in Orange County – benefiting 16 nonprofits that provide services to homeless people – surpassed a $500,000 overall goal by attracting $743,700 in donations. More than 1,100 donors responded to the 24-hour “Help Them Home” online fundraising campaign that began at midnight Wednesday, April 25. . . . Here are the results of the Help Them Home campaign, as of Friday, April 30: Families Forward, $128,975; Grandma’s House of Hope, $85,160; Casa Theresa, $87,947.”