Join the GVC Foundation for a Walk-a-Thon at Historic Canoa Ranch on Sunday, March 30. Be among the first to walk the new Wildlife Loop & Rodeo Grounds. Have fun and help support a great cause – proceeds benefit Historic Canoa Ranch. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at the gate on the day of the event.

Residents can now recycle at the Sahaurita Transfer Station.  The site is managed by Waste Management of Arizona, and is located at 166605 South La Cañada Dr., Sahuarita, Arizona 85614.

In the ensuing years, the Foundation raised funds for a number of projects, including the support of the Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital and Green Valley clean up days. The Foundation and the Town of Sahaurita also coordinated with a number of community partners in strategic planning for economic development in the area. Over time it became clear that the Foundation could not operate on income generated from grants alone and has since moved toward becoming a philanthropic organization. Working in concert with the Green Valley Council, the Foundation now actively recruits donors and sponsors fundraising events, in addition to grants, to support its operating costs, such as insurance, office space and archival and storage needs. It contracts with the Council on an annual basis to provide staff support, access and support of the Foundation’s telecommunications and internet usage, and other similar administrative and logistical efforts.

Perhaps the most important resource, however, has been the partnerships established for longer-term efforts, such as those now operated under the leadership of the Charitable Committees. After identifying several long-term programs and obtaining legal guidance on their operations under the umbrella of the Foundation’s nonprofit status. This structure allows the Foundation to provide a number of benefits that larger scale operations can offer smaller organizations that they are unable to duplicate. The following gives a brief historical note about how each of the Charitable Committee originated.

The AVENUE OF FLAGS raises US flags in Green Valley, along La Canada Drive, between Esperanza Boulevard and Continental Road. The flags fly from dawn to dusk on Patriotic Holidays and the observance of other federal anniversaries. Raising flags on patriotic holidays in Green Valley began in 1991 with the issuance of a license to the American Legion Green Valley Chapter, Post No. 66, by the Pima County Board of Supervisors. In 1999 the Avenue of Flags was incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. In 2013, the program, using the same name, was moved to the Community Services Committee of the Green Valley Council. Ray Robinson continued as chair until 2016 when the Avenue of Flags was brought under the auspices of The GVC Foundation, Inc.

Under a cooperative agreement with Pima County, the FRIENDS OF THE CANOA PARKS promote and support the development of Historic Canoa Ranch, Canoa Hills Trails, and Canoa Preserve parks located in Green Valley. On January 2, 2018, the Green Valley Council established a Park Task Force to determine if a park created by a 130-acre donation of the Canoa Hills Golf Course to Pima County, would be supported and appreciated by the residents and visitors of Green Valley. The overwhelming response by residents and HOAs, which abutted the donated land, was favorable, and a county/community effort resulted. The successful transformation of a former golf course to a park located in an urban environment offers a model to other communities considering a similar project.

The Green Valley Council entered into a cooperative agreement to support this and the other two parks already operating in Green Valley. In the 1880s, the historic importance of the Historic Canoa Ranch a focus as communities and historical societies sought to preserve the ranch buildings and more (Tubac Historical Society and the Green Valley Community Plan). Designated as the Raul M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, the land with the ranch buildings was purchased by Pima County through a $2 million bond approved by Pima County voters in 1997, and the same year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Canoa Ranch as the Canoa Ranch Rural Historic District. The Master Plan for the park, also completed in 1997, currently guides the developmental priorities and work occurring on the site.

Canoa Preserve Park–the first public park opened in Green Valley in 2013– was another county/community project in Green Valley. Chuck Catino (1935-2014) was a member of BAJA (Born Again Jocks Association), and a driving force in establishing the Canoa Preserve. In fact, BAJA continues to engage in fundraising projects to expand the park’s resources and schedules competitive games for community players. The softball fields at the park are named the Chuck Catino Softball Complex. The Preserve accommodates sports lovers and is sewn into the unique desert landscape—truly a field of dreams.

Throughout the year, GOOD DEEDS gifts the greater Green Valley community residents and nonprofit agencies with charitable acts.  In 2019, building on the successful work of Mitzvah Day, the Beth Shalom Temple nonprofit, The GVC Foundation, Inc., agreed to bring the nonprofit under its auspices to provide for its operational integrity. The Foundation already had a history helping in cleanup trash in Green Valley and doing good deeds would encompass not only outdoor activities but expand to include inside activities, including not only cleanup but other kinds of project assistance. The Foundation now leads and coordinates volunteers to meet interests and needs of the entire community. The Foundation wishes to thank Marcia Wiener (Beth Shalom Temple), Rhonda Caruso (Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior), and Pastor Bruce Van Sickle (Evangelical Free Church of Green Valley) for seeking to expand community participation in doing good deeds beyond their faith-based groups.

Through a licensing agreement with Pima County, MEDIANGREEN landscapes road medians with native plant species, natural hardscape materials, and local artwork to beautify Green Valley. The Green Valley Council provided funding for the start-up of MedianGreen as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit Arizona Corporation in 2007. In 2015, the Director of MedianGreen, Suzanne Blodgett, asked if the nonprofit could come under the operational umbrella of The GVC Foundation, Inc., to ensure its longevity and financial integrity. Suzanne remained the Chair of MedianGreen for another five years until she retired.