Contact: Erica Zeidenberg
Hot Tomato Marketing
925-631-0553

Moraga Junior Women’s Club Aims to Raise $30,000 for Two Local Organizations through Its Fifth Annual ‘Through the Garden Gate’ Tour May 3

February 7, 2008 Moraga, Calif. -- The Moraga Junior Women’s Club will host its fifth annual Lamorinda “Through the Garden Gate” garden tour on Saturday, May 3, with all proceeds split between the Lamorinda Senior Transportation Program which takes local seniors and disabled individuals to social programs, shopping and medical commitments around the community at very low cost and the Contra Costa County-based We Care Services for Children which provides comprehensive early intervention and child development services for special needs children ages birth to six. This year Moraga Juniors have set a garden tour fundraising goal of $30,000.

The garden tour will showcase six Lamorinda gardens-- three in Orinda, two in Moraga and one in Lafayette -- which feature such outstanding garden elements as outdoor kitchens, stunning swimming pools and waterfalls, unique recreation and play areas and even a small vineyard.

Tickets are $30 and will be for sale at Ace Hardware and “Across the Way” in Moraga, McDonnell Nursery in Orinda and Orchard Nursery in Lafayette as well as by mail through the Moraga Juniors. A catered lunch can be pre-ordered for $10.

“This year our membership carefully considered potential beneficiaries and decided to split the proceeds of the tour between two organizations focused on challenges at opposite stages of our lives,” explained Lynn Davis, tri-chair of the Garden Tour. “The Lamorinda Senior Transportation program helps older adults who need assistance getting around town to appointments, for errands or for visiting the local senior center,” explained Davis. “Moraga Juniors wanted to support our aging population in our own community to continue to live independently with the help of a locally-based transit van.”

"And at the earliest stages of childhood, we wanted to help fund the vital services offered by We Care Services for Children,” said Davis. “As developmental disabilities in children under five come to be identified sooner and more often, the need to expand and enhance the critical intervention programs such as those that We Care Services for Children provide becomes even more imperative."

About the “Through the Garden Gate” Garden Tour
This is the fifth annual garden tour sponsored by the Moraga Juniors Women’s Club and it is the organization’s largest fundraiser. All of the proceeds are donated to the designated family-oriented charities. The local gardens for the tour are selected for their unique and creative features. Tickets for the garden tour are available for $30 (with lunch for sale for $10) and can be purchased at Ace Hardware and “Across the Way” in Moraga, Orchard Nursery in Lafayette and McDonnell Nursery in Orinda or through the Moraga Junior Women’s Club, PO Box 462, Moraga, CA 94556. For more information visit www.throughthegardengate.org.

About We Care Services for Children
We Care Services for Children is a private, nonprofit agency devoted to serving children from birth to age six and their families in Contra Costa County. The organization’s approach emphasizes the development of the "whole child" by providing a variety of programs for special needs and typically developing children. We Care Services for Children believes preventive early childhood services can improve children's outcomes and by investing now, the need for higher priced care as the child grows will be reduced. Funds raised through the garden tour will be used to enhance and support the home/community-based developmental disability program which focuses on children who have been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, speech delays and other global delays. For more information, visit www.wecarebmcc.org

About the Lamorinda Senior Transportation Program
The Lamorinda Senior Transportation Program provides transportation for house-bound seniors and people with disabilities who want to go to the Walnut Creek senior center for a low cost, nutritious lunch in a social setting, alleviating isolation and loneliness and fulfilling the need for relationships and belonging. The Lamorinda Spirit Van also provides transportation for older citizens to go to the bank and post office, to go shopping for groceries and sundries, and to go to medical or hair appointments. Funds raised through the garden tour will be used to expand the program and train more volunteer drivers.

For the Press

For more information about the garden tour and the Moraga Juniors, visit www.throughthegardengate.org.

"Through the Garden Gate" Sponsors

The Olsen Team -- Sue, Lara and Ben (Village Associates Real Estate) http://www.theolsenteam.com/

Ken Ryerson, Pacific Union Real Estate, http://www.RyersonRealty.com

For media inquiries, contact Erica Zeidenberg, Hot Tomato Marketing, 925-631-0553, Erica@hottomato.net.