Toys

CUB SCOUTS COLLECT FOOD FOR AID CENTER Cub Scout Pack 225, along with hundreds of other Scouts throughout Southern California, participated in the Scouting for Food drive on Nov. 17. This ?Good Turn for America? is an annual Scout tradition developed to attack head on the problem of hunger in our own communities. Scouts went door to door in their own neighborhood picking up donated bags of nonperishable food. About 75 Cub Scouts from Pack 225, assisted by 15 leaders and many parent volunteers, collected more than 350 bags for the Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

Joyce Rudolph Road'ers collect Toys for Tots GLENDALE -- The Road'ers Car Club members will be gathering Toys for Tots at their car show from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Bob's Big Boy, 1407 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale. Members and guests are asked to bring unwrapped toys that will be donated to needy children. Hot Rod Santa Claus will arrive with a police escort and children can have their pictures taken with him at the show. Admission is free.

Members of the San Fernando/Antelope Valley Chapter of the California Credit Union League employed an unusual tactic for one of their annual community service projects this year. They collected stuffed animals. During a nearly three-month drive, credit union employees brought in more than 175 stuffed toys, or "trauma teddies," which will be given to children to comfort them after traumatic events, said Burbank resident Linda Walmsley, who is on the board of governors for the California Credit Union.

Paul Clinton MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- When the holidays roll around and charity requests begin to pour into Warner Bros., they inevitably find their way to Anna Parra's desk. Parra, the studio's community relations representative, gets letters from all over -- Burbank, Minnesota and even countries abroad. The letters deluge her with requests for food, toys, clothing, videos and other Warner Bros. merchandise. Some just ask for money. The studio can't answer all the requests, of course.

'Tis the season of traditions, and one long-standing one in Burbank is the annual holiday fundraiser at the home of Councilman Dave Golonski Dave Golonski and his wife, Barbara Sykes . For the better part of the past two decades, this event has collected funds and toys for the children of the Kids International Foundation, the El Faro and Hacienda Orphanages of Tijuana, the Burbank Coordinating Council?s Holiday Basket Program, and the Five Acres Child and Family Services Agency.

Chamber business luncheon is Thursday HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Local businesses are invited to network at the monthly Business Connection Luncheon hosted by the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. The holiday program Thursday will feature the Media City Ballet Company performing excerpts of "The Nutcracker," along with Mark Anton at the keyboard for a sing-along at the Castaway, 1250 Harvard Road. The sponsor is Tonari, Inc. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for prospective members.

"The Last Mimzy" is an interesting and unusual family movie that is fun to watch but ultimately leaves no lasting impression. It's too bad because the story has great potential but falls short of groundbreaking status. If the word mimzy strikes a chord of recognition, you probably read Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" as a child. And the allusion is intended. Mimzy is the name of a stuffed bunny (think the White Rabbit) that the little girl in the film finds on the beaches of Whidbey Island.

When Cathy Jaramillo, 42, was laid off three years ago after a 14-year career in finance, she opted to stay home and take care of her two children instead of hunting for another job. Unemployment freed up her schedule for some major house-cleaning. She rummaged through her attic and gathered nearly 500 toys and pieces of clothing - many of which were brand new or barely used by her now-9- and 12-year-old children - that had just been sitting in bags and boxes in her Burbank home. It would've been too much of a hassle to post every item on Craigslist or eBay, she said, so she was thrilled last spring when she discovered the L.A. Kids Consignment Sale, a twice-yearly sale held in Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Clarita and Torrance.

The Glendale Centre Theatre?s goal has always been to produce quality plays with a ?Gee? rating. As in ?Gee whiz. Gosh darn. That was a pretty good show, honey.? Believe it or don?t, that?s the kind of thing you?ll hear the grown-ups saying in the lobby at the 8 p.m shows. So there?s no age-appropriate issue for parents who want to bring the older kids along at night, unless someone forgot to take a nap. When it comes to the kids bringing the parents along, the reverse is not always true.