200 Years of Faith in San Bernardino

Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of San Bernardino’s Bicentennial Celebration Committee, tells a crowd gathered for San Bernardino’s 199th birthday this year about the Bicentennial Celebration Committee’s plans for festivities lasting from January through July 2010. One of events planned is for Rabbi Cohn to give a lecture on 200 years of interfaith cooperation in San Bernardino,  from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic perspectives. Photo by Yeekong Yang

(SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.) California State University, San Bernardino’s 23rd Annual Morrow-McCombs Memorial Lecture will focus on the City of San Bernardino's Bicentennial.

Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of the city’s Bicentennial Committee, and a religious leader in San Bernardino for the past 47 years, will deliver the lecture "Can't We All Get Along? Reflections on 200 years of Religious Life in San Bernardino" at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at the university.

Ray McCombs, a former mayor of Rialto and a life-long student of religion, established the lecture series in 1988 to further relations between Christians and Jews. Lillian Morrow was deeply impressed with McComb's commitment to better relationships between Christians and Jews and also created an endownment to support the series.

After Sept. 11, 2001 the Morrow-McCombs Lecture Series was expanded to include Islam. Over the years some of the most prominent religious thinkers in the country have delivered the lecture including Martin Marty, Rosemary Reuther, Ellis Rivkin and David Saperstein.

The 2010 lecture will focus on successes, failures and challenges in interfaith cooperation in San Bernardino. Dr. Albert Karnig, president of CSUSB, will serve as the moderator.

Rabbi Cohn has served twice as president of the San Bernardino Clergy Association, was one of the founders of Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) and for the past 20 years has been a member of the Priest-Rabbi Dialogue, a project of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. For many years he was a regular participant on "Religion On the Line", a radio talk show on KABC radio in Los Angeles.

For more information on this lecture, call Rabbi Cohn at (909) 888-3666.

Rabbi Cohn is the chairman of the Bicentennial Celebration Committee, and Erin Brinker is the chair of its Public Relations & Marketing and Independence Day Extravaganza committees. Other Bicentennial Celebration Committee members are Art Guerrero (chair of Neighborhood Beautification committee) Jim Smith (chair of the Community Engagement committee), Cheryl Brown (chair of the Youth Council, Intergovernmental and Arts committees), Beverly Bird (chair of the Legend of the Arrowhead committee), Steven Shaw (chair of the History committee), David Smith (chair of the Finance committee), Jane Sneddon (chair of the Parade committee) and Martha Pinkney (chair of the Gala committee.)

These members were appointed by the mayor and members of the San Bernardino Common Council. Additional community volunteers who have taken on leadership of other committees are: Trudy Freidel (Festival of Faiths), Dr. William Coleman (Leadership Cabinet), Peggi Hazlett (Mayor’s Run), Dr. Charles “Skip” Herbert (Coloring Books for Schools) and The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (Design).

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The Salvation Army JC Penny's and FedEx Ground Join Forces For Angel Giving Tree Online

Volunteers from The Salvation Army will appear the day after Thanksgiving at Inland Empire Mall to man a “Giving Tree” there until shortly before Christmas. But, from now until Dec. 14, anyone who prefers to shop online can donate a JC Penny’s gift to the Giving Tree (also known as the Angel Giving Tree) by going to www.jcp.com/angel.


(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The Salvation Army, J. C. Penney Company, Inc. and FedEx Ground are joining forces this Christmas season to give joy to even more people in need through a grand-scale online Angel Giving Tree program.

Now until December 14, for the first time, customers can adopt and shop online for Angels at www.jcp.com/angel, providing tens of thousands of children and seniors facing hardship in communities across the country with Christmas gifts.

“It is a great privilege to partner with companies that are helping in their communities,” says Captain Nancy Ball, Director of the San Bernardino Salvation Army, Corps.

“We are excited about this new online Angel Giving Tree program with JCPenney that will allow The Salvation Army to build upon a great Christmas tradition by reaching a new online audience,” said Major George Hood, national community relations and development secretary for The Salvation Army. 

“With the winter months around the corner, we appreciate this opportunity to inspire the American public to make a better Christmas for the millions of children and seniors living in poverty. One small gift can bring joy to a Salvation Army Angel this Christmas,” said Hood.

The process for adopting an Angel is very simple.  You visit jcp.com/angel to be guided through a short online Angel selection process.  After choosing an Angel online, you will receive an email with all of the necessary details to help your Angel.  Instructions will include the list of needs and wants of the Angel as well as information regarding where to ship or deliver your gifts to local Salvation Army destinations.

“In a year when so many need help, the new online Angel Giving Tree program will extend our reach and make it easier for our customers and Associates to give back this holiday season,” said Mike Boylson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for JCPenney.

“By leveraging the strength of jcp.com, we are helping to modernize an American tradition - the Angel Tree program – and creating an innovative way to help families in need in our communities across the nation. Launching this program with The Salvation Army allows us to elevate our support for a cause that is extremely important to our customers and Associates, underscoring our focus on the ‘Joy of Giving’ this holiday season.”

The new online Angel Giving Tree program builds on the legacy of The Salvation
Army’s Angel Tree program that has been in operation for more than 40 years.

Created in collaboration with JCPenney partners Razorfish, Akamai Technologies, Sapient and Tata, the online Angel Giving Tree program allows customers to adopt an Angel at jcp.com/angel and conveniently shop for them online at jcp.com, in JCPenney stores or at any location they choose.

In collaboration with FedEx Ground, Angel Giving Tree gifts purchased through jcp.com can be shipped free of charge to any one of the 1,200 Salvation Army collection centers nationwide - putting the entire selection, shopping and delivery process at the customer’s fingertips.

Supporting the online Angel Giving Tree program will be a multimedia marketing campaign including in-store, print, online and e-mail advertising as well as social media initiatives through Facebook Connect.   JCPenney Facebook fans will be able to access the Angel Giving Tree website directly as well as post and share their Angel adoption with their friends.

The online Angel Giving Tree program builds on JCPenney’s legacy of operating in an ethical and socially responsible manner. In 2007, the Company launched its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative - C.A.R.E.S. - stemming from the vision that JCPenney cares for its Community, Associates, Responsible Sourcing, Environment and Sustainable Products. The Company’s commitment to social responsibility reflects its philosophy that "Every Day Matters" - for its customers, associates, communities, investors and suppliers. Additional information on JCPenney's CSR initiatives can be found at http://www.jcpenney.net/about/social_resp/default.aspx.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.


About JCPenney

JCPenney is one of America's leading retailers, operating 1,109 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, jcp.com, and the nation's largest general merchandise catalog business. Through these integrated channels, JCPenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands, which reflect the Company's commitment to providing customers with style and quality at a smart price. Traded as "JCP" on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company posted revenue of $18.5 billion in 2008 and is executing its strategic plan to be the growth leader in the retail industry. Key to this strategy is JCPenney's "Every Day Matters" brand positioning, intended to generate deeper, more emotionally driven relationships with customers by fully engaging the Company's approximately 150,000 Associates to offer encouragement, provide ideas and inspire customers every time they shop with JCPenney.

About FedEx Ground

FedEx Ground provides 100-percent coverage to every business address in the United States, with small-package delivery in one to five business days in the continental U.S. and in three to seven business days to Alaska and Hawaii.

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Black Barbershops Reach Out For Men's Health

Edward Brantley, owner of Uncle Ron’s Barbershop in Redlands is the Black Barbershop Team Captain for the San Bernardino Area. He coordinated the program at Da Spot in San Bernardino.






 Phyllis Clark, CEO of the Healthy Heritage Movement, Inc. is the coordinator for the Southern Inland Region for the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program. She is standing with John Jefferson, owner of Cold Cutz Barbershop in Riverside.

 (RIVERSIDE, Calif.)  Black men throughout southern California learned how to maintain good health while making a trip to their local barbershop on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The men and their barbershops, including 10 in the Inland Empire, took part in the Black Barbershop Los Angeles Area Health Outreach Program, a nationwide effort to help Black men take control of their health.

Working directly in participating barbershops, a team of nurses, physicians and volunteers provide health information, diabetes and hypertension screenings and referrals to no or low-cost primary care providers.

 “I am thrilled with the results of this event,” said Phyllis Clark, founder and president of the Healthy Heritage Movement, which helped the 10 Inland Empire barbershops participate in this event. My goal was to screen 100 Black men in the Inland Empire, and I believe I more than reached my goal.”

Clark made a quick survey of two of the participating barbershops, Cold Cutz in Riverside and DaSpot in San Bernardino, and found almost 50 men had taken part at those two shops alone.

The other eight shops were in the West San Bernardino Valley and High Desert areas of San Bernardino County.

Clark added she hopes more barbershops will participate in what is expected to become an annual event.

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