Volunteering isn’t just about donating time, it’s about building stronger, more connected neighborhoods. Luckily, in Westchester/Playa, there are many community super volunteers who make service not only a priority, but a North Star that guides their daily lives. Whether it’s volunteering as president of a beloved little league, guiding others through the mindfulness of gardening at a local green space, or helping people while volunteering with neighborhood institutions, here are four service superheroes dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging and unity in their organizations.
Tina Vanderjagt: Gardening Until She Can’t Stand Up
From humble Quaker beginnings to a career as a nurse, Tina Vanderjagt has dedicated her life to serving others. These days, she spends most of her time outdoors at the Emerson Avenue Community Garden where she stays active volunteering and fundraising to ensure that everyone can enjoy the space.
Tina moved to Westchester with her “Brady Bunch-style family” (her second husband Jon has three boys, and she has three girls) in 2004. Soon, the kids were out of the nest, and she retired from nursing after 25 years at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Tina found herself spending most of her time in her garden—a joy she thinks she inherited from her Quaker father, who had the biggest garden in town.
“I’m trying to grow big pumpkins like he did. I can’t do it yet,” she says warmly.
But it was her neighbor, Karen Schaffer, who became a mentor for Tina, and introduced her to new ways to give back to her community.
“Karen worked as a volunteer at the Emerson Avenue Community Garden since 2008. She was a worker bee, and that’s my kind of person. I’m a worker bee, too. I work until I can’t stand up!” she says.
Karen convinced Tina that the Emerson Avenue Community Garden would be a great fit for Tina’s passion and energy. Tina was thrilled to have this new adventure.
“My husband and I became plot holders and members. Then I started volunteering there,” she says.
Members of the garden are required to volunteer a couple hours a month, but she quickly found herself volunteering up to 10 hours a day! She then joined the Emerson Avenue Community Garden Board of Directors and has now been the garden manager for four years, which is keeping her as busy as ever.
“We’ve got all these volunteers: we have kids, parents, grandparents, and students needing service hours. We’ve got alumni clubs, and recently we had a group of 17, from Yeshiva, a Jewish school in New York state. They came out to visit Disneyland, and ended up volunteering at the garden and doing heavy labor. It’s so amazing, all this connection from around the city and the country,” she says.
One connection that’s really important to Tina is incorporating the garden into fundraising opportunities for local mental health organizations, like the Westchester Mental Health Guild and the Airport Marina Counseling Service, where she also volunteers. Growing up, Tina’s mother suffered with mental illness, so combining her love for horticulture with this deeply personal cause has been incredibly rewarding.
As much as Tina gives to the garden, it gives back to her, too. She remembers the two times she did meditation in the garden and it affected her in a profound way.
“I was just mindful of being in the garden with the group of people and just realizing how we’re all connected,” she says, tearing up. “We just have to stay still to feel the connection. I felt at one with the universe.”
It was a beautiful moment for a beautiful person.
The garden offers a variety of volunteer opportunities each month for people to get their hands dirty and contribute to this important community space.
To learn more about the Emerson Avenue Community Garden, please visit EACGC.org.
Vickie Farmer: Building Character Through Little League
For Vickie Farmer, Del Rey American Little League (DRALL) isn’t just a place where her three boys play baseball, it’s a community that brings families together and helps young athletes develop life skills. As the newly appointed president of the league, Vickie works tirelessly to create a supportive environment where kids can not only learn the fundamentals of baseball but also grow into confident, compassionate individuals.
Vickie’s journey to Westchester began when she attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where she met her husband, Tim, a volleyball player she instantly knew she would marry. After college, Vickie pursued a successful career in marketing and communications, including a seven-year stint at Activision. But after having her second child, she decided to take a step back from the corporate world to focus on her family and give back to her neighborhood.
As her children grew, Vickie became deeply involved in their school, St. Anastasia, taking on fundraising roles and eventually joining the Little League Board of Directors. Her experience made her the perfect fit to step into the role of president when it became available, and she is loving the opportunity.
One of Vickie’s proudest contributions has been revitalizing the Junior Umpire Program, which invites kids who have aged out of Little League to come back and learn how to umpire games. Her oldest son, Henry, now 13, is a junior umpire, and watching him grow into a confident young leader has been one of Vickie’s most rewarding experiences.
“It’s amazing to see these kids come back and take on this responsibility,” she says. “At first, they’re a little hesitant, but by the end of the season, they’re confidently making calls and explaining their decisions to the head umpires. It’s a real transformation.”
This program not only keeps kids connected to the league after they’ve reached the end, but it also inspires younger players to aspire to the same role. Vickie’s middle son, Saxton, is already talking about becoming a junior umpire, eager to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.
For Vickie, Little League not only gets the kids excited about being part of a team, it helps them learn to support each other. One of Vickie’s favorite memories is from the league’s annual Home Run Derby, their biggest fundraiser of the year. She recalled how her son Henry’s friend, who had already been eliminated, stood on the sidelines cheering for him.
“It was the cutest thing. Even though he was out, he was so invested in his friend’s success. That’s the kind of camaraderie and sportsmanship that makes our league so special,” she says.
With two younger sons still playing in the league, Vickie expects to be involved for several more years. As Vickie puts it, “It’s about more than baseball. It’s about giving these kids a place where they feel they belong and teaching them life lessons that will stay with them long after they’ve left the field.”
Vickie’s dedication to youth sports and education is ensuring that the community’s new generation of leaders are set up for success.
For more info about DRALL, visit drall.org.
Mariana Salas: A Life of Compassion and Community Service
From a young age, Mariana Salas felt a deep connection to her faith, which inspired her to treat people with kindness and work toward making the world a better place. Her commitment to service has left a lasting impact on families, animals and individuals in need.
Mariana’s journey to Westchester was serendipitous. Nearly eight years ago, after picking up her son from school in Culver City, she found herself stuck in traffic near Kentwood Elementary and the local YMCA. Charmed by the neighborhood, she went home and searched online for more information.
“I just knew I had to live here,” she says.
Since then, Westchester has been more than just her family’s home, it’s become the base for her volunteer work.
Passionate about education, one of Mariana’s most impactful volunteer experiences came about when she noticed a lack of parent participation in LAUSD schools and stepped in to help fill the gap. She took an active role in supporting families who often struggled to navigate the education system. She shares that many parents were hesitant to ask for services like tutoring or initiate Individualized Education Plans out of fear of being seen as a burden. Mariana worked tirelessly to break down those barriers, empowering families to advocate for their children.
With so many causes to support and people and organizations that need help, Mariana is ready to assist wherever there’s a need.
After moving to Westchester, Mariana’s focus shifted toward animal welfare. She began collecting donations for animals.
“Westchester loves animals more than they do humans,” she jokes, recalling the bags of donated pet food that would pile up on her porch.
Her interest in animal welfare also led her to take on a bigger role when the fires in the Palisades and Altadena broke out in January.
She quickly mobilized to gather donations for displaced families and animals, but when local donation centers became overwhelmed, she turned to the Westchester Family YMCA. What began as a simple drop-off soon became a turning point. Inspired by how the community came together, she immediately signed up to volunteer.
“I knew I couldn’t just drop off the items and leave. I had to stay and help,” she says.
While volunteering at the YMCA, she met a 17-year-old girl who had been displaced by the fires and was considering placing her baby for adoption. Mariana and her team provided essential items like diapers, formula and maternity clothes.
“She came back and shared that she found hope and decided to keep her baby,” Mariana says with emotion. “As a mom myself, I needed her to feel supported. Seeing how a simple act of kindness could make such a profound difference in someone’s life reaffirmed why I do this work.”
Giving her all during the fire relief efforts did not go unnoticed at the Y, and the organization was thrilled when she recently accepted a role as a board member to help continue to strengthen the organization and its role in serving the community.
Whether Mariana is helping families access education, gathering supplies for displaced pets, or comforting others, her steadfast dedication to both humans and animals is making a lasting difference.
As she puts it, “Helping others has always felt like my purpose in life. It’s fulfilling, meaningful, and brings me immense joy.”
Learn more at ymcala.org/wc.
Gregg Deluga: A Life Dedicated to Being on the Field
No one works harder for local youth soccer in Westchester/Playa than Playa del Rey’s Gregg Deluga. As the Region 7 Commissioner, he’s responsible for making sure that everything runs smoothly for the league’s 1,400 players, who range in age from 3 to 19 years old. From overseeing coaches and referees, to creating schedules and managing finances, volunteering is almost as time-consuming as a full-time job.
Originally from Ohio, the chemical engineer moved to Los Angeles for work and fell in love with the weather and Playa del Rey’s laid-back atmosphere. A lifelong soccer fan, who played as a kid and in college on an intermural team, Gregg began volunteering with AYSO right before the pandemic. With two young daughters who played soccer, Gregg was inspired to get involved with AYSO after seeing how expensive it was for families to find quality sports programs. Believing that everyone should have access to youth sports at a reasonable cost, Gregg stepped up to be the league’s commissioner in 2020. However, things did not go as well as he had hoped that first season.
“My first official duty as commissioner was to cancel the season for the pandemic,” says Gregg. “We started playing at the beach, but then they closed that, too. We had to refund everyone’s money.”
Since that rocky start, however, the league has continued to flourish and Gregg has hit his stride. During soccer season, he jokes that he “lives at the field,” and a typical weekend includes making sure the fields are lined and ready for players, and coaching or refereeing six or seven games. Under his leadership, the league’s primary field at Nielsen Park, which was in desperate need of new grass, was resodded, thanks to help from sponsors like the Westchester Rotary Club. They also funded a new picnic area. Gregg’s dedication to the league was never more evident than when the workday coincided with his 25th wedding anniversary.
“For my anniversary, instead of going out, I was laying sod and trying to get the field done. I thank Rotary for making it happen, but I have to thank my wife more for letting me do what I do, especially on our wedding anniversary,” says Gregg.
With that project behind him, Gregg now has his eyes set on getting new lights for the field.
Despite the long hours, the rewards that come along with volunteering make it all worth it. For Gregg, there’s nothing better than the memories of coaching his daughters, seeing a kid make a goal for the first time or just taking a moment to enjoy the glorious L.A. weather while out on the pitch.
“What I love the most is just being out on the field with different people and seeing everyone come back year after year,” says Gregg. “If you can’t appreciate all the differences we have, you can’t do what we do. Everyone comes together every season, and it’s heartening to see how wonderful people really are.”
Learn more about the league at ayso7.org.
Story By Shanee Edwards. Photos by Zsuzsi Steiner.