The Coast News, Feb. 25, 2011

A10 THE COAST NEWS
FEB. 25, 2011
Local Boys &
Girls Club
founder dies
ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
— Charles Eugene Clark,
M.D., passed away Jan. 21 at
the Trinity Care Facility in
Round Rock, Texas. He was
82.
Clark was born Jan. 3,
1929, at home in Howard,
Kan., to Archie B. and Mary
Anne (Horning) Clark. He
was also raised in Howard.
He graduated from
Kansas State Teachers
College in Pittsburg, Kan.,
then earned his M.D. from
the University of Kansas
Medical School.
After serving in the U.S.
Air Force he moved his family
to Encinitas, where he
established a successful medical
practice and with his
partners Dwight Cook, M.D.
and Ronald Summers, M.D.
built the Encinitas Hospital
which later became Scripps
Hospital Encinitas.
Clark was active in several
community groups
including the Optimists,
Rotary and Boy Scouts of
America. He was the founding
president of the San
Dieguito Boys & Girls Club.
Clark was married three
times, to Dorothy J. Denton,
Gena E. Steinmann and
Mildred “Plucky” Hunt.
Clark is survived by his
children: Marye Carroll of
Leander, Texas; Charles
(Chris) Clark of San Jose;
Martha Clark of Cedar Park,
Texas; Melissa Arribere of
Encinitas; Alan Clark of The
Dalles, Oregon; Kevin Clark
of Cedar Park; and Jennifer
Semler of Cedar Park, Texas;
stepchildren Andrea
Rummell of Georgetown,
Texas; and Michael
Steinmann of Spring Valley;
and 15 grandchildren.He was
preceded in death by his parents.
Donations in his memory
may be made to the Boys &
Girls Clubs of San Dieguito,
533 Lomas Santa Fe Drive,
Solana Beach, CA 92075.
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5617 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad
(between Car Country Dr & Palomar Airport Rd)
760-444-3102
By Lillian Cox
OCEANSIDE — Thirty
years after fleeing Guatemala
during the civil war, businessman
Edwin Villela is building
schools in his homeland
through his nonprofit, Help
for Schools, Inc.
Villela hopes North
County residents and businesses
will step up to the
plate and consider making a
donation so that he can build
more.
“It takes a donation of
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SWIMMING ALONG From left, back row, Village Branch Boys & Girls Club Lifeguard Tony Maldi applauds aquatics volunteer Gloria Kroupa, along with, from left, front row, club
members Phoenix Rodriguez, Jacqueline Sobrio, Courtney Villagomez, Angelita Stevens, Le’Prine Stevens, Jennifer Troncoso, Carla Rios and Emily Rodriguez. Courtesy photo
Mom dives in to help with aquatic program
CARLSBAD — Jaime
Rae Kroupa was an outgoing
and active 10-year-old and a
regular at the Village Branch
Boys & Girls Club.
“Jaime loved everything
about the club, she really
embraced all that was
offered,” said mom Gloria
Kroupa. “But her favorite
activity was swimming in the
pool. When I dropped her off
after school, she would beg me
to stay and swim with her.”
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In June of 2008, young
Jaime died of an unforeseen
medical complication. Her
mother stumbled through life
in a daze, reeling from the
blow of losing her child, doing
her best to cope with the
empty space inside her heart.
Longing to connect with the
memory of her daughter,
Gloria Kroupa found herself
at the steps of the Boys &
Girls club pool. Hearing the
happy sounds of children’s
$20 once a year from 1,000
donors to build one school in
a rural village,” Villela said.
Each school has three classrooms
and a multipurpose
room to serve 75 to
100 children, grades
one to six. After graduation,
children can
continue their education
at a middle
school in a nearby
community and go on
to trade school and
even university.
Villela was 28
when he came to the
United States and moved in
with relatives in Los Angeles.
“I was a factory worker
VISTA — The Avon
Breast Health Outreach
Program has awarded a
$50,000 one-year grant to
Vista Community Clinic to
increase awareness of the lifesaving
benefits of early detection
of breast cancer and to
offer free or low-cost screenings
to qualified women.Vista
Community Clinic has
received funding from the
Avon Foundation for Women
laughter, she ventured inside
and before she knew it, started
playing with them in the
water.
In time, the pool became
Kroupa’s safe haven.
“Gloria came every day
to have fun with the kids,”
said lifeguard Tony Maldi. “I
encouraged her to make it
official, and become a registered
aquatics volunteer.” She
did just that. For over a year
now, Kroupa has come to the
and part-time student at
Pierce College taking English
and real estate courses,” he
said. After getting his license
in 1985, he kept his factory
job while launching
his real estate
career.
When he
moved to Oceanside
in 1990, Villela’s
business flourished.
Now a husband and
father, Villela was
eager to show his
family the country
of his birth.
“My wife and kids joined
me on various trips back and
forth to Guatemala,” he said.
to support its work on this
important health issue and in
recognition of the program’s
excellence for 12 years now.
The breast health program
at Vista Community
Clinic will educate North
County area women and refer
them to low-cost or free mammograms
and clinical breast
exams in their own communities.
The program will also
provide support services and
pool every day, assisting with
swim lessons or simply joining
the members for free swim.
In fact, she was recently
honored as 2010 Volunteer of
the Year.
“A heart with legs — that
is Gloria’s nickname,” said
club Chief Executive Officer
Brad Holland. “Everyone
wins by having Gloria volunteer,
and her story is truly
what the club is all about.”
“Being in the pool makes
“I noticed some progress, but
rural areas were worse than
before. There was a growing
population but with no education.”
Many of the problems
related to the fact that villagers
are descendants of the
ancient Mayans and speak
their own dialect. Most live in
communities that are perched
on top of hills and can only be
accessed by foot.
“In 2007 I got the idea of
helping to improve rural education
and, along with other
Guatemalan-Americans,
established the nonprofit
organization Help for Schools,
Inc.,” Villela said. “Part of
Clinic receives breast health grant
link women to available
resources.
Since January 2000, the
Breast Health Program at
Vista Community Clinic has
reached more than 32,400
women with information
about the importance of early
detection of breast cancer,
and has referred more than
13,500 women for mammograms
and clinical breast
exams.
me feel closer to Jaime,”
Kroupa said. “It does my
heart good to be with kids
that were once my daughter’s
peers and playmates. Since
volunteering here at the club,
I haven’t had the need for
medication or therapists. I
take solace in the children …
in being there for them.”
For more information,
call (760) 729-0207, e-mail
info@bgccarlsbad.org, or visit
www.bgccarlsbad.org.
Local realtor helps build schools in his native Guatemala
EDWIN VILLELA
my motivation was seeing my
own children in schools here
in San Diego and comparing
them to schools in rural
Guatemala.”
In 2009, Help for Schools
assisted with the construction
of a school in Tapazan, near
the town of Chiquimula.
In 2010, the nonprofit
built schools in Nuevo
Progreso and Calvario in the
region of Huehuetenango.
During construction, children
and villagers hauled cinder
blocks, gravel, sand, cement
bags and rebar up steep hills
for hours until reaching the
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