Mentor, student help flood victims

Petaluma’s mentor-student duo of Teri Drobnick and Portia Lipsie have gone national. Each year for the past six years, the pair has set up a lemonade stand and raffle, donating proceeds to the Petaluma animal shelter.

This year, they sent the proceeds, more than $1,200, to child victims of the devastating floods in Louisiana to be distributed through the Save the Children Foundation.

Money was collected through the sale of lemonade at their stand; the raffle of a TeeSox doll fashioned by Drobnick, who designs and sells the unique dolls professionally; and donations.

Drobnick says the fund-?raising event not only raises money for a worthy cause, but also helps further strengthen the bond she has with Lipsie, now a 13-year-old student at Kenilworth Junior High School.

Drobnick has been mentoring the now teenager for the past seven years.

“Mentor Me is a great, great program,” she says. “There are so many positives to the program,”

A special touch to this year’s fundraiser was the winner of the TeeSox raffle - Mentor Me Executive Director Deb Dalton.