Community Involvement
The Adoption Guild of Southern O.C.
Janie is extremely well focused and totally capable of multi-tasking. As President of The Adoption Guild, she was a true leader, as well as worker and an inspiration to all of us that surround her. This is a volunteer position that showed Janie’s true colors of management and detail. Time and people management are essential in every aspect of her position, Janie accomplished this exceptionally. Kudos to you Janie!
Hafer Cox Wendy
CHOC Children's Hospital of Orange County
Janie served as the VP of Way and Means for the Small World Guild, a support group of Children’s Hospital of Orange County, whose mission is to raise funds and awareness of the hospital. Janie’s responsibility was to oversee the fundraising activities of the spring event. She proved to be a very resourceful leader and she and her team put together an extremely successful event.
Lois Augustine, Director, Community Relations, Children’s Hospital of Orange County
Circle of Red
As the Chairwoman of Circle of Red, I have had the true privilege of working alongside Janie Merkle — a visionary member of Orange County’s Circle of Red (the fastest growing Circle of Red in the country — largely due to Janie’s influence). From day one, Janie brought her passion and enthusiasm to our group. She is a wonderful recruiter for the group, she brings a sparkle of joy and charisma to every event she attends, and most importantly, she truly cares about the mission of the American Heart Association. She shows this caring through her daily actions in support of the AHA and we love her for it. Thank you, Janie, for all you do for our community. You are a leader, a spark point, and you make the world a better place. We are so lucky to have you on board.
Rochelle Karr, Chairwoman, Circle of Red, American Heart Association
Orange County United Way
Janie’s commitment to her philanthropic passions is unparalleled. She dedicates not only her resources but much of her time to the local community. As a Women’s Philanthropy Fund member, she brings a fresh and fun perspective and lends her creative ideas on how to engage others and encourage philanthropic giving. She has served on event committees and is a 2012 Women’s Philanthropy Fund Breakfast Community Ambassador. Orange County United Way is extremely lucky to have Janie as a volunteer and donor!
Sarah Haney, Director, CFRE, Orange County United Way
Susan G. Komen, For The Cure
Helped raise funds and awareness by participating in the Susan G. Komen walk/run that is held each year in the fall in Fashion Island, Newport Beach.
Philharmonic Society of Orange County
Janie Merkle has served as the Chairman of our Big Canyon/Spyglass Hill Committee since July 2017. In that role, she has advanced the Committee’s work on and support of the Philharmonic Society’s nationally recognized youth music programs. Those programs serve 160,000 Orange County K-12 students annually, two-thirds of them in underserved areas of our community.
One of the two primary roles of our Committees is to raise funds for these programs, so that we can provide them free of charge to Orange County schools. Janie has been an enthusiastic and successful fundraiser. The other role is to provide volunteers for these programs, and the Big CanyonSpyglass Hill Committee’s work contributed to the 90,000 total volunteer hours put in by our Committees this past season.
Janie’s committed leadership sets an example for the whole organization and inspires her colleagues to ever-greater heights of generosity in terms of both time and treasure. She is a valued leader for the Philharmonic Committees.
John Mangum, President & Artistic Director, Philharmonic Society of Orange County
