Good Neighbor Stories Virtual Holiday Food Drive – Help Us End Hunger

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Holiday Food DriveGood Neighbor Stories is proud to announce our first virtual holiday food drive! Help us this holiday season raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Our goal is to raise $1,000 between now and Dec. 31. We’re sponsoring the food drive in memory of Dave Severns, who created the Severns-Pease Christmas Light Display in Sunnyvale. Last holiday season Dave raised more than $84,000 for Second Harvest.

The food bank’s officials expect one in 10 residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties will turn to the agency for food this holiday season. The economy has driven up the numbers of our Silicon Valley neighbors going hungry; 80 percent of the agencies that distribute food from Second Harvest report an increased need over past years. Help us ensure that families experiencing hunger get access to food this winter by donating through our food drive.

It’s easy to participate. Go to https://donate.shfb.org/vfd/, click on “Friends and Family Drive” on the “Donor Type” drop down menu, and then click on “Good Neighbor Stories” on the “Organization Name” drop down menu. [Read more…]

30 Ways To Be A Good Neighbor This Holiday Season – Part 2

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In our first installment we listed 10 ways to be a good neighbor during the holidays in your own neighborhood. Today we’re reposting 10 ways to be a good neighbor in your larger community. FromFood Donation Barrel food drives to holiday recycling, you can make a difference to others in your city.

What are some ways you are making a difference? Share with us in the comments!

Our New Community Calendar!

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Good Neighbor Stories is proud to announce we have a new community calendar! If you have an event that will help the community in some way, or a volunteer opportunity you’d like to get the word out on, list it here on our site. It’s quick and easy to list items; just submit your email address, and a user-friendly form will pop up. Each listing will go into a queue for approval. Once approved, listings will show up down the right-hand-side column, and on the Community Calendar page.

We look forward to helping publicize worthy community events and causes!

Christmas Tree Lots For Good Interactive Map 2011

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Shopping for a Christmas tree in Silicon Valley this weekend? You can find your perfect tree and help others at the same time by using our interactive map. Thank you to Los Altos Patch, which provided theChristmas Tree information. Check out the article for more detail about each of the organizations sponsoring the tree lots.

Don’t delay, because a few of the lots are open for a limited time only. For example, this is the only weekend for Trees For Troops at Battaglia Ranch in San Martin, a program that ships trees to military families. A part of the Spirit of Christmas Foundation, the program has provided approximately 84,000 trees to families since it began in 2005.

Have we missed a lot that’s doing good this holiday season? Tell us in the comments section, and we’ll add it to the map.

Update: See our 2012 map.

View Christmas Tree Lots For Good 2011 in a larger map

 

30 Ways to Be A Good Neighbor This Holiday Season: Part 1

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Thanksgiving is behind us and we now start the march to the December holidays. Last year I ran a three-part series on ways to be a good neighbor during the holidays, and those ways remain as evergreen asPlate of cookies for neighbors. well, holiday evergreens. Today I’m reposting part 1 about how to be a good neighbor in your own neighborhood. Parts 2 and 3 talk about how to be a good neighbor in your greater community, and in the world.

Hope you enjoy these ideas, and please, share your own with us here! And if you do follow through on a good neighbor action this holiday season, share what happens with us here, too.

Dave Severns Passes Away; He Fought Hunger, Lit Up Community at Christmas

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Good Neighbor Stories is sad to report that Dave Severns, the man who raised thousands of dollars to combat hunger in this community through a dazzling Christmas lights display, has died after a long battle with cancer. The family announced there will be no more Christmas light shows at their Sunnyvale home.Severns-Pease-Christmas-Display-Dave-Severns-Sunnyvale

Last year Dave’s spectacular display of lights and music raised $84,000 in food and money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Over the years Dave had collected so much food and raised so much money, he reached the distinction of collecting a million pounds worth of food for the food bank, something usually only achieved by large companies running food drives.

Each year thousands of people drove by his and the home of his next-door neighbors, the Pease family, to see the coordinated show between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Rather than sell tickets, Dave wanted to help the community, so he put out barrels to collect canned food, and encouraged folks to donate to the food bank.

Read the story about Dave, and then consider donating in his memory to the food bank.

See the Good Neighbor Stories video of the Severns-Pease Christmas Display from 2010, the last year it ran.

 

Dave Severns and the Severns-Pease Christmas Light Display is featured in the  Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook! Start every day feeling good about the world!

Order Your Copy Today!

 

Remembering 9/11 Good Neighbors Part 3

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9/11 Memorial

By Vincent Desjardin

 

One more inspirational story of Good Neighbors from 9/11 on this 10th anniversary.

“Sanctuary at Ground Zero”

Remembering 9/11 Good Neighbors Part 2

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We’re remembering the ultimate Good Neighbors of 9/11 with links to inspirational stories. Here are a few more stories of  those that stood in the gap on 9/11 and beyond:

Memories of Americorps members who served in the wake of 9/11

Heartwarming story of a blind man’s guide dog that led him to safety out of the World Trade Center

A Millbrae mother urges people to give service on the 10th anniversary to honor heroes like her son, Mark Bingham, of Flight 93

 

A Look Back: One Year Anniversary of San Bruno Blast

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In honor of the one year anniversary of the PG&E gas pipe explosion in San Bruno, I’m reposting this story I did about a faith community deeply impacted by the blast that turned around to help the community. Earlier today I read on the Fred Rogers Company website a quote from Mr. Rogers about how his mother helped him deal with disturbing world news as a child.A prayer shawl adorns the San Bruno church impacted by the PG&E gas explosion.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.

This story, like so many other stories about good neighbors, is about the helpers.

Remembering 9/11 Good Neighbors Part 1

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We’re remembering the ultimate Good Neighbors of 9/11 for the next three days with links to stories of hope about people (and animals) that either gave, or are still giving, of themselves to help othersSearch Dog Team at World Trade Center since the events 10 years ago.

Enjoy these inspirational stories as you reflect on the anniversary:

People and dogs who teamed to search the rubble at Ground Zero

Extraordinary journal entries from one Salvation Army member who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11. According to the Salvation Army website, the organization was helping at the scene less than one hour after the buildings collapsed.

Children of 9/11 victims who are healing through helping others