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Nvidia’s Project Inspire Repeats Its Holiday Magic at Veggielution Farm

December 11, 2012 By
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For the second year in a row, Santa Clara-based tech company Nvidia threw an employee holiday party in the guise of a massive volunteer Nvidia-Project-Inspire-Veggielution-Farm-San-Jose-Good-Neighbor-Stories-Constructionservice event under its Project Inspire Banner at a local nonprofit farm.

About 500 employees, family members, and friends invaded Veggielution at Emma Prusch Farm Park in San Jose on Friday, Dec. 7, and another 1,000 hammered, sawed, dug holes, hammered, painted, and more, on Saturday, Dec. 8.

It was a redux of Project Inspire’s 2011 holiday service event, when a similar number of Nvidia employees and others expanded Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale. Nvidia stopped having company holiday parties about a dozen years ago, substituting with service on a smaller scale. About six years ago Project Inspire was launched, and each year the projects got bigger.

This year volunteers constructed a permanent farm stand, a teaching kitchen, and a produce washing and packing shed. They also installed new irrigation, planted native hedgerows, painted murals, and many other tasks. Project Inspire also invested approximately $300,000 in materials for the event. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Corporate Citizenship, Holidays, Volunteering Tagged With: , , ,

Gift of Reading Book Drive in Need of Donations; Deadline Dec. 16

December 10, 2012 By
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The Gift of Reading, a once popular annual Silicon Valley holiday charity drive, has only collected about 2,000 books so far this season, according to San Jose Mercury News columnist Mike Cassidy. He put out a call on Friday for local residents to step up and donate a new, or like-new, book for a child by the Sunday, Dec. 16 deadline.

At its height, Gift of Reading collected more than 80,000 books for children who couldn’t afford their own books. The program nearly died last year, but was revived by RAFT, the Resource Area For Teachers, in San Jose, according to Cassidy.

“I know the season of giving can be exhausting. Everybody wants something. And, of course, everybody needs to decide whether and who they would like to help out,” Cassidy said in his Dec. 7 column. “But few gifts have the bang for the buck of a book. You can find a kid’s book for less than $10; a lot less for a paperback. And many of us are lucky enough to know that warm and powerful feeling of being a child holding that special book.”

A complete list of drop-off locations, most bookstores and libraries, is on the Mercury News website. You can also make a credit card donation to the program on the RAFT website.

Filed Under: Donations, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Food, Food, Everywhere, and Not a Morsel to Eat; Food Drive Donations Important

December 7, 2012 By
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Everywhere you turn  on television, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, etc., there is food. How to buy it, cook it, eat it. Competitions to find Second-Harvest-Food-Bank-Santa-Clara-San-Mateo-Counties-Good-Neighbor-Stories-Virtual-Food-Drivethe best people to cook it or bake it. And at the holidays it only seems to amplify, with an endless array of special foods to enjoy, or on which to splurge and indulge.

And yet for an estimated 700,000 people in the San Francisco Area each month, food—especially healthy food—is limited, and often by the end of the month, nonexistent. In one of the richest metropolitan areas in the country, 700,000 people—just under the population of San Mateo County—are hungry, and even starving.

That’s why those of us who have enough food, and in many cases, so much food that we’re throwing it away, need to chip in and help our neighbors who do not have enough.

If you are so inclined to help others facing hunger this holiday season, it is very, very easy to donate food or money. Nearly every supermarket has a food bank barrel near entrances. Buy some extra cans or boxes and drop them in the barrel on your way out.

Donating online is also simple. Good Neighbor Stories is sponsoring a virtual food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, with a goal of raising $1,500 by Jan. 1. You can click on the link right now and give a special holiday gift for a local family. It does not have to be a large gift; any size donation is gratefully accepted.

This year we’re offering a special gift for anyone that donates $100 or more: a free copy of the Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook! Just send us a soft copy of your donation receipt.

Please help us reach our goal, and help local families and individuals be a little less hungry and food insecure at the holidays and into the New Year. Thank you!

 

 

Filed Under: Fundraising, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , ,

Don’t Miss the Holiday Peace and Social Justice Fair Dec. 9 (GNS Will Be There!)

December 6, 2012 By
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If you’ve been looking for special gifts that make a statement, gifts that actually could change the world, you need to get yourself to the Holiday Holiday-Peace-and-Social-Justice-Craft-and-Info-Fair-Palo-Alto-Good-Neighbor-StoriesPeace and Social Justice Craft and Info Fair in Palo Alto this Sunday, Dec. 9.

I will be at this awesome fair selling the Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook. The fair is from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, 1140 Cowper St. It is co-sponsored by the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center and First Presbyterian.

Last year I went to the fair to do a post for the website, and got to wander around checking out all the great products from all over the world, as well as meet a lot of volunteers—”good neighbors” all—passionate about the nonprofit organizations they were representing.

There were lots of handmade items and artwork benefiting craftspeople in the countries of origin, fair trade coffees and other food items, recycled Christmas ornaments, and other great gifts. There were even rescued kittens in need of good homes, and rescued birds on display. A number of groups were on hand to educate shoppers about their charitable work, and maybe find new volunteers and donors.

If you come, stop by the Reach and Teach booth, check out the datebook, and say “hi”.

 

 

Filed Under: Holidays, Nonprofits Tagged With: , , , , ,

Project Linus Nearing 50,000 Mark in Bringing Happiness to Kids in Need

December 5, 2012 By
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“Happiness is a warm blanket,” as Linus famously says, and it’s that premise that is sending one San Jose group on its way to creating and Project-Linus-South-Bay-Chapter-San-Jose-Good-Neighbor-Storiesdonating 50,000 blankets to local children in serious need of a little happiness, or at least the warm, cuddly feeling of their very own blanket.

The South Bay Chapter of Project Linus has donated 48,840 blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or somehow in need, since its inception in 2002. Nationally, Project Linus chapters have collectively donated more than 4.3 million blankets.

Blankets and quilts have gone out to children affected by major disasters like Sandy, Katrina, and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Locally the chapter regularly donates to agencies like the San Jose Family Shelter, the Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) Asian Women’s Home, Valley Medical Center, and dozens more.

“If you’ve ever seen, or had the opportunity to see, someone receive one of these quilts, it brings tears to your eyes,” said Project Linus volunteer Linda Lemos at a group sewing event in late October. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Nonprofits, Volunteering Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Nvidia’s Project Inspire Set to Transform San Jose Urban Farm

December 4, 2012 By
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The largest employee service event in Silicon Valley, Nvidia’s Project Inspire, is set totally transform the urban farm Veggielution this coming Project-Inspire-Nvidia-largest-employee-holiday-service-project-Full-Circle-Farm-Sunnyvale-featured-in-Good-Neighbor-Stories-2013-Datebookweekend, Dec. 7-8, similar to a major urban farm project the group undertook last year at Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale in lieu of a company holiday party.

Project Inspire’s 2011 event at Full Circle Farm is featured in the Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook.

This year approximately 1,500 employees, their families and friends, and other community workers, are expected to descend upon Veggielution, located at Emma Prusch Farm Park in San Jose. In just two days the group is planning on expanding the farm from two acres to six. Projects include building a permanent farm stand, a teaching kitchen, and a produce washing and packing shed. Project Inspire’s volunteers will also install new irrigation, plant native hedgerows, and complete many other tasks.

Veggielution’s Executive Director Amie Frisch called the massive influx of employees along with an investment of $300,000 from Project Inspire a “game changer” for the farm.

The mission of Veggielution is to create “a more sustainable food system in San Jose. We empower people to change the way they think about food by getting their hands in the soil, connecting with the land, and tasting the fruits of their labor.”

Be inspired every day in 2013! Get your limited edition Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook today!

Filed Under: Holidays, Volunteering Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Five Ways to be a Good Neighbor in December

December 2, 2012 By
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It’s December, which means it’s holiday time, when many people feel that tug to spread good cheer to others. We’ve got five ways you can indulge in the spirit of giving this month. If you’ve got additional ideas, please share in the comments!

Jacob-Goeders-The-Leukemia-Slayer-Santa-Slayer-Christmas-fund-drive

Jacob Goeders, a.k.a the Leukemia Slayer, in December 2011.

1. Give to a Holiday Drive:Some people love the tradition of giving at the holidays, others are looking for an end-of-year tax deduction. Whatever the reason, you can help a lot of people in need have a brighter season by contributing to a holiday drive, either with goods or cash. One of our favorite fundraisers, Jacob Goeders, a.k.a. The Leukemia Slayer, is raising money for the second year in a row for his Santa Slayer Project. This young man uses money donated to the project to buy gifts for other children on the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital cancer ward, where he himself is being treated for leukemia. But you need to hurry, Jacob needs to finish up shopping soon. Other charities are collecting items like socks, bedding, or coats. Still others could really use gift cards to give to clients, or cash donations to buy what is most needed. Look for food donation barrels at stores and other locations to help local food banks combat hunger at the holidays. Or donate to the Good Neighbor Stories Virtual Food Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Our goal is to raise $1,500 by Jan. 1, 2013.

2. Give the Gift of Time: If you’re low on cash and items to share, consider volunteering your time this month. The United Way of Silicon Valley is looking for volunteers to help spread holiday cheer to the children of East San Jose. Every child at four schools will receive presents from their wish list, along with a book to encourage reading skills. Younger siblings will also receive gifts. Sign up for a shift today before all the spaces are filled. Find more volunteer opportunities at HandsOn Bay Area, and One Brick Silicon Valley.

3. Consider Giving Alternative Gifts: If you’re scratching your head wondering what to give as gifts this year, consider alternative gifts that both honor those you are giving to, and make a difference in the world. Alternative gifts range from donations made in the recipient’s name, to items purchased from nonprofits and companies focused on social justice. A great place to shop for gifts in person is the Holiday Peace and Social Justice Craft and Info Fair, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 9, at the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, 1140 Cowper St., Palo Alto (I’ll be there selling the Good Neighbor Stories 2013 Datebook!). Or, “shop” online at Alternative Gifts International, which has been providing gifts of food, shelter, trees, animals, medicine, and more, since 1986. Pick from 30 different projects located all over the world (including the U.S.) to support in honor of your friend or loved one. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Good Neighbor, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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