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Beautiful Day: Retired Cops Out to Change Lives in Alviso Find Their Own Lives Changed

May 28, 2011 By
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Retired police officers Bob Froese and Jim Buchanan once looked upon the small low-income San Jose area of Alviso with hardened cops’

Jim Buchanan (left) and Bob Froese

eyes: a place with a few rough characters, and all the social ills that come with being a neighborhood of people living on the margins of society.

But recently, when the two found themselves leading possibly one of the largest community service projects ever in Alviso, their hearts melted and they began to see the neighborhood with softer eyes.

“After our experience here we have a passion for the people of Alviso,” Froese said. He said the stereotypes he once held for the community have completely disappeared. “Our opinions have been changed 180 degrees. We have a deep love and affection for the people now.”

With all the precision of a major police operation, the two marshaled the forces of 600 volunteers last weekend for the “Awaken Alviso” project, one of 17 projects worked on May 16-22 by a San Jose coalition of churches, nonprofits, businesses and governmental agencies called Beautiful Day. [Read more…]

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A Beautiful Day in San Jose

May 24, 2011 By
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In the midst of the darkness of San Jose’s fiscal state of emergency as declared by Mayor Chuck Reed, a bright day dawned last week for more than a dozen neighborhoods and thousands of the city’s residents thanks to a coalition of public, private, nonprofit and faith-based interests.

Approximately 2,400 volunteers from the coalition Beautiful Day went to work from May 16-22 doing everything from donating blood to hosting a prom for disabled youth, to fixing up schools and dozens of homes throughout the city.
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Hey Silicon Valley, Got Some Time to Help Your Community This Weekend?

May 20, 2011 By
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If you’re still making weekend plans, there are some excellent options for making a difference in your community here in the Silicon Valley. 

Beautiful Day is sponsoring numerous projects around the valley this weekend, and volunteers are still needed. Some of the important tasks the group is tackling include doing repair and cleanup work at sites like a local school, a homeless encampment, transitional housing, and individual homes. There’s a blood drive on Sunday at Westgate Church, which by the way, spearheads the coalition of nonprofit and government agencies that make up Beautiful Day.

Saturday is National River Cleanup Day, and there are a bevy of project sites that are still looking for volunteers. Check out the site for the cleanup project nearest you, and contact the site coordinator to signup.

 

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Drive Less, Silicon Valley!

April 22, 2011 By
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Just in time for Earth Day comes a great two-week challenge to drive less miles around the valley. The Drive Less Challenge initiative launched two years ago in Menlo Park, and has now expanded to 13 cities on the Peninsula and around the South Bay.

Check out the Patch story for more information, and be sure to visit the Drive Less Challenge website. The site features handy trip planners for walking, biking or taking transit. Registered participants can win prizes from local merchants for their efforts to cut down the amount of driving they do from today through May 5.

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Earth Day Commentary: Be a Good Neighbor to the Planet by Slowing Down

April 22, 2011 By
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On this 41st Earth Day I have two words for how to be a good neighbor to the planet: SLOW DOWN.

Here are some ways slowing down will make each of us a better neighbor to the Earth. I start with the more obvious ways, and end with a way that may be a surprise. [Read more…]

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Honoring Our Volunteers: A Commitment to Rebuilding

April 15, 2011 By
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We’re finishing our time of highlighting volunteers for National Volunteer Week with a recent story about some people from a Pacifica, CA., church who have made the commitment to travel to New Orleans every winter to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the people in this group have been traveling to New Orleans for several years now. They give up their vacations to volunteer their time getting dusty and dirty to help raise up another family. They are another example of the millions of volunteers who make a huge difference in communities all over the world. Thank you Volunteers! MORE

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Honoring Our Volunteers: Holiday Parties for the Homeless

April 14, 2011 By
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Today for National Volunteer Week we’re featuring a story about volunteers who make holiday parties possible for homeless people every year in San Jose, CA. This story is about  the Christmas party that they held last December, but I know they are gearing up for an Easter party soon. The volunteers from The River Church prepare the meal, shuttle people to and from the homeless shelter, share the meal with the men and women, and sing songs together. MORE

 

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Honoring Our Volunteers: EPA Homeless Connect

April 13, 2011 By
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As we continue with celebrating National Volunteer Week, today we feature a story about how one community comes together to help give hope to homeless people. Although the Homeless Connect event in East Palo Alto is organized through a partnership of nonprofit and governmental agencies, the annual event could never happen without the hard work from dozens of volunteers. Thanks to them, homeless men and women during these events get showers, haircuts, foot care, bicycle repair, legal advice, housing leads, and a hot meal. MORE

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Honoring Our Volunteers: Day Camp for Refugee Students

April 12, 2011 By
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Continuing our theme of thanking volunteers during National Volunteer Week, today we feature a story about a summer day camp for refugee children and teens. The idea for the day camp was conceived of and brought to life by a volunteer. Dozens of volunteers made the week-long camp a reality. The week was a resounding success, and the good news I just learned today is that the camp is being repeated this summer. MORE

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Paper Cranes for Japan Hits Goal of 100,000!

April 11, 2011 By
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Amazing! Students Rebuild and Dosomething.org hit the 100,000 mark today for collecting origami cranes! Young people from around the world have been mailing in boxes and boxes of the paper creations with well wishes for people of Japan."Peace Cranes"

A foundation will now be donating $200,000 for Japan relief, thanks to the campaign. The groups said they will continue accepting cranes postmarked by April 15 for the large art installation they are planning in Seattle, WA.

Check out the Facebook page, Paper Cranes for Japan, for more of the story and the inspirational posts and photos coming from people all over the world.

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