Thank you Be the Change Day Volunteers!
Posted on | October 14, 2009 | No Comments
On Saturday October 3rd, over 1,000 volunteers took part on Be the Change Day 2009. At 24 project sites across the Bay, volunteers renewed public schools and parks, protected wildlife habitat and supported low-income families at food banks. The pictures and videos are rolling in.
Visit HOBA Voices at www.handsonbayarea.ning.com and post your pictures and stories. For video, visit our youtube channel.
Here is a video from the Habitat for Humanity project in the Bayview of San Francisco
Win 2 Jet Blue Airlines Tickets and More…
Posted on | September 16, 2009 | No Comments
Donate to Be the Change Day and get this Awesome T-Shirt Plus a Chance to Win Tickets on Jet Blue!
For a donation of $40, you’ll receive our limited-edition souvenir t-shirt, refreshments at our project, an invite to our volunteer appreciation event and a raffle ticket for a chance to win two Jet Blue Airlines tickets to a non-stop destination of your choice!
For our minimum donation of $25, you’ll receive everything but the raffle ticket.
Plus, The Sobrato Family Foundation will provide a 2-to-1 match for donations from anyone who increases their gift to HOBA this year – or gives for the first time! Please give generously.
Local Muralist Finds Fulfillment in Volunteering
Posted on | September 10, 2009 | No Comments
Written by Carol Crites for the Los Altos Town Crier
Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Los Altos resident Morgan Bricca is a muralist and a volunteer at HandsOn Bay Area, an organization that creates opportunities for people to volunteer, learn and lead in their communities.
Q: How long have you volunteered at HandsOn Bay Area?
A: HandsOn Bay Area has an annual Be the Change Day, asking volunteers to help with projects that can be completed in one day. Last year was the first year I participated.
Q: How did you hear about HandsOn Bay Area?
A: I was on an action list for the Obama campaign, which piggybacked with the HandsOn Bay Area “Be the Change Day” event to put some action into Obama’s Hope in Action platform.
Q: What tasks did you perform?
A: Costaño Elementary School in the Ravenswood School District was interested in a mural. I am a professional mural artist and I knew I could offer experience that most of the volunteers and organizers might not have.
I met with the principal of Costaño Elementary prior to the event to discuss her ideas and provide her with a concept sketch. I also supplied the paint and brushes, and completed the mural after the big volunteer day.
Q: What is your favorite part of volunteering?
A: Painting makes me happy, and it brings me additional joy to do what I love while beautifying the community. It is important to me to spend a percentage of my time and/or money using my skills and resources altruistically.
Q: What skills are needed to do this job?
A: The volunteers I worked with had limited experience with artistic painting. I mixed the paints and gave them direction and specific areas to work on. The mood was relaxed, with lots of laughing and chatting.
Q: What is the time commitment?
A: The HandsOn Bay Area Be the Change Day event is only one day. The projects are well organized, and sign-ups online are easy, with descriptions of the types of work the projects entail. I think it is a brilliant way for people to volunteer in their community.
You may volunteer for one time only as an individual, a family or with a group.
Q: What do find rewarding about this volunteer experience?
A: I was able to leave a tangible improvement on the school: a 50-foot-long mural at the front that everyone who enters and leaves can enjoy. That gives me great joy and satisfaction.
Q: How may others participate in Be the Change Day 2009?
A: Sign up at www.hoba.org for the Oct. 3 event.
More than 1,000 volunteers are needed at 24 project sites across the Bay Area.
Volunteers will renovate public schools, revitalize parks and lend a hand to many low-income and homeless families that are part of our community.
Following are a few of the projects near Los Altos:
Edison Brentwood Academy, East Palo Alto, needs the trim on the outside of the buildings and a mural painted and gardening around the school. Minimum age for volunteers is 18.
Full Circle Farm, Sunnyvale, needs volunteers to dig, plant, weed and compost on the farm that honors the region’s rich agricultural past while demonstrating how powerfully abundant its agricultural future can be.
Minimum age for volunteers is 16, volunteers under 18 must bring a signed parent/guardian consent form.
Shelter Network’s First Step for Families, Burlingame, has projects that include beautifying a room at the shelter or cleaning and organizing an apartment for a new family. Minimum age for volunteers is 18.
To contact Bricca, visit www.muralsbymorgan.com
Carol Crites is a Los Altos resident and longtime volunteer. Send suggestions for this column to volunteerprofiles@latc.com.
SPRUCE UP THE SF ZOO!
Posted on | August 25, 2009 | No Comments
Tags: HandsOn Bay Area > SF Zoo > Volunteering
Quarterly Update: Partner Spotlight: Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Posted on | August 24, 2009 | No Comments
The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (GGNPC) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve the Golden Gate National Parks, enhance the experiences of park visitors, and build a community dedicated to conserving the parks for the future. HOBA has partnered with GGNPC to provide more than 4,000 volunteer hours at parks like Muir Woods, Crissy Fields and Sweeney Ridge. We spoke with Denise Shea, the Associate Director of Volunteer Management at GGNPC to discuss our wonderful partnership.
“HandsOn Bay Area has been an incredible partner to the Golden Gate National Parks Volunteer Programs (a cooperative effort of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, National Park Service and Presidio Trust). Working together over the last several years, we have developed a series of annual community and corporate volunteer events that have successfully engaged thousands of volunteers in caring for the parks. Our program leaders not only rely on these events to get vital restoration work accomplished, but also look forward to them every year. The volunteers coordinated through HandsOn Bay Area always come to projects with enthusiasm, motivation and upbeat energy. Whether it be a project at Muir Woods, Alcatraz, Crissy Field, the Presidio, or Lands End, we can always count on a fantastic day in the park – fun and productive. The success of these events is largely due to the exceptional coordination and support provided by the HandsOn Bay Area staff. On behalf of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and our park partners, thank you HandsOn Bay Area!”
HOBA thanks GGNPC and our other wonderful nonprofit partners. Here is to another successful year of community building!
Tags: GGNPC > Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy > HandsOn Bay Area > HOBA
Quarterly Update: HOBA’s AmeriCorps Team
Posted on | August 24, 2009 | No Comments
By: Tiffany Saria (Media Coordinator – Minimum Time AmeriCorps)
The AmeriCorps program at HOBA recruits and equips dedicated individuals to serve the community in different capacities. From last winter to early summer, there were 12 AmeriCorps members at HOBA. Each individual works on unique projects to support HOBA’s community goals and together they form a strong network of friends and colleagues dedicated to improving our country. The team events were the highlight of the time we shared together. The fist major team event was during AmeriCorps Week from May 9th-16th.
AmeriCorps Week encourages AmeriCorps members and alums to serve and inform the public in the spirit of AmeriCorps. They also host a video and photo contest for those willing to document their work. This year, all 12 of HOBA’s Americorps members got together to network and serve.
To kick off the celebration, the team from HOBA made a short video about what it means to “Get things done” for America. After the early morning shoot, the team worked side by side at Bunny Meadows to improve an Oak Woodlands habitat in Golden Gate Park. The team removed invasive plants and cleaned trash and debris around the area.
To end AmeriCorps Week, HOBA organized a picnic social in Golden Gate Park that was attended by several other AmeriCorps members from around the Bay Area. Both current members and alums mingled, ate and shared their experiences with the program. With the sun shining and the beautiful scenery of Golden Gate Park, it was a perfect day to end a remarkable week.
HOBA’s team submitted a short video and pictures of their AmeriCorps Week experiences to a National Contest. Both the video and 3 photos were selected as finalists! Voting was open for 2 months and to date we are waiting to hear the final results.
In June, the team was also able to work together at the National Conference for Volunteering and Service. Armed with Flip video cameras, The HOBA team acted as roaming reporters and interviewed current and former Americorps members about life before, during and after their service.
HOBA’S Americorps team continues to evolve and by mid-September, there will be 7 full-time Americorps VISTA members. As the majority of current members are finishing their term and new members are coming into place, many of us will never forget the time we shared together and the accomplishments we achieved as a team.
Click here to view the AmeriCorps Week photos!
Click here to watch the AmeriCorps Week video!
Click here to watch our NCVS videos!
Quarterly Update: HOBA Says Thanks! to Gordon Strauss and Yahoo!
Posted on | August 24, 2009 | No Comments
By: Donald Cooper (Development Manager)
HOBA sends a huge thank you to Gordon Strause, a self-professed “big fan of HandsOn”, who was instrumental in helping us secure a $17,500 grant from the Yahoo! Employees Foundation (YEF).
Last January, while we were still in the process of moving to our new office, Gordon alerted us this breaking opportunity. With two days to make the deadline to submit a letter of intent, we composed a request for support for our environmental programming.
In early March, we learned that HOBA was one of 43 organizations invited to submit it a full application, and at the end of April we were thrilled to hear that we had moved on to the grant process’ final round: a presentation before a committee of Yahoo! Employees.
The Final Interview was an unique experience. Within ten strictly-timed minutes, HOBA Executive Director, Lou Reda, and Gordon, our Yahoo! Employee champion, each had one minute to make the case for HOBA and our environmental work.
It was lightning fast—the philanthropic equivalent of speed dating. In his allotted minute and the ensuing Q and A, Lou highlighted the major environmental projects that will be part of this year’s upcoming Be The Change Day.
All this quick action definitely paid off. HandsOn Bay Area is deeply appreciative to Gordon, as well as to all our volunteers who have recommended HOBA for the grants their employers extend to non-profits. The initiative shown by HOBA champions such as Gordon plays a large role in supporting our work.
Tags: Employee > Foundation > HandsOn Bay Area > Yahoo
Quarterly Update: The Corporate Busy Season
Posted on | August 24, 2009 | No Comments
By: Tessa Hedstrom (Corporate Programs Manager)
Through our Hands@Work program, HOBA assists corporate partners in completing thousands of hours of community service in the Bay Area each year. These large days and weeks of service often employ hundreds of volunteers at multiple projects and require months of planning and cooperation with our nonprofit partners. This program is vital to our mission of creating opportunities for all volunteers to make a difference in the community. These past few months have been packed with Hands@Work projects and we are proud to share the great impact they’ve had on the community!
On May 1st, HOBA sent 1,000 Levi’s employees into their communities for their annual 501 Day of Service. The volunteers gardened, painted and sorted at various schools and nonprofits throughout San Francisco. One week later, HOBA managed service projects for 300 Diageo employees at their second annual day of service in Napa and Sonoma. In addition to popular projects such as the Redwood Empire Food Bank, we also set up a special area for rainwater harvesting at the Veteran’s Home of California at Yountville and compiled outreach kits for Bay Area Young Positives.
In mid May, we helped Charles Schwab expand their annual day of service into a full week. The week consisted of over 40 service projects and 25 sessions of their MoneyWise financial literacy class taught to Bay Area schools. Over 850 Schwab employees took time out of their work day to give back to their communities.
Through GoogleServe, Google’s week of service in June, over 2,000 volunteers completed over 60 service projects throughout the Bay Area. Volunteers painted Westside Community Services in San Francisco, competed in an egg drop competition at the Boys and Girls Club of East Palo Alto, preserved Overfelt Gardens in San Jose and leveraged their technology skills to complete tech-focused projects at nonprofits such as New Door Ventures and OTX-West.
These companies continue to show a deep commitment to the community and together have donated over 12,000 hours of service to our community partners. With these hands at work, the Bay Area is sure to be a better place.
Tags: Charles Schwab Week > Diageo > GoogleServe > HandsOn Bay Area > HOBA > Levis 501 Day
TeamWorks Update (Week 4): Alameda Point Collaborative
Posted on | August 17, 2009 | No Comments
This week we find our TeamWorks EcoActivism group out on an island to the east of Oakland where the Oakland Raiders train and where one of the largest and longest running Fourth of July parades take place, otherwise known as Alameda. The island owes much of its landscape to the United State Navy, which once operated a naval air base here that opened in the 1930’s and closed in 1997.
Since the naval base closure, the community has rallied to put the dead space to good use, opening the Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), which operates on 34 acres (the whole island is about 10 square miles), to help with homelessness in the bay area. APC provides 200 housing units, job training, health services, employment, and also various other services such as a bike shop, a community garden, a health center, a community center, and the Ploughshares Nursery, where we find our group of 9 volunteers.
Arriving promptly at the nursery, we were greeted with open arms by the caretaker of the nursery, Lacey, and a cat taking an early morning nap in front of the office. Lacey gave us a quick tour of the area, of the fruits: apples, berries, strawberries, of the vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, squash, peppers of the plants in general: bamboos, shrubs, and trees. The tour ended with the area that the team will be working with today, an area roughly the size of half a tennis court with hip high, yellow, crunchy, spiky, weeds. Getting ready for the 3 hour weeding frenzy, the TeamWorks group armed themselves with shovels, gloves, wheel barrows, rakes, and buckets. Three back-breaking hours later in the hot 80 degree weather, the team celebrated their victory at the water cooler that APC had provided for them as they stared back at the once overgrown field; now a tame dirt plot ready for the nursery to build their new exhibit garden.
Lacey and AmeriCorps member Alyssa met us by the office and they had a surprise for the triumphant group: various kinds of squash and tomatoes! Splitting the treat, the team sat back and took a moment to reflect on that morning’s work. The team left for their next mission next week with new experiences, new discoveries, and new found pride in helping out the community.
- Danny Nguyen
Tags: Alameda Point Collaborative > HandsOn Bay Area > TeamWorks
Be The Change Day 2009 Yay!
Posted on | August 14, 2009 | No Comments
Tags: HandsOn Bay Area > Volunteering > Wake Up and Smell the Change!