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Valley Presbyterian Church 945 Portola Road - Portola Valley, CA 94028 |
Christmas in May May 5-13, 2012 - watch for more details here... Proposed projects as of 9/15/11: May 5-6 "The Relay" - Join the VPC team as we run from Calistoga to Santa Cruz May 6 - Stop Hunger Now project May 12 - Prepare and serve lunch at Padua Dining Room May 12 - Prepare and serve dinner at Maple Street Shelter
Christmas in May -- May 7 - 15, 2011 Over 600 community service hours were given during our 1st ever Christmas in May week. Thank you to everyone who helped in these projects that DID make a difference in our community and in the world. Six Projects That Make a Difference 1. Bill Wilson Center, a Garden for Quetzal House (group home) in Mountain View Bill Wilson Center has a variety of programs designed to help youth break patterns that lead them to lives of poverty and dependence and instead concentrate on returning to school, entering job training, getting into safe housing, moving away from drugs Quetzal House is one of BWC's group homes. Quetzal House provides a stable and nurturing environment for girls as they await a longer-term placement. http://www.billwilsoncenter.org/
2. SF Network Ministries' SafeHouse -- THANKS TO JEN HANLEY and family for delivering the kits! San Francisco Network Ministries SafeHouse is the only residential program of its kind in San Francisco and only one of five such programs in the entire country that provides women leaving prostitution with the intensive social support, therapeutic treatment, linkages to medical and mental health services and housing for up to 18 months. SafeHouse women have become dynamic members of society and move through life empowered as individuals. http://www.sfnetworkministries.org/
A note of thanks from Glenda Hope at SafeHouse: The women of SafeHouse were so touched and excited by your marvelous gift and especially by the knowledge that you were thinking of them. All the goodies in those bags!!! You chose well and beautifully and generously. On the afternoon of Mothers' Day, I went to the streets with some of the women and we were met with tears and gratitude. I only wish you could have witnessed that. Doing this kind of outreach is great for our women, too, as it makes them feel they are doing something worthwhile - giving back - and it reminds them of what life was like when they were out there themselves. Over and over they said how glad and grateful they are to be in SafeHouse. As we were starting out, one woman said: "I am just so excited" I asked what her excitement was about and she replied: "They don't know we're coming to give them these things and remind them that there are people who care about them." Thank you for the great outreach bags that made this possible. 3. Maple Street Shelter Dinner, Redwood City - Saturday, May 7 Maple Street is one of seven homeless shelter programs operated by Shelter Network and is devoted to serving single adults. Photos from the event
4. St. Anthony Padua Dining Room, Redwood City - Thursday, May 12 - FULLY SUPPORTED! For many years, St. Anthony Padua Dining Room has been serving meals to those who need food. They serve a hot, nourishing mid-day meal to about 500 people. Volunteers are the lifeblood of their effort. http://www.paduadiningroom.com/
5. Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco - Saturday, May 14 This exciting pilot project partners Habitat for Humanity, VPC, and Rebuilding Together. Habitat is committed to rehabilitating homes, parks, and other community centers in neighborhoods where they are building quality affordable ownership housing.
6. Stop Hunger Now - Sunday, May 15 More than 1 billion people do not have enough to eat. A child dies every six seconds from a hunger-related cause. Stop Hunger Now is a volunteer-based meal-packaging program through which participants package high protein, dehydrated meals for use in crisis situations.
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Ron, Brad & Chiyoko |
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