Blog Updates

[Photo above of moms; Sarah McMahan is 3rd from the left]

Every September there is an annual Jog-a-thon to raise money to support the PE Program at Incline Elementary School.  Students ask friends, family, and businesses to donate and then see how many laps they are able to run around the marked field in 30 minutes.

Saran McMahan, who has two boys at the school, is certainly passionate about keeping a PE program at this school. Each year she volunteers to help fill waters, punch cards with each lap, and cheer the kids on.  And, every year there is freakishly hot day in September, just for the Jog-a-thon!

This year, on September 5th, they managed to raise $40K and still ongoing…

[By Sarah McMahan]

The idea started at Corporate Visions’ [CVI] Napa Kick-Off in January of 2015, when 40 bicycles were put together by employees, then offered to 40 – 4th graders at Bayside Martin Luther King School in Sausalito on Valentine’s Day, February 14th!  To continue offering bicycles to students with the greatest need, San Rafael Elks Lodge 1108 was approached with a proposal to offer 10 bicycles through their partnership with CVI and a private donor, Bob Gordon, an entertainment lawyer from Mill Valley.

Ten bicycles, helmets, and locks are now ready to be awarded to ten 4th graders selected by Bahia Elementary School 4th grade teachers. Bahia Elementary School is located nestled in a residential area in San Rafael, California with many of the students whose family members are bilingual [Spanish and English].

[Photo below of Committee Planning Meeting: Melissa Guerrero -4th grade teacher; Sarah Gaidano- Program Coordinator; Collin Johnson-4th Grade teacher; Charlotte Kobayashi- CVI; San Rafael Elks’ officer -Joe Tato; and Cathy DiSanto-4th grade teacher.]

Students will be selected on the basis of their efforts, their attendance, their attitude, economic need, and  a letter or art piece explaining why they deserve to receive a bicycle. Award Assembly has been scheduled for November 23rd when all the donors will be present to observe awarding 10 bicycles to selected students.

[Photo below: At San Rafael Elks Lodge, samples of bicycles — left to right, Joe Tato- San Rafael Elks, Charlotte Kobayashi- CVI employee, and Bob Gordon, entertainment lawyer]

Please anticipate a sequel for the November Awards Assembly at Bahia Elementary School and in April of 2016, the Awards Ceremony at the San Rafael Elks Lodge.

[by Charlotte Kobayashi]

 

 

 

On July 7th, 2015, Helen Atkinson, returned to College Lake Nature Reserve. The trust relies on volunteers to help with the upkeep of the reserve and make sure the habitat is right for both the native animals and migratory birds that visit each year.

In true British-Summer style it rained all morning, so we got drenched whilst clearing a large area of pasture. The land is an important area for wild orchids, which are becoming more endangered as our countryside is being taken up by building. However, the meadow also contains poisonous ragwort plants which spread quickly and must be removed in order to protect grazing animals. It’s not the most exciting of jobs, but essential to the biodiversity of the reserve.

In the afternoon we tidied a neglected apple orchard, cutting back the long grass and removing it for composting. We were careful not to damage the wildflowers which grow there or the small animals and butterflies who eat the fruit. We then cut back brambles, roots and branches to form a new public pathway. This enables visitors to reach the edge of the lake where there is now a viewing point to rest and watch the wildlife.

[By Helen Atkinson]

Following up on their tremendously successful lemonade stand in 2014, our Vice President of Technology, Dustin Ring and his girlfriend, Erin Alpers, volunteered for the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF), serving beverages at the ‘Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook’-off in Sparks, Nevada. To get this going, they both went through Alcohol Awareness Training which is required by the state of Nevada for anyone who sells or serves alcohol. The Nugget placed the booth in a prime location, with more than 500,000 people attending the event, it goes without saying that it was a super success! We were very happy to be chosen, as the Nugget only allows a select few charities to participate.

NNCCF’s mission is to provide help, give hope, and promote courage for families affected with this terrible disease. They create awareness community-wide, throughout the year, to promote advocacy and cancer research funding.

Donate to NNCCF by going to: http://nvchildrenscancer.org/fundraisers/general-donation/

[By Dustin Ring]

The beautiful hills of Marin County were the setting for this 6-mile hike for Zero Breast Cancer[September 26, 2015]. Meghan Peddicord (Team Captain), Jaime Farrar, Cheryl Geoffrion, Melissa Hereford and Francisco Ramirez (the “Rack Pack”) raised $4,766 in funds for Zero Breast Cancer, taking 2nd place with 38 teams competing. [Photo of CVI Team on top of Mt. Tamalpais: Left to right- Cheryl, Meghan, Melissa, Jaime and Francisco]

ZBC is a community based, not-for-profit dedicated to finding the causes of breast cancer through community participation in the scientific research process. They focus on identifying environmental factors and the role they play in breast cancer at all stages of life and across generations.

This year, Zero Breast Cancer is raising funds to establish a wellness and leadership program for high school teens with the hope of inspiring and encouraging them to enter the field of cancer research. (encouraging the next generation of potential scientists, public health professionals, health educators, doctors, nurses and community advocates) Cool stuff. Plus, the team experience could not be beat, on this hike. Francisco said, “Each step on this hike was a step closer with the team.” Melissa noted, “17,758 steps toward inspiring young people to enter the research field for the cure of breast cancer.” Jaime said, “I also think it was kind of symbolic to start off the hike with an uphill battle of 676 stairs to climb given the cause.

There was a lot of great energy at this hike, a lot of encouragement along the way and good spirits. We had a great time and can’t wait to do it again next year!” And Cheryl pretty much summed it up when she said, “It was so fun to walk and talk every mile together!! Our team and this hike is AWESOMESAUCE!! ”

Thank you to CVI and all of the CVI employees who donated, and to Lynn Zambrano for volunteering at the registration booth. Many thanks also go to Charlotte Kobayashi, who volunteers for this organization year-round and brought this worthy cause to CVI’s attention! Next year, we hope to have an even bigger team and blow the donations out of the water!

For more scenes from the hike, visit: www.zerobreastcancer.org
[by Meghan Peddicord]

Mike Rohan, Karen, his wife, along with Kris Axell, and his son Jon, spent a day selling yearbooks at the Seahawks Training Camp on August 7th , 2015, where all proceeds went to benefit Sports in Schools. Kris also sits on the Board of Directors of Sports in Schools, sold yearbooks with his son. Over $15,000 dollars was raised for Sports in Schools by selling yearbooks by volunteers over the week. [by Mike Rohan]

As the Jewish New Year is coming up, beginning at sunset on Sunday, September 13, 2015 and ending at nightfall on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, Diane Frate and Lisa Slen helped package honey sticks, apple cinnamon tea and cards to people within the Jewish Community to wish them a Happy New Year. The significance of having apples and honey is for a sweet New Year. It is one of the times of year they ask for donations.
The UJF (United Jewish Federation) obtains funds by organizing different events and requesting donations throughout the year. The funds raised are given to a number of different organizations depending on the need.
Some of the organizations include:
• Summer Camps
• Friendship Circle of Fairfield County was founded on the idea that within each person is a soul, regardless of any limitations that may surround it. The Friendship Circle’s unique approach brings together teenage volunteers and children with special needs for hours of fun and friendship. These shared experiences empower children with special needs, while enriching the lives of everyone involved.
• Jewish Community Center – The Stamford JCC is a cultural, educational and recreational center, offering exceptional programs, classes and special events designed to enrich the mind, body and spirit.
• Jewish Family Service – Since 1978, their mission is to sustain families and individuals through all of life’s challenges and build strong, healthy communities.
• Jewish Senior Services – Provides Senior Services throughout Fairfield County – They help provide the care for all faiths, ethnicity and backgrounds.
It was a successful morning, as all 1500 packages were completed and ready for mailing. [By Lisa Slen]

On July 24th Eric Beckman took three separate boat rides to reach Stuart Island in the very northwest corner of the United States to spend the day working with a team of volunteers from the San Juan Preservation Trust. The group worked to help restore a recently donated parcel of land that was added to the Wren Hill Preserve to its natural state by removing old structures and invasive species.

Founded in 1979, the San Juan Preservation Trust has permanently protected more than 37 miles of shoreline and 15,000 acres on 20 islands, including land now managed as public parks, nature preserves, wildlife habitat and working farms and forests. The Preservation Trust ranks in the top 2% of land trusts (out of over 1,700 nationally) in number properties protected.
[By Eric Beckman]

Two volunteers, Curita Harper, cancer survivor, and Charlotte Kobayashi, from Corporate Visions, are making phone calls to 600+ hikers and runners inviting them to sign up for Marin’s Zero Breast Cancers event to be held on Saturday, September 26, starting at Old Mill Park in Mill Valley, California.
This hike or run is a wonderful way to do something healthy with your friends & family—in a beautiful environment—while supporting one of the leading Bay Area breast cancer organizations focusing on prevention and risk reduction. It is a noncompetitive, all-ages event for hikers & runners that with a selective 6-mile loop starting and ending at famous Dipsea steps [670 steps] and glorious views of Mount Tamalpais.

After the hike, attendees will join our celebration in Old Mill Park with food, music, and raffle prizes.

Zero Breast Cancer’s focus is a community based not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to finding the causes of breast cancer through community participation in the scientific research process. Their focus is on identifying environmental factors and the role they play in breast cancer of all stages of lie and across generations.

For more information, please visit website: www.zerobreastcancer.org
[By Charlotte Kobayashi]

On Friday, July 24, 2015, Jim Jordan and his wife, along with several of Jim’s wife’s Dow Chemical colleagues, joined approximately 200 other volunteers in the gym at Delaware Valley University to create, package and ship over 100,000 meals to families battling food insecurity in our community. The event was part of the annual months-long Bucks Knocks Out Hunger (BKO) program, coordinated by the local United Way.

Working in teams of 12, and using a process developed by the non-profit Outreach, Inc., they created a mini-assembly line. Ingredients, including rice, beans, soy, spices and dried veggies were placed in plastic bags, along with packets of vitamin powder. Each bag was then weighed and the amount of rice was adjusted to hit the designated target weight. Then the bags were heat sealed, stickers were affixed and they were packed, 36 to a box. Each team filled a minimum of 12 boxes per shift.

By the end of the day, more than 100,000, easy-to-prepare, nutritious meals were on their way to foodbanks throughout the region. Recipients need only empty the contents into a pot, add water and heat to make a tasty meal for 6. [by Jim Jordan]