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QUICKLY SPOT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
This buttery yellow color
indicates volunteer
opportunities.
Have an hour or two?
CanDo helps make it easy
to make a difference.
See this image?
It's a
family friendly
event.
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NAPA COUNTY'S TEST SITES NEED MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS
It's been a long hall and we're still in the middle of a marathon. Can you help?
Along with the non-medical volunteers COAD's Volunteers on Call continue to recruit, medical volunteers are now needed.
Assist other medical staff in putting on PPE or work in the hot zone. Teach folks
coming in for tests how to do self swabs.
AGE REQUIREMENTS: 18-60
TIME REQUIRED: Minimum one four-hour
shift per week.
PROCESS:
2. Complete the form.
3. When asked which organization you
wish to affiliate with, write Napa Medical
Reserve Corps.
4. Hit Submit.
5. You'll receive a message that says
"Congratulations! You are now active."
Next, you'll be contacted by the Napa test site to schedule a shift at a convenient time
FFI: Call Caroline 707.529.5746.
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NOW
MORE THAN EVER
(Reprise)
We like to think of ourselves as a CanDo society
writ large.
This is no time for a Won't Do society, one with a petulant,
"I matter and you don't" attitude.
It's not only a bad look; it's a dangerous one.
People are dying.
Neighbors are stretched to their limits: lost jobs, lost freedoms. A loss of so many things we thought we knew.
And along with the virus that began who-knows-where, there is a profound awakening for many to the homegrown virus of social injustices. Insidious. Systemic. Where's the vaccine for that?
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NAPA'S TEST SITE:
NON-MEDICAL
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Napa County's COVID-19
testing program is working hard to meet the growing demand!
The need is critical.
If we are to test increasing numbers of residents, w
e need more non-medical volunteers,
18-60 years old. They support medical staff at the Napa Expo site, Thursdays-Saturdays.
Unable to take on this position? PLEASE think about those
you know who might be
able to assist.
Volunteers need to
be sworn in through Volunteers on Call (VOC). Start the process
here
To see just what's needed to help in this incredibly important work, read
more.
Stay safe. Stay strong.
Stay kind.
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COVID-19 TESTING
Napa County cases are burgeoning.
New guidelines as to who can be tested now were recently announced in the Napa Register. Tests are offered at the Napa Expo Thursday-Saturday by appointment only. They are available other days of the week in American Canyon, St. Helena and Calistoga.
Click
here to find everything
you need to know about
Napa County's testing program and how to make an appointment,
or
call 707.253.4540.
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FOOD RESCUE TEAM
JOIN US FOR TWO HOURS
ANY SATURDAY
At the Napa's Farmers Market, CanDo volunteers rescue food that might otherwise
go to waste.
It all goes to our local Food Bank and Homeless Shelter, both of which are serving far more hungry and unsheltered neighbors than in the past.
You CanBe part of the solution.
Older teens and families
are welcome.
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SHARE THE BOUNTY
Backyard gardners are welcome to donate their extra harvest to CANV's Napa Valley Food Bank.
Please plan to harvest yourself.
If that's just not possible, you may email Karen with a request for assistance, but during COVID-19, help from gleaners may not be possible.
Need boxes? Pick up empty boxes and drop off produce at the Napa Valley Food Bank.
LOCATION: 1766 Industrial Way
DAYS/TIMES: M-F 7AM-2:30PM
Share the produce,
not the virus!
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"Creative thinking
inspires ideas.
Ideas inspire change."
-Barbara Januszkiewicz
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BITS AND PIECES
TINKER TIME
family-friendly activities using recycled materials you can find around your home.
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Exploratorium "Going in Circles"
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Share your creations with other tinkering explorers on social media using
#TinkeringatHome
and the hashtags included in
each invitation.
The Exploratorium will share playful tips, inspiring ideas, and delightful outcomes as tinkerers around the world
contribute their creations.
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COMPOST CORNER
BE IN THE KNOW
or recycling to
"Compost Corner."
Responses graciously provided by
Tim Dewey-Mattia,
Napa Recycling
& Waste Services.
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| New to CanDo?
Click
here
to receive this nifty weekly eNewsletter.
The
CanDo Connection
is filled
with volunteer
opportunities
and
events to
help you
connect
with
community.
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LIKE TO HAVE YOUR EVENT IN THE
CanDo
SPOTLIGHT?
Are you a nonprofit in need of volunteers?
Or do you have a fundraiser, educational opportunity,
or fun event you'd like to
share in CanDo's SPOTLIGHT?
Space permitting, your post may run for up to three weeks leading to the date of your event. Photos you'd
like us to consider MUST be sent as a jpg.
FFI: Learn more and submit event
here
.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: S
unday, 6PM for the following Tuesday's blast.
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"NATIONAL SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE WEEK" - AUG 1 - 7
(We know: "They've got to be kidding!")
No, it's actually been referenced online for a couple of decades. Celebrated the first week in August annually, it's origin is unclear. It's probably buried in a knick-knack drawer along with two pennies and a nickel, a worn emery board, and a molded
piece
of
rubber that looks as if it might be important.
Googling "National Simplify Your Life Week" yields 20,900,000
results, way too many lists of clever ideas and ones that make you drop your head in despair.
We're ignoring them.
Instead, here's the "ask." In the middle of a pandemic with no discernible end in sight, what are one or two of the most effective things you've done to help simplify your life?
Here's mine from this week. For months, I've been aware that the olive oil, rice and balsamic vinegars were on a shelf just a bit too high to be a good
stretch
. They were just high enough to think about getting out a step stool.
Since I'd started this article a few days before, the seed had been planted.
I shifted a few things in the cupboard and (drum roll) moved the bottles to a lower shelf. Not exactly rocket science, but VOILA! I have simplified my life.
What actions have you taken to simplify your life?
Email us with SIMPLE in the subject line.
In next Tuesday's CanDo Connection, we'll list a few of your suggestions. But not too many, promise. We don't want to overload anyone.
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IT'S COMPLICATED
(BUT CLEAR)
The good news is that
our community is strong and caring, as evidenced by the more than $14,000 dollars CanDo members have donated to the Food Bank during COVID-19.
The not-so-good news is that Shirley King, the Food Bank's remarkable Program Director, has evaluated the current situation and determined that it's in the best interest of food distribution efforts that we cancel our August 8 pick up.
The reasoning is clear. Public health is foremost in everyone's mind. COVID-19 cases in the county are growing. Right now, bringing in 100s of bags of food from all over Napa, quarantining that food, and
having to limit the number of volunteers who would sort, well i
t just doesn't make sense.
Shirley told us, "
I am so proud and honored to work with CanDo and all the volunteers, many of whom I've met and worked with, who address food insecurity in our community!
"That being said, now more than ever, we are mindful of all the safety protocols and processes needed at this critical time. The need has grown and we will definitely need your assistance, but not just yet.
"I hope you can store your energy for future food recovery and know you will still be needed as an integral force in providing our neighbors with much needed food."
Meanwhile, the Food Bank, with the crucial help of the National Guard, continues to do amazing work to provide for those who find themselves food insecure. Seven pantries are kept stocked in most of the basics. There are free food days and deliveries to seniors.
We hope to be back doing the work we love in October. However, we've learned over the past five months to make no plans, go with the flow, follow health experts' advice and stay safe.
Want to donate? Make checks payable to
Napa Valley Food Bank, 1766 Industrial Way,
Napa, CA 94558
Write CanDo on the memo line.
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE
BE A COAD VOLUNTEER ON CALL
Just last week,
Volunteers on Call, a service of Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD), sent out
vo
lunteers to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable throughout Napa County. They assisted at:
- COVID-19 test sites
- Napa Food Pantry
- St. Helena Food Pantry
- Catholic Charities food distribution
- Adventist Health food distribution
- Census takers
- signed up to be Food Bank Gleaners
This week we're also looking for folks to distribute free boxes of Personal Protective Equipment July 31and others to help COAD's Resource Committee organize community drives.
The need is great. Volunteers on Call (VOC) gets help where it's needed
most
. Opportunities arrive via email. You accept only those that feel like a good fit.
Start the simple three-step registration with this form. Your contact info will NEVER
be shared with third parties.
Can't help now but know someone who might?
Share this
link
with friends and neighbors.
They need not be involved with CanDo.
They just need to care.
Spread the word
--- not the virus.
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It's fledgling season. Those shaggy, frizz-headed preteens are hopping around everywhere! Many can't fly yet, but this is normal. Their parents are usually close by and feeding them.
If you see one in a dangerous spot, you can gently move it to a safer place very nearby and keep watch from a distance. But don't birdnap!
For more help, here's
Napa Wildlife Rescue's advice.
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NAPA FARMERS MARKET VOTING
A message and call to action from our friend at the Market, Cara Mae Wooledge, MPH,
Market Manager:
"We need more votes to name the Napa Farmers Market as the 'Most Essential Market' in America!"
Currently we are #1 in California, #2 in the Pacific Region and #4 Nationwide! Your vote will help our market win $1,000 from American Farmland Trust during the 12th annual
Farmers Market Celebration.
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THE
CanDo SPOTLIGHT
Events and Volunteer Opportunities
from Other Groups Around the Valley
Tell 'em you heard about it through CanDo!
Note: Posting events in this "Spotlight" does not constitute an endorsement by Napa Valley CanDo unless expressly stated.
We list a variety of
opportunities and
programs we feel may be of interest to our readers. Explore! Enjoy! Get involved!
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Register for one or more drop in sessions
HERE.
Contact
Xavia Hendriksz
for more information
at 707-299-1885.
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CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON'S VIRTUAL PASTA DINNER
SPONSOR: Mike Thompson for Congress
Virtual pasta dinner, including a Zoom call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords and U.S.Representative Lauren Underwood representing Illinois' 14th congressional district. This event will support local restaurants Tre Posti and Southside Century. Remaining proceeds will be donated directly to Community Action of Napa Valley (CANV) for the Napa Valley Food Bank and Meals on Wheel programs.
DAY/DATE/TIME:
Sunday, August 9, 5-6PM
LOCATION:
ZOOM
COST: $50 meal for two or $130 meal for 6.
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PUBLICATIONS FROM THE NAPA MGs
SPONSOR: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County
For many of us, our gardens have been everything during the pandemic and the Napa MGs have just what you need in moving forward into fall and winter. Their MONTH-BY-MONTH GUIDE TO GARDENING IN NAPA COUNTY is packed with gardening tips for every month and has lots of room for your notes. While you are checking out this book, take a look at TREES TO KNOW IN NAPA VALLEY. Although the MGs can not hold public events at this time, there is still much to explore on their website, including Zoom opportunities. See you in the garden!
COST:
Month-By-Month Guide to Gardening in Napa County $15; Trees to Know in Napa Valley $20
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YOUTH VOLUNTEER - OAK CREW
SPONSOR: Napa County RCD
The Oak Crew is a group of youth volunteers (14-25) who will work with Napa RCD staff to take care of young oak plantings on multiple days in July and August. Work primarily consists of weeding around and applying mulch to young oaks to keep weeds at bay and ensure the success of as many plantings as possible.
County of Napa COVID-19 guidelines are in place for this volunteer activity. Volunteers must complete a daily check-in, ensuring that all measures have been taken to limit exposure to COVID-19, and any volunteers reporting symptoms or contact will not be able to participate.
Group sizes are limited to maintain physical distancing.
DAY/DATE/TIME:
Now through August 18, 9AM-noon
LOCATION:
Alston Park,
2037 Dry Creek Rd., Napa
COST: Attendance is free, but all participants who wish to join us must complete RCD's application form.
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DIG DEEPER SUMMER LIBRARY ADVENTURE
SPONSOR: Napa County Library
All ages are invited to join the Summer Library Adventure at the Napa County Library. This year's theme is "Dig Deeper, Read!" The community is invited to read, investigate and discover new books, materials and events at your local library this summer either virtually or in person. Registration for the 2020 Summer Library Adventure runs through August 31st. Sign up online at
www.napalibrary.org/sla.
DATES:
Now through August 31st
LOCATION:
Napa Main Library, 580 Coombs Street
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HERE'S WHAT YOU
CanDo
TO GET INVOLVED
Preventing food insecurity: In CanDo's Garden for the Food Bank we grow
fresh, local produce for the CAN-V Food Bank. CanDo's Food Rescue Team collects produce from generous Napa Farmers' Market vendors for the Food Bank and Homeless Shelter.
Email
Karen.
Waterway Keepers began as a CanDo project. Now it's orchestrated by our friends at the Napa Co. Resource Conservation District. Volunteers help maintain our river and streams to keep them vibrant and alive.
Email
Ashley.
Raises funds and awareness for local nonprofits in a year-end giving campaign. Planning takes place beginning each spring. Lots of ways to help!
Email hilary or Nancy.
CanDo has a brilliant
program to share food with neighbors in need.
Email Marilyn.
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The Choices We Make
Napa Valley CanDo seeks to inspire and facilitate action
by alerting interested Valley residents about opportunities for service. If you participate as a volunteer in an activity that you learned about through Napa Valley CanDo, whether initiated by CanDo or another organization, please take personal responsibility for your involvement. Use common sense. Only you can determine whether an activity is a good
fit, that is to say
compatible with your interests and abilities.
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