March 2019  - Silicon Valley 
 
Beautify San Jose
The Trash Punx
 
Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, 9 - 11am
 
Location: 4130 Monterey Hwy, San Jose
 
Our community has been over-populated by a massive amount of trash. The Trash Punx decided to do something about this by uniting our community together. Join them as they pick up trash around our community, one piece at a time, and have fun while doing it! Join The Trash Punx team as they target a specific area of San Jose invaded by litter. Please wear closed-toe shoes, and bring water, sunscreen, and sunglasses.
 
Ages: Children ages six and up are welcome with adult supervision.
 
Time Commitment: Two hours
 
Contact: Justin Imamura, [email protected]. Registration is available online.  
 
 
Grassroots Ecology March Events
Grassroots Ecology
 
Date/Time: Here is a complete list of family-friendly volunteer events for March:
Location(s): Varies - Click on above links for location information
 
Grassroots Ecology leverages the power of volunteers to create healthy lands across Silicon Valley. We restore native plants to open spaces and neighborhoods, steward creeks and watersheds, and provide hands-on nature education. Please bring a reusable water bottle and dress for outdoor work (sturdy shoes and long pants recommended). We will provide gloves and any needed tools. While volunteering with Grassroots Ecology, you will learn interesting things about the natural world while making a positive impact on the environment. Grassroots offers opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to help with planting, weeding, creek monitoring, or installing rain gardens and rain barrels.
 
Ages: All ages are welcome to participate. Children under 12 require an accompanying adult unless prior approval is obtained from the workday supervisor. All volunteers under age 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.
 
Time Commitment: Two to four hours, depending on event
 
Contact: Jeremy Merckling, [email protected], 650.384.5314
 
 
SB Clean Creeks Coalition Team 222 Clean Up
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition
 
Date/Time: Saturday, March 9, 9 - 11am
 
Location(s):
North Down Stream, Guadalupe River, 351 West Virginia Street, San José
Coyote Creek at Corie Court, 1505 Schallenberger Rd, San José
 
Grab your oldest clothes and shoes and join SB Clean Creeks Coalition for a creek clean up. Their mission is to Reclaim, Restore and Revitalize our community's watershed. Many hands make this work a lighter task, so please join! Volunteers are asked to arrive by 8:45 am for a safety presentation. They will be providing trash pick-up tools, trash bags and gloves. Please bring your own water container and they will be happy to fill and refill it! Wear heavy soled shoes, long pants, hat and sunscreen.

Ages: Families with children ages 7 and older are welcome to participate. Volunteers under age 15 must be accompanied by an adult. All volunteers must complete the waiver form required by the City of San José.
 
Time Commitment: Two hours
 
Contact: Carol Szymkiewicz, [email protected]. To register, please click the link for the event you'd like to attend: 
 
 
Donate Wishlist Supplies to Shelters
HomeFirst
 
Date/Time: Ongoing
 
Location: Multiple locations. Email [email protected] to arrange to drop off your donations.

HomeFirst operates housing and shelter sites across Santa Clara County. They serve approximately 5,000 chronically homeless individuals, families with children, veterans, and youth each year. Donations are needed to assist these shelters. Please visit their website for  their wish list of most needed items.
 
Ages: All ages welcome to participate
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
Contact:  To donate items, please email [email protected]
www.HomeFirstSCC.org
 
 
Make and Donate Blankets to Children in Need
Project Linus
 
Date/Time: Ongoing
 
Location: Click here for drop-off locations

Project Linus has a mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers". They welcome blankets, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted and knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child friendly colors and patterns. Blankets must be new (made of new materials), handmade and washable. You don't have to be an expert with a sewing machine, knitting needles or a crochet hook, or even know how to sew! Elaborate or simple, these blanket gifts are all beautiful to a child. Project Linus accepts blankets in most any size. They donate to children ages infant through teen so many sizes are appropriate. The typical size is 45"x60", though infants can use blankets as small as 36"x36" (No fringe on baby blankets please!) and teens up to 54"x72". The vast majority of the blankets made by our local chapter remain in our area. Click here for easy no sew blanket directions.
 
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
Contact: Sharon Lee, [email protected] or visit the website for more information.
www.SJLinus.org
 
 
Sunday Friends' Programs for Very Low-Income Families
Sunday Friends
 
Date/Time: Sundays - Shifts available between 10:30am and 5:30pm. There are some after school shifts on weekdays at the special store.
 
Location(s):
  • Santee Elementary, 1313 Audubon Dr., San Jose, 2nd Sunday of every month
  • Meadows Elementary, 1250 Taper Ln., San Jose, 3rd Sunday of every month
  • Lowell Elementary, 625 South 7th St., San Jose, 4th Sunday of every month
  • Sunday Friends Special Store, 730 Story Rd. Ste. 3, San Jose (open weekdays from 4 - 7pm)
Volunteers are needed to work directly with children, and occasionally their parents, to facilitate service and learning projects. Projects include craft gift making, healthy food preparation, letter and essay writing, hands-on science projects, math and learning games, computer education, English as a Second Language classes, reading, book report writing, exercise class, parents' classes and more. Children and parents earn tickets for their participation which are redeemable for basic necessities in our special stores. Volunteers might also assist with the banking, store setup, or shopping.
 
Ages: Eight and older. Teens, adults, families and groups are all welcome. An adult must accompany children under age 14.
 
Time Commitment: No predetermined number of hours, but if you sign up to come to a program, you are expected to come.
 
Contact: Volunteers should begin by completing the New Volunteer Registration process. Please register to volunteer a couple of weeks in advance of the date. Contact Lilly, [email protected], or [email protected], with questions or call 408.217.9587
www.SundayFriends.org
 
 
Adult Day Program Volunteer with Alzheimer's Clients
Respite & Research for Alzheimer's Disease (RRAD)
 
Date/Time: Ongoing
 
Location: Varies
 
For over thirty years, Respite & Research for Alzheimer's Disease (RRAD) has served individuals of all stages of dementia - whether newly diagnosed or in the advanced stages. As the only dementia-specific adult daycare program in Santa Clara County, RRAD is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals affected by Alzheimer's and related conditions by providing safe, nurturing intergenerational services and a rich network of support.

As a volunteer at the Adult Day Program, you will work directly with clients and engage in fun activities, games, crafts, and meaningful conversations. Volunteers need to:
  • Fill out an online volunteer application
  • Provide documentation of a negative TB test taken within the last year
  • Attend an orientation at the center, approximately an hour in length
Ages: Families with children ages 2 and older. All children under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
 
 
Volunteer Beach Clean Up at Tunitas Creek
San Mateo County Parks
 
Date/Time: Sunday March, 17, 10am - 1pm
 
Location: Tunitas Beach, 23000 Cabrillo Hwy South, Half Moon Bay

Be part of the effort to clean and preserve Tunitas Creek Beach by joining the TLC Locals for weekend beach clean-ups. Halfway between Half Moon Bay and Pescadero, where the waters from King's Mountain reach the Pacific Ocean, lies Tunitas Creek Beach. Waters from Tunitas Creek run onto the broad, sandy beach. To the north stands an iconic sandstone cliff. Tunitas Creek Beach currently has no facilities and is only accessible via a steep, eroded trail on the property or through the environmentally sensitive Tunitas Creek corridor.

Ages: All ages welcome to participate. There are no age restrictions, however it is not recommended for toddler aged children or younger due to the challenging hike in, glass on the beach, and other dangers.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
 
 
Help the TCV Foodbank
Tri-City Volunteers
 
Date/Time: Monday through Thursday, 8am - 4pm. Friday, 9 - 12:30pm
 
Location: 37350 Joseph Street, Fremont

Volunteers are essential to Tri-City Volunteers (TCV) food bank's daily grocery cart preparation and distribution. They need approximately 40 warehouse volunteers a day to ensure that as many as 350 client families per day receive adequate nutrition. Volunteers also help sort and hang donated clothing and attractively merchandise their boutique thrift store, which provides very low-cost items to struggling families. Community volunteers are the heart of the agency! Not only do volunteers work directly with low and very-low income families, they bring to life their vision of a community united together to ensure that every child and adult in our area is not just free from hunger, but can access pathways to financial stability and self-sufficiency. While volunteers assist families in Tri-City Volunteers' food bank and thrift store, they are also mentoring and deeply connecting with others. That is the real strength of TCV's work .
 
Ages: Children 10 and older are welcome to volunteer. Those under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult or chaperone.
 
Time Commitment: Minimum of two hours
 
Contact: Attend orientation and set shift(s) by emailing [email protected] or call 510.793.4583. TCV hosts 40-50-minute orientations every Wednesday at 10am and Thursday at 1pm. Orientations are mandatory for new individual volunteers and no registration is required - just show up!
www.tri-cityvolunteers.org
 
 
Teach the Power of Speaking Up
Doing Good Together
 
Date/Time: Varies
 
Location: Your home or community
 
Your family can make a difference in your community by sharing your opinion with leaders. Contacting your elected officials when you feel strongly about an issue can teach your children about being engaged citizens. Doing Good Together has created three new printables to help your children create drawings, cards, and letters asking leaders to support issues that are important to them. Visit Doing Good Together's Teach the Power of Speaking Up project page to learn more and to download our new printables.
 
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
 
 
DGT has the tools to help ensure your food drive succeeds!  With our DGT downloads, you can increase your donations and make a long-term impact on children as they learn about the complex issue of food insecurity. Our digital  Hunger Curriculum uses books and activities to more easily discuss this big-hearted topic. You supply the books (from a library, bookstore or online); DGT supplies the  printable teaching materials ready to download.
 

Last Chance! Did you remember to fill out the Doing Good Together Family Volunteering Survey? If you have already completed the survey, thank you. If you have not completed the survey yet, please take the survey now. The survey will take you less than 5 minutes to complete and your responses will help us understand how we can provide the best possible experience for our subscribers. As a thank you for participating in our survey we will be holding a drawing for two $25 Target gift certificate. The survey will close on February 28.

 

 

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This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ (www.doinggoodtogether.org)
 When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together.™ Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations. 
                                                                            

                                                                                                     © 2019 Doing Good Together™