- Featured Project: CanDo's Give!Guide is Halfway Through
- Inspiring Inclusion: December is Human Rights Month
- Spotlight on Local Nonprofits
- Highlights from CanDo's Community Calendar
- Compost Corner: Update on Plastic Bags in California (Spoiler: 👍)
- Quick Tip: North Bay Rapid Response Network (NBRRN)
- Bits & Pieces: Bah Humbug!
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We’re Halfway Through the 13th Annual CanDo Give!Guide Campaign!
November 1 - December 31, 2025
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Today is Giving Tuesday!
This year December 2 is Giving Tuesday, an annual global celebration of generosity. Across the world, people come together through acts of kindness—sharing their voice, time, talents, and treasure to uplift the communities they care about.
Today, you have a powerful opportunity to support the causes that matter most, whether your passion lies in health, education, the arts, hunger relief, environmental stewardship, or any of the many missions represented in CanDo’s Give!Guide, your participation will make a difference. Make your gift today through CanDo's Give!Guide - we make it easy for you to give!
Every donation, every share, act of kindness, and every show of support strengthens the collective impact of our nonprofit community.
Thank you for helping make Napa County a place where compassion, collaboration, and community truly thrive. Wishing you and your loved ones a warm, joyful, and wonderful holiday season!
~ The Give!Guide Team
| | | | You can volunteer for one of our dynamic projects, even for just an hour or two, or help one of the many local organizations we support. Each individual action connects to others. Together, we‘re making our Valley and world better. | | |
December is Human Rights Month
International Human Rights Day is celebrated every year on December 10. It marks the day in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)—a groundbreaking document that, for the first time, recognized basic rights and freedoms for all people. Today, it's the most translated document in the world.
It states that human rights are inherent, universal, and belong to all human beings, regardless of their race, sex, nationality, or other status.
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These are based on principles of dignity and equality and include fundamental freedoms as well as economic and social rights. Examples:
- Civil and political rights:
- Right to life, liberty, and security
- Freedom from slavery and torture
- Freedom of opinion, expression, and religion
- Right to a fair trial and freedom from arbitrary detention
- Economic, social, and cultural rights:
- Right to work, with just and favorable conditions
- Right to social security
- Right to an adequate standard of living, including food and housing
- Right to education
- Right to health
- Right to take part in cultural life
We know this is a goal not yet achieved; governments are responsible for protecting human rights, and they often fail to do so.
The good news? There are things each of us can do every day, right from home, to help promote and protect these rights. Here is a brief list of 10 simple actions, put together by Emmaline Soken-Huberty, to get you started. Which are you already doing? Which new one will you try?
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Here’s another way to help right in our community: contribute to CanDo’s Give!Guide.
Many of the 91 local Napa County nonprofits featured in it deal directly with the human rights issues listed in the UDHR.
In the Give!Guide, you pick the groups that resonate most with you, make your year-end tax-deductible donations to them, and pay with one easy transaction right on the website.
What better way to do your charitable giving, knowing that you are helping to protect and support our neighbors’ human rights, right here in Napa County?
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To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.
–Nelson Mandela, South African civil rights activist
| | | More Opportunities to Support Our Community | | |
Volunteer Opportunities & Events to Support Local Nonprofit Groups
Tell 'em you heard about it through CanDo!
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DONATION DRIVE FOR PROGRAM 4 PATIENTS
Sponsor: Dept. of State Hospitals - Napa
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DAY/DATE/TIME:
November through December
Tues-Fri, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
LOCATION: Volunteer Center at Napa State Hospital, 2100 Napa-Vallejo Hwy, Napa. Call in advance for gate access and directions.
FFI:
Email heather.lopez1@dsh.ca.gov or call 707-253-5540
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NAPA EARLY LEARNING CENTER GRAND OPENING AND FAMILY FAIR
Sponsor: Napa County Office of Education and Child Start Inc.
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DAY/DATE/TIME:
Saturday, December 13, 10:30AM - 2:30PM
LOCATION: 74 Wintun Court, Napa
FFI:
Visit their website
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SEASONS OF HARMONY: SING NAPA VALLEY'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONCERT
Sponsor: Sing Napa Valley
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DAY/DATE/TIME:
Sunday, December 14, 3:00 - 4:30PM
LOCATION: Napa Methodist Church, 625 Randolph Street, Napa
FFI:
Email info@singnapavalley.org, call 707.812.1450 or visit their website
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SCREENING OF OSCAR WINNING DOCUMENTARY "NO OTHER LAND" & FUNDRAISER FOR GAZA SOUP KITCHEN
Sponsor: Napa for Peace in Palestine & Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists
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DAY/DATE/TIME:
Sunday, December 13, 4:30 - 7:00PM
LOCATION: NVUU, 1625 Salvador Avenue, Napa
FFI:
Email Napa4Palestine@gmail.com, call 707.480.7436 or visit their website
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NAPA LIGHTED ART FESTIVAL
Sponsor: City of Napa
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DAY/DATE/TIME:
Sunday, January 17 - February 15, 5:30 - 10:15PM
LOCATION: Downtown Napa / Oxbow District
FFI:
Email mdetrane@cityofnapa.org, call 707.257.9221 or visit their website
| | | If you represent a local nonprofit, you may submit a SPOTLIGHT EVENT or VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY by completing our online form. | | Space permitting, posts run up to three weeks prior to your event. Flyer or image is required and must be sent as a jpg. | |
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Sunday, 6PM for the following Tuesday's edition.
FFI: Learn more and submit your event here.
| | Looking for Local Volunteer Opportunities? | | Local community members can connect with the causes they are passionate about. | |  | Explore volunteer, event, and action listings to discover ways to make a positive impact in your community. | | | Highlights from CanDo's Community Calendar | | |
Dec. 2 - Dec. 16
Now until Dec. 31 - Napa Valley Give!Guide is live!
Dec. 3 - Taste of Oxbow, Live Music, & Gift Wrapping by Napa High School Leadership Council
Dec. 5 - Printmaking Workshop: Holiday Cards - for Youth Ages 13-19 - Mentis/Teens Connect
Dec. 5, 6, 7 - Holiday Market - Action Avenue Projects, Rail Arts District
Dec. 5, 5:00 - Magic of the Season - American Canyon Tree Lighting - Shenandoah Park.
Dec. 5, 5:00 - Brannan Center, Calistoga - Merry and Bright Night, Tree Lighting.
Dec. 6, 7:00 - Calistoga Lighted Tractor Parade.
Dec. 6 - A Christmas Carol - Napa Valley College Performing Arts
Dec. 6 - 14 - Friends of the Napa Library Book Sale
Dec. 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21 - There are dozens of Holiday events happening all over the Valley on these weekends, including markets and fairs, ballet, SantaCon, parades, ballroom dancing, plays, a Holiday Home Tour, concerts, and so much more! Rather than list them all here, we encourage you to go to the calendar itself.
Dec. 9 - Slow Stroll on the Wetlands Edge Trail - American Canyon
Dec. 9 - Rebecca Yerger History Talks in Yountville - In the Spirit of the Season: From Merriments to Miracles
Dec. 9 - Napa High Vocal Music Workshop Holiday Caroling - Oxbow
Dec. 11 - Napa Humane Holiday Mixer - Priest Ranch Tasting Room in Yountville - RSVP
Dec.11 - Latke Throwdown - Benefit for ParentsCAN
Dec. 11 - Napa Valley College Jazz Ensemble Concert – The Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
Dec. 12 - Calistoga Christmas: Shop Late & Celebrate, Virgen de Guadalupe Procession
Dec. 12 - Christmas in the Vineyards in Napa - choral and chamber works
Dec. 13 - Napa Food Project Pickup Day - Food Bank Warehouse Volunteers Needed
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Compost Corner
Napa Recycling provides answers to your questions about recycling, composting, and the like.
Update on Plastic Bags in California
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NEWS FLASH: California’s Plastic Bag Loophole is finally closed effective January 1, 2026!
The "plastic bag loophole" in California refers to the previous 2014 law that allowed thicker, so-called "reusable" plastic bags to be sold at checkout for a fee, even though they often became part of the plastic waste problem.
This loophole is now closed as of January 1, 2026, with the new law prohibiting all single-use plastic bags at retail and grocery checkouts. Stores must offer only paper bags for a fee, or customers will use their own reusable bags.
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Pre-Checkout Bag Requirements
SB 1046 (Eggman, Chapter 991, Statutes of 2022) places new restrictions on the types of pre-checkout bags that most grocery stores, retail stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts, and liquor stores may provide to customers.
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Carryout Bag Requirements
SB 1053 (Blakespear, Chapter 453, Statutes of 2024) places new restrictions on the types of bags distributed at the point of sale by most grocery stores, retail stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts, and liquor stores.
Read more here.
| | If you have a question about recycling or other waste disposal, send it to info@nvcando.org with “compost corner” in the subject line. We’ll send it on to Tim, Recycling & Public Education Manager at Napa Recycling & Waste Services. You may first want to check if the answer to your question is here, in NRWS’s Recycling Guide. | |
North Bay Rapid Response Network (NBRRN)
The North Bay Rapid Response Network is a community-led network serving Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties. Its purpose is to help community members respond in a calm, organized, and supportive way when there are concerns about immigration-related actions in the area.
Trained community volunteers act as legal observers, documenting enforcement activity, helping ensure that people understand their rights, and connecting families with local support resources.
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We Have Rights is an educational campaign that provides clear information on how to stay safe and understand your rights during interactions with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- North Bay Rapid Response Hotline: 707-800-4544
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Bah Humbug!
Is this how you feel during the holidays? Would it surprise you to know that there are many people who share that sentiment— so many that December 21st has been nationally recognized as Humbug Day?
Humbug Day* was created in 1981 by Ruth and Thomas Roy. Although the name may brew ideas of pessimism, it actually was created to be a healthy and fun way to vent frustrations and deter the stresses often associated with the holiday season.
Fun Fact: The saying, “Bah. Humbug!” became a well-known expression used by Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ classic book, A Christmas Carol. However, it may surprise most to know that the term “humbug” appears more often in Baum's classic, The Wizard of Oz.
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*Not to be confused with Festivus
Festivus is a secular holiday, often celebrated on December 23rd. It is mainly meant as an alternative to the pressures and commercialization of the Christmas season. However, it has also become a day to celebrate the ever-lasting comedy of the 1990s television show Seinfeld.
Festivus was a holiday featured in the Season 9 Seinfeld episode "The Strike," which first aired on December 18, 1997. Since then, this zany, offbeat Seinfeld holiday has inspired many people, leading them to celebrate Festivus like any other holiday.
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PO Box 855
Napa, CA 94559
Email: info@nvcando.org
Phone: (707) 225-8942
Tax ID: 46-2670379
| | | | New to CanDo? Want to receive this nifty eNewsletter? It comes out bright and early the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, full of ways you can volunteer and connect with community. | | |
You Want to Help. We Make it Easy is a registered trademark of the Neighborhood Food Project. Used by permission.
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