In September, HOBA partnered with Jones New York, Macy’s and Lowe’s Home Improvement to give award-winning teacher Juanita Flores-Mejia and her school, Grant Elementary School in Richmond, California, a brand new look for back-to-school.

Ms. Juanita Flores-Mejia won the Jones New York’s Back-to-School Back-to-Style contest for her dedication to teaching.  HOBA managed the volunteers who transformed Grant Elementary School’s facilities, while our corporate partners whisked Ms. Flores-Mejia away for a day of pampering.  Recently, one of Ms. Flores-Mejia’s fellow teachers sent us this letter:

My name is Elizabeth Bundschu-Mooney and I am a teacher at Grant Elementary in Richmond.  I was absolutely amazed by the power of the 30+ volunteers that came to our school today to do a make-over for Ms. Juanita Flores-Mejia.

The whole school and community will benefit from the generosity of the individuals that came to participate.  It is really amazing what you did to her classroom, our staff room, the school front and our school garden.  Our garden (and our staff room) has never looked so good.  I wanted to personally thank you for your part in this transformation. 

Juanita is very deserving of this recognition and we applaud her and her dedication to her students and to our school.  We appreciate all that you did to boost the moral of the teachers, our administration and, most importantly, our students.  Juanita looked beautiful returning to school this afternoon.  She was beaming from ear to ear. 

Your volunteers were professional, cheerful, hard working and set an example that our students can learn from.  This is the true spirit of giving back and we applaud you and your volunteers for giving to a community in such need.

Most Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bundschu-Mooney
4th/5th/6th Special Education Teacher
Grant Elementary

Hands On Bay Area is launching an SOS: Support Our Schools Campaign to rally resources for our critical work on behalf of our local schools.  In the coming months, we will invest over 7,000 hours to create and manage hundreds of community service projects to support the schools in our community.

To donate today click here and write "SOS!" in the designation area.

Your donation could be matched 2-to-1:
The Sobrato Foundation will match 2-to-1 the first $35,000 donated from anyone who increases their gift to Hands On Bay Area this year – or gives for the first time. If you’ve been thinking about increasing your support, the time is now!

Please support our SOS: Support Our Schools Campaign with a tax-deductible donation today!

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Sunday, November 4 (4:00 - 7:00 PM)
This is an increasingly popular annual event for families...a family flashlight tour adventure with art project activities and refreshments.  Our docents lead the children and their parents on the flashlight tour that explores art in the Rodin Sculpture Garden and adjacent areas. Volunteers are needed to help gather the tour groups, staff the art projects and food tables, and to assist with clean-up.  Any people with experience with children’s art projects is helpful.  We will be offering word games, clay sculpture making and tinfoil molding. To volunteer contact Sharon Beckham sbeckham@stanford.edu.

Money Matters: A Free Financial Education Event
Family & Children Services is celebrating National Family Week by hosting this free event featuring multilingual workshops on credit, budgeting, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and more, with a resource fair. To allow the parents to focus on the presentations and talking with the nonprofit agencies, we would like to offer activities for the children. We are seeking some volunteers (16 and older) to help us with the kids. Refreshments will be provided.Contact Maryanne McGlothlin mmcglothlin@fcservices.org or call 650-326-6576 ext. 5423

Upcoming Film Screenings and Discussions with HOBA
Are you looking for something fun, entertaining and thought-provoking to do on a Tuesday or Wednesday night? Hands On Bay Area and Independent Lens (PBS) are bringing you an opportunity to enjoy a film in your community. Watch the documentary and stay afterwards to listen to a guest panel that discusses issues from the film.
Upcoming films include:
November - An Unreasonable Man: Takes an unsparing look at Ralph Nader, one of the most important and controversial political figures in our time.
December - Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita: Take a close-up look at a stem cell expert and the high stakes involved in the quest for stem cell medicine.
January - Banished: The story of three counties that banished African American families from their towns 100 years ago.
February - The Iron Ladies of Liberia: The story of Africa’s first freely elected female president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Help Preschool Children Prepare to Succeed in School
Jumpstart is currently looking for long-term volunteers to work one-on-one with preschool children in San Francisco neighborhoods. Volunteers will work in teams of 5-8 community members, implementing a researched-based, interactive curriculum model twice a week in a preschool classroom.  Volunteers serve 6-10 hours per week during the school year, beginning in January.  For more information, call Taryn Tong at (415) 536-5867 ext. 108 or 120 or e-mail at Taryn.Tong@jstart.org

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