Good News Update                                                                 2008 Accomplishments To Date: January - July Community Projects: 1, 215 projects Volunteer Hours: 17, 438 hours

CEO Speakers and Moderator: Benioff, Scher & Miramontes

GoogleServe at Sacred Heart

kits, creating a mural out of out-dated computer parts and restoring health to our oceans by working with injured and sick mammals.

As an inaugural event, the turnout and results were amazing: 1400 volunteers worked an average of 3 hours each totaling 4,200 hours of work; the equivalent of one person working a full time job for more than two years. The value of the contributions of this event can be measured in many ways, such as acres weeded or kits built, but financially it adds up to over $71,000 in labor donated to Bay Area communities.

Here is a sense of what the Googlers experienced:

The "Intense Farming" project in Sunnyvale boasted these amazing results:

	125 basil plants started
	3 scarecrows hung
	1500 ft of irrigation trench filled in
	26 garden beds spread with compost
	9 garden beds double dug (18 ft long)
	5600 ft of drip irrigation laid out on the farm
	6000 corn seeds planted
	8 farm beds mulched
	56 orchard trees mulched

Google Project Leader Mark Ball commented, “Blister-handed, sunburned-shouldered and dirty but with huge smiles we all piled back into our two buses at the end of the day. Doing physical work together, meeting folks from other groups and making a difference in the world made for lots of happy folks on our bus… This was one of the most fun things I have done at Google.”

For some Googlers, it was their first volunteer experience after relocating to the U.S. Not only did they find it a way to give back to the community, but also an avenue to build community within Google. “I would likely not have ever met her (a colleague) if it weren't for GoogleServe. This is just a good example of how serendipitous volunteering can be!” says one of the many first-time Google volunteers.

Tikkun Olam TeamWorks: Jews in the Garden (JITG) took place from March 30th through May 20th, 2008. The program had 20 participants, and a leadership team of six, which composed of four garden educators and two staff, one from HandsOn Bay Area (HOBA) and one from American Jewish World Service (AJWS).

The innovative program was a collaborative effort between HOBA and AJWS. It consisted of four service learning projects, one educational event, one Shabbat dinner and one final gathering. Together the team explored issues around gardening and food justice that included: demystifying “sustainability”, exploring eco-kashrut, spiritual composting, understanding the politics behind food access and availability, and urban gardening. Jewish garden educators were present at each project, worked alongside the group and led informal educational reflection sessions.

This program began a great partnership between AJWS and HOBA and the response to it was overwhelming. Upon surveying the team, three main themes became apparent as to why the participants enjoyed the program: people, learning and gardening. The participants enjoyed meeting other like-minded, bright, interesting, engaged peers and finding out about their lives. They were excited about the fact that there was large group of Jews interested in service learning, food justice and sustainability. And, the group liked working in local gardens, spending afternoons outdoors and seeing different communities being transformed through gardens. Additionally, through the integration of learning and action, the team enjoyed connecting the manual work of direct service to the spiritual basis of Tikkun Olam as the motivation for taking part in the program.

The Impact Grant is a program created with sponsorship by the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. The Impact Grant is meant to allow HOBA volunteers a chance to give back to the community not just by volunteering their time but also by presenting a grant to the agency of their choice. Individuals who volunteer the most hours within a given period of time are rewarded with this grant. The additional dollars help these agencies partners fund special projects, purchase needed equipment, and turn wishes into realities.  The agencies are rewarded twice in this effort with both your generous time and with the Impact Grant.

Congratulations Spring Impact Grant Winners!
HandsOn Bay Area would like to thank the following volunteers for participating in the Impact Grant program and to congratulate them on their wins!

Keith Clarkson –  Volunteer with the Most Hours - $1250 – Glide
“They create lives by repairing them.”

Jalyn Travis – New Volunteer Award - $1250 – Save the Bay
“I am inspired by their hard work and long commitment to preserving amazing natural resources. I identify with and value their passion for making the Bay a cleaner and healthier environment for people and wildlife. Save the Bay brings local environmental issues to the forefront and provides avenues through which we can make a difference. Thanks Save the Bay!”

Michelle VanCurler – New PL Award - $1250 – Laguna Honda
"The residents of Laguna Honda are amazing people who deserve to experience all of the great things that San Francisco has to offer.  I hope that this grant will help the leaders of Laguna Honda provide more social events in the community, and more opportunities for the residents to feel young again."

It's not too late to compete for the Summer Impact Grant, click here for details!

Projects are already starting to fill up fast. Don't be left out. Click here to sign up today!