Ninety-six women donated 133 stockings and 150 gifts through United Way’s Women in Philanthropy so 183 local foster youth, and those emancipated, would have holiday wishes fulfilled. Fifty foster youth in Sacramento County’s Gifts From The Heart program received the holiday gifts they requested. United Way’s Women in Philanthropy and community members also filled stockings for 133 current and emancipated foster youth with United Way’s $en$e-Ability project funded partners: Amador-Tuolumne Community Resources, Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento, Koinonia Family Services and New Morning Youth and Family Services. “Some of these kids are scared, suddenly removed from their homes du

Huggies delivered 100,000 diapers to the Lighthouse Counseling & Family Resource Center today as part of Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign to help families in need. One-in-three American families struggle with the ability to provide their children with an essential need – clean, dry diapers. To help address this issue, Huggies brand announced the launch of The National Diaper Bank Network. As the Founding Sponsor of the National Diaper Bank Network, Huggies Every Little Bottom is organizing “12 Days of Thanks,” a cross country tour where the brand will donate 12 million diapers in 12 cities over a 12-day period – including Sacramento. Angela Ponivas, Executive Director of Lighthouse

United Way California Capital Region will make grants totaling $1,168,008 to 13 local nonprofits, United Way president and CEO Steve Heath announced today. Funded partners serve people across Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties and participate in United Way’s projects: STAR Readers, $en$e-Ability and Fit Kids. “All of our funded partners have proven their incredible abilities to produce profound change in our community,” Heath said. “They know how to achieve measurable outcomes on important issues, and we’re excited to see what they do in the very important areas of children’s education, financial literacy and childhood obesity.” United Way’s STAR Readers project is w

When City Council members approved the 2011-12 budget in June, they said that the city’s community centers would not be closed – but the centers won’t receive any city funding to keep them open, either. Now, a team of people at the city’s Neighborhood Services Department, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation, are trying to keep the 15 community centers in Sacramento open by partnering with nonprofit and community-based organizations. Late last year, Neighborhood Services had already begun looking for ways to make the idea work when it sent out “requests for proposals” seeking groups interested in overseeing the centers and providing the financial backing needed to operate th

Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association recently raised nearly $65,000 at their second Building Up Breakfast in one-time donations and multi-year pledges. As expected, attendance was higher this year than at the inaugural event in 2010. Thanks to the sponsors, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Roseville Bank of Commerce, Sierra Health Foundation and Vital Networks, the nonprofit will be able to use all the money donated by individuals for programs, services and operations Mutual Housing develops and operates well-designed rental housing for modest-income households in Sacramento and Yolo counties. The communities are home to some 2,600 residents, nearly half of whom are ch

I live in the ‘burbs and I can get to feeling pretty isolated from my neighbors. Okay, I have that feeling a lot of the time. It’s mostly my own fault – I don’t always make the effort because I’m kinda shy and different… I don’t always know where to start. Give me the right setting and a reason to chat, well that definitely helps. I’ve discovered one such setting and no, it’s not a support group (though I could probably use one of those). It’s a new shop near El Camino and Fulton called Chic for Change. Teshala Paradiso, who everyone calls “Tesh,” is working to realize a vision that came to her during a year-long turn with a very serious illness. She described how on one particularly bad

The start of a new school year is daunting enough for homeless children without adding the stigma of sitting down to a desk without the essential tools many of their classmates may take for granted. Volunteers of America’s Operation Backpack, which continues through July 23, aims to boost the confidence of Sacramento-area youth in need by providing new backpacks and school supplies to help them achieve academic excellence in spite of their frequently precarious living situations. The sixth-annual community drive invites the public to support these children and their families by bringing a new backpack filled with fresh school supplies to one of the more than 130 Operation Backpack drop-o

Every time I eat rice now, I've become 13 again on a tiny fishing boat, bounding on the choppy green swells of the South China Sea. I was terribly nauseated, light-headed and felt quite limp sitting on the uneven surface of fishing nets. They felt damp, ropey, and stringy on my boney buns. My stomach felt mossy green, my throat overloaded with anxiety, big fat tears poised behind my weary eyeballs and anytime now everything could all scream out to match the roar of the wind, the tempestuous ocean. But neither tears nor screams came because survival was paramount. My mother hydrated the rice in a heavy-gauge plastic bag with hot water, and within minutes we had rice in bowls that we passe

Sharon Gerber has been planning nonprofit fundraising events in Sacramento for more than five years. And she's never experienced such a challenging climate for giving. She started her business, Six Degreez, after working as a community development manager for Wells Fargo. Gerber knew she could make more money if she arranged events for corporations. But she chose to work with local charitable organizations after becoming aware of the great need there. "My passion, my heart, goes out to the nonprofit sector," she said. "That's where I feel like I can have the most impact on this community. And it makes me feel good at the end of the day." Since then, Gerber has developed signature event

MAAP, Inc. is pleased to announce that Arturo Venegas, Jr. was recently appointed as a new member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Mr. Venegas served as Chief of Police for over 10 years in Sacramento and for more than 23 years in various positions from Cadet to Deputy Chief in Fresno, California. A recipient of the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service and Achievement from the US Army, he is a Life Member of the 101st Airborne Division Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Mr. Venegas has also received numerous achievement awards including the notable “Newsmaker of the Year” award from Al Dia Newspaper in Philadelphia, is a Past National President of the Hi

  MAAP, Inc. is pleased to announce that Marco Rodriguez has recently taken the position of Board President. Mr. Rodriguez began his business career in 1991 with Principal Financial Group where he continues as Managing Director and Financial Advisor. His primary practice includes creating financial investment strategies for individual clients and small to midsize businesses to assist them with asset accumulation and wealth preservation. He has received numerous achievement awards including the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), is a member of National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD), Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), and a graduate of the Life U

Sacramento’s Alchemist Community Development Corporation hosted a party and fundraiser to mark its fifth anniversary Thursday evening, and veggies never seemed so cool. At “Cinco de Alchemist,” about 150 guests enjoyed delightful offerings from local restaurants Mulvaney’s B&L, The Waterboy, Taylor’s Market, Magpie Caterers, Mikuni and more. Live music by Caribbean Jazz and Musical Charis complemented the celebratory mood. Alchemist CDC was founded in 2004 by Wendy Carter, Lisa Nelson and Chris Aguirre to promote equitable community development in Sacramento. The nonprofit group believes that the overall health of the region depends on the health of urban centers, and they are currently

I'm the first Community Editor for The Sacramento Press, but my full time work is in the social services. I have the sometimes heartbreaking opportunity to learn the intimate details of people's lives- particularly their financial lives. Did you know there are people living in Sacramento who are not at all equipped to weather any hardship? For example, I routinely help people who have an income of $800 a month, and their rent is $500. And they just had a joint replaced at 73 years old. Or they need an anti-biotic that is not covered by Medi-Cal. So they can't pay SMUD this month. And then next month SMUD's $40 instead of $20, and with last month's problems and getting behind....and you cou