AmeriCorps Week is March 10th-18th this year. We honor the hard work of service Corps members in our communities. I asked local AmeriCorps Volunteers in Services to America (VISTA) members to write about their experience doing a year of service building capacity and fighting poverty at local non-profit agencies. Below Jessy Wei shares her story of service as AmeriCorps VISTA at Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.  She is the last in a series of VISTAs to share their story this week. For more information about AmeriCorp programs go to http://www.americorps.gov or check out my SacPress article from March 9th titled "AmeriCorps Works". As a current VISTA at the Sacramento Food Bank & Fam

Starting Feb. 20 and running through Sunday, community members can turn their dinners out on the town into a battle against hunger in the Sacramento region. The Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services and the Sacramento Press joined forces to host the inaugural Eat to Feed the Hungry, which features 15 Sacramento restaurants, cafes and bars. Using social media, community members can “check in” at one of the sponsoring businesses using Facebook of Foursquare, and then order food and drinks. For every participant who checks in, the business will donate $1 to the SFBFS. If people check in with a photo, the businesses will double their donation, with a cap of $500 per business. Sacramento

Two years ago, Camellia Waldorf School’s Winter Faire was hit by something unexpected: rain. It flooded the parking lots, turned a dry creek into a creek and threatened the good spirits of the day. Participants shifted into the school for cover, while vendors put up their canopies and served hot chocolate and soup. Despite the rain, it was one of the busiest fairs that school has hosted, with reportedly 1,000 visitors. “It didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s feelings,” event co-chair Sarah Rucker said. “It’s a reflection of the norm at Waldorf School. If it were snowing, we’d still have a blast.” This year, the Winter Faire began under a cloudless sky on Saturday, December 10th, on the school

You’ve taken some great photos from the Run To Feed the Hungry race and now you want to share them. How do you upload them on our site? Below we’ll show you how to do it. Requirements: iPhone with iOS 3 or higher Android phone Have a Facebook account For iPhone users you can simply download the app at the iTunes store. For Android users simply launch the Android Market on your device then search for "LiveShare" in the Android Market and install it, it’s free! Once you have the app you can use your Facebook credentials to login. Then simply select The Run to Feed the Hungry event, which will pop up under Nov. 25 events. You will see a live gallery of pictures that everyone else at

On Thursday, Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services (SFBFS) broke new ground on its 22,000-square-foot space, which will be home to a new education center, urban farm and children’s recreational area. The building is expected to be completed in Fall 2011. “(It’s) all about compassion, kindness for people. That's it,” said Father Dan Madigan, Founder of SFBFS. The education center will include expanded adult education, a computer clubhouse, youth academy, “PlayCare” and mother-baby programs. It will be a resource for the unemployed and dislocated workers in the community to receive job skills training and computer education. The urban farm will be 5,000 square feet. “(It’s) less abou

Watch the action that took place during the second annual Race for the Rock on June 5, which benefited the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Participants pedaled, scooted and wheeled their way through Downtown Sacramento guided by text message-based clues in search of over $35,000 in prizes.     Thanks to everyone who participated and made Race for the Rock 2010 a huge success!

Downtown Sacramento was a blur of baby blue T-shirts Saturday during the 2nd Annual Race for the Rock. More than 250 two-member teams competed for bling in the scavenger hunt, in which clues were sent via text message. The grand prize was a $20,000 Hearts on Fire diamond ring donated by Rogers Jewelry. Proceeds benefited Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services (SFBFS). Unlike many other nonprofit fund raisers, donors got the ball rolling, not the charity. "We wanted to do something that brought the community together and where people could have a good time," said Calvin Curtin of Rogers Jewelry. After deciding to do a scavenger hunt, Rogers chose SFBFS as its community partner. "We tol

The second Race for the Rock, benefitting Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, will take place on June 5. Participants will pedal, scoot and wheel their way through downtown Sacramento guided by text message-based clues in search of over $35,000 in prizes, provided by Rogers Jewelery Co. Each week leading up to the event, we will interview someone who is involved in the race to find out who their "rock" is. Interview with: Genevieve Deignan, Saca Community Learning Center Director, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services Who is your "rock" and why? I had a hard time coming up with just 1 person. My friends, coworkers, boyfriend and family, and my cat, Buster, constantly support me in e

The second Race for the Rock, benefitting Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, will take place on June 5. Participants will pedal, scoot and wheel their way through downtown Sacramento guided by text message-based clues in search of over $35,000 in prizes, provided by Rogers Jewelery Co. Each week leading up to the event, we will interview someone who is involved in the race to find out who their "rock" is. Interview with Roxanne Tursi, volunteer for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services A little about Roxanne: Roxanne is originally from the Bay Area, attended University of the Pacific and now resides in Sacramento. She is currently an Administrative Assistant for a Commercial Constr

The second Race for the Rock, benefitting Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, will take place on June 5. Participants will pedal, scoot and wheel their way through downtown Sacramento guided by text message-based clues in search of over $35,000 in prizes, provided by Rogers Jewelery Co. Each week leading up to the event, we will interview someone who is involved in the race to find out who their "rock" is. Interview with Linda Meyers, mentor/tutor at the SFBFS Intel Computer Clubhouse A little about Linda: I retired "early" from my job as an adminstrator for the UC Davis Health System to obtain a teaching credential. For the past 10 years I have worked as a subsitute teacher at Sierr

Run to Feed the Hungry 2009 Race Zones/Areas   How Do I Exit My Neighborhood During Our Race? We encourage you to avoid driving in your neighborhood between 8:40 am – 10:20 am. If you must drive, please allow us to provide you with the following instructions so that you may safely and efficiently leave your neighborhood. Area 1 – Use “D” Street and head to the corner of 39th St & McKinley Blvd. A police officer will guide you across McKinley Blvd. to “C” Street once there is a gap in runners. Take a left turn, only, once you reach “C” Street. (Note: runners will arrive at the corner of 39th & McKinley Blvd. at approximately 9:05am). Area 2 – Take “H” St. to 36th Street. Go right – no