Good Works Medicine for My Injured Hand

Have you ever regretted not stopping the car when you saw an accident? I have, but a sweet woman named Christine made made all the difference when she turned her car around on the way home from work December 27th in Salt Lake City. I am fairly athletic and coordinated, but I do trip sometimes while running. I'm writing this blog with one hand to say a big "Thanks!" to all the Christine's out there who slow down enough to perceive human need. She could see that I was not alone, but that fact did not deter her questioning, "Are you okay?" The self-sufficient side of me insisted, "Yeah, I'm okay thanks," until I pulled my hand from a deep crevice next to the sidewalk. "Wait, no, I think we need a ride."

Back at home in the Bay Area, Doctor Schneider, the hand specialist at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, described this as a "severe injury" that will take four months to heal. When I told our department at Paly that I would need some time off, an extremely generous co-worker offered to make a Costco run.  I asked for three items (embarrassed to need help), she showed up with a station-wagon full--we've been feasting for days. She would not accept reimbursement and even offered to go again. I wouldn't dream of sending her back into the traffic jam she dealt with to get here, but the gesture means everything.

In my broken, lopsided state I don't know who feels better from these acts of service and going out of one's way, these and others who have helped or myself having been a reluctant receiver of their goodness!

For the first hour, as we drove in circles looking for an urgent care clinic that didn't seem to exist on Google Maps, I had no feeling in my finger. I was sure it was severed under the thick cotton running gloves, but was elated when my husband asked if it was bleeding. "No," I said, "just dangling and I can't feel it."

Palo Alto Online : Paly students honored for community service

A Small Representation of Palo Alto High School's 162 Fall 2011 President's Award Recipients

Are there any other schools out there that run a similar program to ours at Palo Alto High School? What a cool job I have to document, verify, and share our students' service hours--with the essential help of our dynamic parent volunteers. About a third of our student body is actively involved in community service. I am so proud of our students' contributions, they make the world a better place while pursuing their interests and passions! Go Vikings, keep me smiling every day with your good works.

Palo Alto Online : Paly students honored for community service

Palo Alto High School's Service-Learning Program

• Living Skills Course (mandatory) Requirement: 15 service hours during class enrollment. Written reflection required by teacher.
• Transcript Recognition (voluntary): Minimum of 100 service hours documented by mid-September of student's Senior year. Reflection required by Career Center.
• President's Award: (PAHS is a certifying organization, sponsored by the Corporation for National & Community Service): Minimum 0f 100 service hours documented in 12 calendar months. 2 Award ceremonies, with over 200 student recipients each school year. Paly application deadlines, first Friday (school day) in October; first Friday (school day) in April. Written 1-2 page reflection required by Career Center.

Read some of our student's past reflections on service in Get Involved, Paly. Thanks to a generous grant from the Palo Alto Community Fund, the next edition is in the works.

Small Wish List Makes a Big Difference In East Palo Alto

A HOLIDAY REQUEST FROM LAUREN'S HOUSE 4 POSITIVE CHANGE:

 

My name is Monique Graves and I am the founder of, Lauren's House 4 Positive Change. We are a small nonprofit in East Palo Alto that uses the arena of education and sports to inspire and build character in the youths that Lauren's House serves.

We are looking for sponsors for our wish list:

(5) footballs, (2) basketballs (3) baby dolls (10) gift cards to Wal-Mart or Target to buy shirt and pants, (2) Scooters (5) Jamba Juice Cards and (2) Jackets (5) Games i.e.Twister, Mancala, Uno etc

 

This year Lauren's House is trying to give back to those that are less fortunate then the underprivileged youths.  The kids have been diligently working on bracelets and cards for the Seniors and Death Row inmates. For some this is the first time that they have experienced Christmas.

 

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Monique

--

Monique Graves, Chief Executive Officer

994 Beech St

East Palo Alto, CA 94303

650-630-0222

ceo@lh4pc.org

Tax I.D. 26-3809833

Website: www.lh4pc.org

 

I am Fearless
I am Awesome
I am, Lauren's House 4 Positive Change Inc.

Mission Statement:
The mission of Lauren’s House 4 Positive Change is to prepare low income and or homeless youths between the ages of 7-18 in San Mateo County for success in life. We expose our clients to educational opportunities, the arts, culture and community service to demonstrate the beauty and possibility of their lives despite hardships.

Bell Ringers and Abundance

Top: Los Altos Volunteer Bell Ringer Stephanie Tran and her young daughter. 
Bottom: Bell Ringer Keith and Saratoga High School Student Donor Patrick

Keith tells me that he is one of the paid bell ringers. His father, a volunteer bell ringer, sits on the local Salvation Army board of trustees. Keith's kettle at the Saratoga Safeway brings in about $200 per day during the holiday season. The organization provides year-round food and shelter to needy families in the community. Serendipitously, Patrick is one of my Sunday School students who took me up on the challenge to give a dollar this week--when I was interviewing Keith! Stephanie says she and her daughter volunteer for a 2-hour shift, and will be relieved by another set of volunteer holiday bell ringers outside Starbuck's in Los Altos, CA. It's a good volunteer experience for her to do with her young daughter on a sunny day.

I still take the morning newspaper, call me old-fashioned but I like to turn the pages and read--not click--at my leisure. Have you seen the Mercury News lately? The ad inserts are twice as heavy as the actual news. Holiday flyers and coupons are flung onto my driveway daily, with an extra dose on the weekends. The paper is buried somewhere, I guess that's what keeps the Knight-Ridder afloat for now. 

Years ago, as a thirty-something mom with four young children and a struggling small business, I decided the newspaper ads were causing me to feel stress that I didn't have a fraction of what was being promoted and my needs were growing faster than my bank account. At one point, sitting on my tattered blue sofa in a sparse living room in Salt Lake City I took my pile of inserts--with their money-saving coupons--and ditched them into the garbage. I never looked back and haven't missed their annoying presence as a reminder of all I don't have. 

The truth is, I have everything I need, as most of us do without realizing. It's the spirit of Abundance. Three years ago, shopping for Christmas gifts I walked from the parking lot toward Nordstrom. I found myself avoiding the Salvation Army bell ringer near the front door. While searching the store for something special I could hear the little bell constantly ringing outside, a faint accompaniment to the in-house pianist playing carols near the escalator. It was like a scene from "It's a Wonderful Life," trying not to hear the sound as it reached a crescendo in my heart and mind. 


Instead of buying a sixty-dollar gift that day, I spent thirty and then made a personal vow: To live in the spirit of abundance every holiday season, I would continue to avoid those pesky newspaper ads and instead I would give a single dollar bill to every Salvation Army bell ringer I encountered. I would not allow myself to shy away and take the other entrance, nor make excuses of how this might break the bank. Adding it up that first holiday season I gave just about $30 to the bell ringers, a dollar at a time and totaling no more than I would have spent on the gift I was shopping for that day. I don't remember who received the $30 gift instead of a $60 dollar one, and I'm sure they can't remember what I gave. But I know how incredibly blessed I felt by sharing my relative abundance with an organization that does much good for the truly needy in the community. It's my own little Christmas-time tradition, a reminder that we do have everything we need and by not over-consuming we can give to those with more pressing needs than what those glossy holiday advertisements would have us believe. 

Looking for fun ways to share your abundance this holiday?

Check these out!

Salvation Army Christmas Kettles: Aid for Needy Families, Seniors, & Homeless  

Help Children and Families: Give to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund 

Help a Needy Child Provide Gifts for His or Her Own Family with Sunday Friends 

Fulfill a Child's Wish This Christmas with Family Giving Tree 

 San Jose Mercury News Wishbook 2011: To aid 25 deserving individuals & agencies

Give the Gift of Reading this holiday season: RAFT, Resource Area for Teachers Book Drive 

Help Local Families in Need (Goal $100K)
Christmas Bureau of Palo Alto:
P.O. Box 51874
Palo Alto, CA 94303
 

Cycling for a Cause

Palo Alto High School Students Pass Beads to Lap Walkers

Paly Student Volunteers + Mom Linda Serve Breakfast 

 Volunteer Benefit: A Cool Shirt!

Can You See Him? That's Greg LeMond! Rider/Fundraisers got to ride with the 3-time Tour de France winner

I'm a little naive when it comes to historical events such as the Tour de France. In the late summer of 1971 my dad, Carl Steffens, returned from a Fairchild business trip to Europe all fired up about some big bike race called the "tour-de-something," I recall. He couldn't stop talking about it, showing us photos and other memorabilia--a canvas cycling hat among his precious souvenirs. 

All I cared about was that my dad was not around to share the end of summer, and I tried to understand his reasoning about work and such. Knowing how he loved to play, I'm sure he scheduled lots of meetings around the stages of the race. The only consolation for an almost ten-year-old girl missing her father was the fact that he had special-ordered for me and my brother two Peugeot mini-ten-speed bikes. Mine was white and Bud's was yellow.


I found freedom on my new bike as a young girl in Los Altos Hills, and of course it was a different time. A little kid could ride for miles without supervision and nobody would ask questions. My brother and I rode ourselves to parent-mandated tennis lessons after school, I rode myself to the orthodontist nearly three miles away, across the busy Foothill Expressway. My best friend Roni and I rode--she on her Schwinn banana seat--to what was then Don's Ice Cream Parlor at Loyola Corners. Since my dad was gone a lot and my mom had been raised by very liberal parents, there was no concern about where we went on our bikes as long as we were home by dinnertime or dark, whichever came first. Sometimes, for special outings Dad would load up his Ford LTD--somehow--with his bike and our smaller versions for a trip to Golden Gate park, where we could ride for hours on a Sunday with no interruptions from traffic. It was pure and simple pleasure, with little expense!


Since those idyllic days as a mini-cyclist in the foothills of Los Altos, and later in high school riding back and forth from home to Stanford University "just for fun," my motivation for cycling has changed. My friend Sally recently challenged me to keep up with her on a century ride (100 miles) in San Luis Obispo. She had the luxury of training with friends in San Diego, and I merely prayed to keep up with them on the coastal ride. My husband also encourages me to find a niche by cycling near my new neighborhood, just around the ridge from that familiar Los Altos hillside. If my dad were still alive, I'm sure he would love to tease me into joining a women's group to race with a peloton. But I am happiest spinning at my own pace through the hills, without an agenda and thinking of that little Peugeot. 



Cycling doesn't have to be a competitive sport, and thanks to a group ride coming to Palo Alto this weekend anyone can feel the joy of speed, banking curves, and grueling climbs. A "Gran Fondo," I learned from one of the Echelon organizers, means a "big ride" in Italian. To celebrate the sport and to raise awareness and funds for seventeen local charities, more than 500 cyclists will ride the hills from the city to Skyline, the ridge overlooking the ocean and back. Community members are invited to both volunteer with the event and to ride in the fundraiser. Different levels of giving are designated by jersey colors. Palo Alto High School student volunteers are happily working with the race organizers to provide a seamless event, of course the incentive of food and a free t-shirt does help! As I work with our students behind the scenes at the downtown Challenge this weekend, wishing I were in shape to at least ride the 60-mile route, I will think of my dad who passed away long before my high school years. I'll thank his passionate spirit for sharing the pleasure of cycling just for fun!

Make a Difference with Sports and Cycling
Check out the Echelon Gran Fondo Charity Ride

http://www.echelongranfondo.org/palo_alto/

Serving the Community: Literacy

My granddaughter is turning one year old, and we had to make sure she had a copy of Goodnight Moon to help her fall asleep at night. As we browsed for the Margaret Wise Brown staple with the engaging mouse in Dolly's Bookstore in Park City, Utah I was warmly reminded of visiting that shop as a teenager on vacation, and even more of my mother reading picture books to me as a young child. My father was on a career fast-track in those days with Fairchild National Semiconductor so he was transferred almost yearly, sometimes leaving us with no immediately available housing. As we awaited permanent homes in places like Portland, Maine or Manhattan Beach, California, the company would often put us up in a very nice hotel.

As cooped up young children we drove my mom crazy, but she patiently read to us from our favorites--over, and over, and over. Curious George, Madeline, Ferdinand, The Little House, Mike Mulligan, and others became our constant friends as we anticipated a new neighborhood and the ensuing changes and uncertainty. We eventually progressed to Wind in the Willows and then reading on our own. The voracious reader that my mom is, I'm sure she was relieved when she was finally able to resume making her own literary choices. Young children can read the same book many times and still find magic in the story. Even though she's progressed to chapter books, my stepdaughter Taryn can be heard reciting King Bidgood to her pretend class as she "teaches" them after school. We discovered even young adults and older children still enjoy revisiting those classics, as we presented Braelyn with her copy of Goodnight Moon to the delight of her parents.

One passionate student at Paly, was caught doing good while enjoying her old favorite at the end of the school year, while other teens were talking about summer plans or signing yearbooks in the library. Virginia caught my eye as she casually read aloud a Dr. Suess book near the librarians' desk. I knew she must have some affiliation with my friend Cathy's group who make videos of books for her literacy initiative in China. She told me she was a part of that, and she didn't mind posing for this photo to help more young people see how easy it is to get involved. Apple Tree Library Foundation's mission statement reads: "To promote reading and build English language capacity in China, through public or private US/China collaborations to establish public children's libraries."

When we moved this summer, I had a hard time parting with some of my childrens' classics and boxed up a few for Braelyn. Others will remain on the bookshelf for me to read to visiting young children and future grandchildren. That still leaves a few boxes of sweet stories to share with others, from the richly illustrated classics of Audrey and Don Wood, to the first-grade favorite The Boxcar Children. It will be easy to spread them around because of some highly efficient book donation programs in the Bay Area such as The Children's Book Project, sponsored by KOIT Radio (donate in August and September at Metro PCS) and Books for Charity, with countless donation bins in grocery store parking lots.

My mom inspired a love of reading during those weeks of my childhood in high-end hotels, waiting for our new home to be ready. My little granddaughter reminds me of the joy I later found in reading to my own children, including her mom who is now a passionate lover of literature. Grass roots initiatives and relatively new nonprofit organizations promote literacy by gathering donations and distributing to those who crave more stories. By sharing our abundance of children's books, we can promote literacy in our own community and the communities of our friends. Thanks to Cathy's charity which teaches English to children through books by networking American libraries and initiatives abroad, we can now even do good works in China!

• http://www.appletreelibrary.org/getinvolved_new.html
• http://www.childrensbookproject.org/organize-a-book-drive
• http://www.koit.com/pages/5057288.php
• http://www.booksforcharity.org/
  

Chocolate Chip Service

Today was about the most disappointing day I can remember, as I went back to work and found my entire office boxed and piled in the hallway of the school. We have run out of room, and with new hires and reorganization of space I am being moved into an already too noisy office with three other people. School starts in a few days, so custodians were scrambling to put us back together. "Time to go slowly," I thought, as nerves began to rattle. I did what I could to get the project moving along, knowing it's simply not enough space for all of our duties, then I forced myself to leave and enjoy one last summer weekend with my family. Thank goodness we already planned to go to the beach tomorrow--the soothing sound of waves will help me sort through challenges for the year ahead.

Sometimes I have resorted to retail therapy, but more often when things have been stressful and I'm on overload I choose one of three remedies: exercising in fresh air, blogging about community service, or baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. On the drive home today, watching the traffic back up on Highway 85 I knew this would be a night for all of the above. I arrived home with a sixteen-ounce bag of See's semi-sweet extra-large chips on stand-by, and relaxed reading the newspaper until falling asleep for a few minutes. Then I woke up ready to burn the last hours of daylight on my feel-good quest. I'll run off the calories this evening after chomping on some dough and a few of the silky chocolate chips. Now, the cookies are ready to go, made with fresh butter, whole-wheat pastry flour and lots of t.l.c. My step-daughter Taryn was entertained by making mounds with an ice cream scoop for our Mrs. Field's sized treats, and now we are ready for the service part. Tomorrow half our batch will be delivered to Lisa, the hardest-working single mom we know. We get the joy of baking, and the pleasure of sharing our craft. Nothing does "good work" as well as a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies for someone else on a Saturday morning, and come Monday maybe my woes at work will seem less significant. I'll be sure to take some cookies along, just in case!

Interested in Service by Cookies and Baking? Try these fun ways to share your passion

• Host a bake sale for your favorite charity, donate the proceeds. Better yet, host a yard sale combined with a bake sale for charity. You're bound to get lots of traffic for a cause, and you get to donate the cash at the end.
• Bake cookies or other treats for a family shelter in your community. Our church youth group discovered at the San Jose "Loaves and Fishes" kitchen back in December, "nothing beats homemade!"
• Bake cookies and/or bread, and take a pot of soup to your local Ronald McDonald House. Call to schedule day and time when your service is most needed.
  

Bina's Favorite Recipe for Chocolate Chip Service
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. fresh butter (salted)
1 t. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 1/2 c. regular rolled oats
1 pkg. See's chocolate chips

1. Mix sugar and butter until just creamy, then mix in vanilla and eggs.
2. Stir together flour, salt, and soda, then mix into above ingredients.
3. Stir in oats and chips.
   
4. Drop by scooper or tablespoon onto cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray.
5. Bake cookies for approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees, until bottoms begin to turn golden brown. Remove immediately from sheet onto paper towels or racks to cool.
   
6. Keep in airtight container and share liberally, they are addicting!