* The Morgan Autism Center, located in San Jose, is a non-profit special education program for children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Founded in 1969 the center provides a very positive highly structured environment with a high staff to student ratio.

* Morgan Autism Center 40th Anniversary Celebration Starry Starry Night

A Cocktail & Hors d’oeuvre Reception with a special performance by the dynamic band SAGE – (< music will play)
A fun-filled evening of fine wines, champagnes and culinary delicacies.

Event Co-Chairs: Helen Marchese Owen & Angela McConnell
Honorary Co-Chairs:
Mayor Chuck Reed, City of San Jose
Supervisor Elizabeth Kniss, Santa Clara County

$100 per person – Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Cocktail Attire preferred.
Raffle Tickets Available: 1 for $10, 3 for $20, 8 for $50

* Tap To Talk
Cupertino based Assistyx has developed a communication device:

Regardless of cause–autism, developmental disability, mental retardation, down syndrome, apraxia, and many diseases–TapToTalk can help those who are non-verbal or have other speech or learning challenges communicate and learn.

TapToTalk

facebook

twitter

YouTube

"Luann"

Open the San Jose Mercury News Thursday morning and go straight to the comics.

Greg Evans has created a special “Luann” about “Books For Treats“.

10/29/09
San Jose Mercury New
Comics – “Luann”

Second Chance Day is a donation drive hosted by the Town of Los Gatos this Saturday October 10 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Your donations (clean and in good condition) will be given to Saint Luke’s Church Pantry Program, Emergency Housing Consortium Lifebuilders, InnVision, Career Closet, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence and the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. These are local agencies within Santa Clara County.

Accepted donations in men, women and children sizes include: sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, coats, raincoats, wind breakers, jeans, and sweatpants.

The donations of towels and blankets go to help animals housed in the Humane Society of Silicon Valley in Milpitas.

Donated eyeglasses will go to the Los Gatos Lions Club’s “Lions in Sight” program, which donates refurbished glasses to people in third world countries. Prescription eyeglasses and UV protected sunglasses, non-prescription UV-protected sunglasses, along with non-prescription reading glasses are accepted.

Los Gatos Neighborhood Center
208 East Main Street, Los Gatos

Saturday October 10, 2009
9:00 am – 3:00 pm

"Give Brain Candy. Feed Kids' Minds, Not Their Cavities."

With the sight of fallen brownish yellow leaves on the lawn, the next step will be the sound of the doorbell and shouts of Trick-or-Treat.

Rebecca Morgan is one Willow Glen resident who believes Halloween is the perfect opportunity to encourage reading. So much so that she began the Willow Glen based program “Books For Treats“.

Rebecca can’t pull this off all by herself. She needs our help:

* Wed., Oct. 28 — pick up 2 pallets of books from our storage area near Spartan Stadium and deliver them to the Diabetes Society, 3rd floor, Garden Theater. You’ll need a truck and a few people who can lift boxes of books onto hand trucks. There’s an elevator in the Garden Theater. (Great project for the Boy Scouts!)

* Thurs., Oct. 29 10-noon — Sort books into reading levels. (Wear comfortable clothes.) Diabetes Society, 3rd floor, Garden Theater. This is always fun as you get to see great children’s books and get to know other volunteers.

* Fri., Oct. 30, 9:00-noon, 1:30-4:30 — Lincoln Ave. Garden Theater portico. Set up and staff Books For Treats tables during Lincoln Ave. trick-or-treating. We’ll be giving books from 10:00-12:00 for pre-school children, and 2:00-4:00 for grades K-6, until books are gone. We need to set up tables, banners, and books from 9:00-10, then at the end of the day we need to clean up and pack up. We have been told Council member Pierluigi Oliverio will help us pass out books. This is always a wonderful experience, seeing the kids’ (and their parents’) faces light up when they get a book!

More:

* If you have sources of gently read children’s books, especially from baby through second grade, please contact them and see if they will donate. Email Rebecca directly for a drop-off point near Minnesota and Newport.

* You can buy gently read children’s books at the Oct. 24 Friends of the Willow Glen Library book sale.

* Make a monetary contribution to support her web hosting, bookmark printing, etc.

See Books For Treats for all the details.

Note: Check back here (SJMB) on the 29th of October for exciting news!

La Villa Deli - Willow Glen

Sunday the Rompacoglioni Car Crew will start their engines for the ‘Second Annual Cruise for a Cause’.

This classic ‘car cruise’ is happening September 6th – 9 AM to 3 PM on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Willow Glen.

Everyone is welcome to look at the cool cars. Please bring canned food and/or financial donations to the La Villa Deli parking lot.

Every $1 donated will help the Second Harvest Food Bank (750 Curtner Ave.) provide two nutritious meals.

The SJ Rep is helping you help the community – AND see a play!

The San Jose Repertory Theatre has always been a leader in bringing the arts to everyone and giving back to the community. This season they are taking even broader steps in this direction.

In order to help community members who cannot afford regular priced tickets to the outstanding productions held at the Rep this year, they are offering Pay What You Will Tuesdays. The first preview Tuesday for each production of San Jose Rep’s 2009-2010 season, starting with the Tuesday, September 1 production of As You Like It, will be open to all members of the community for a suggested ticket price of $10, however any amount will be accepted. In addition, a canned food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank will have food bins in the lobby hoping for your donations. In this way any member of our community can not only see an exciting new production at the SJ Rep, but they can also help Second Harvest help those who are in even greater need.

Tickets go on sale at San Jose Rep’s box office one week prior to the scheduled performance. Seating is general admission and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pay What You Will Tuesday:

• Groundswell – Tuesday, Oct. 13

• A Christmas Story – Tuesday, Nov. 24

• The Weir – Tuesday, Jan. 26

• Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Tuesday, March 16

• Sonia Flew – Tuesday, May 11.

If you don’t make it to this Tuesday’s preview of As You Like It, you can still see the production of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays at the SJ Rep from August 29 to September 27.

Sibling rivalry, royals in exile, mistaken identities, cross dressing (no kiddin’), and love at first sight, all make an appearance in this bewitching and sophisticated comedy about freeing oneself from the shackles of technology and finding oneself in nature. Really! The actors will be texting onstage, and you can too, during intermission and after the show!

Don’t miss this exciting new production. San Jose Metblogs is excited to attend the September 4 show and we will have our review up by Saturday afternoon. See you at the Rep!

As a youngster growing up in Modesto one of the highlights of summer was going to a baseball game. Mom brought a Thermos filled with ice cold Kool-Aid and dad brought the cowbell. It was my job to ring the cowbell for the home team. I rang that bell for every base hit, stolen base, runner who crossed home plate, and I gave it an extra big shake for a home run. Those were the days. The kind of days memories are made of.

Today I am ringing a ‘bell’ for a baseball game here in San Jose. The August 15th meet up between the San Jose Giants vs. the Stockton Ports will be more than just a good game, it will also be an event called “Don’t Let Cancer Steal 2nd Base”.

To help fight breast cancer please take a look at “Boobs by the Bay”

Put on your pink and make some baseball memories. Get your tickets now!

Game/Event Tickets cannot be purchased via the SJ Giants Box Office…they can only be bought directly from “Boobs by the Bay”

Payment can be made by cash, check or arranged via Paypal.

Delivery of tickets can be via snail mail, hand delivery, or even left at Will Call.

Please contact: Kerri Lodge at 408.846.4206 or check out the site click ‘Events’ to learn more, and purchase your tickets.

When: August 15th at 6 PM
Who: San Jose Giants vs. Stockton Ports
Where: San Jose Municipal Stadium
Why: To raise money for Breast Cancer

The good news is the SJ Rep has extended the run for The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  The bad news is The Rep’s carpet is completely worn out (see great news below!).  Fortunately, we have delightful news on both counts plus two new shows for the summer!  Read the announcements below and then donate some money, go see a great show, and why not have a nice dinner with Dine Downtown before the curtain goes up!

The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been extended:

Due to packed houses, overwhelming great reviews and exuberant standing ovations, The San Jose Repertory Theatre has extended the Putnam County Spelling Bee through June 14.  As we have said before, this musical production should not be missed.  It will appeal to adults and college students, and high school kids will also love it.  You don’t want to lose your last chance to see it and now The Rep has made it easier to go:  They have reserved 25 seats at every performance for the low price of $25 each.  You can purchase one or you can purchase all 25, but once they are gone they are gone.  If you miss getting that deal, you may fall into one of the below categories:

Price range: $33-$62

Students (full-time, with valid ID) - 1/2 off tickets for all performances, all seats.

Seniors (65 yrs +) and Teachers - $6 off tickets all performances, all seats.

ADA or ASL discount - $6 off your ticket and your companion’s ticket.

Subscriber Single Ticket Discounts - $6

Rush Ticket Discounts - Balcony price for that performance

By phone: 408.367.7255

Online: www.sjrep.com

By fax: 408.367.7236

In person: Rep Box Office, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose

REMINDER: The SJ Rep has received a Challenge Grant, needs your help!  

I noticed recently that the carpet at the SJ Rep is in horrible condition. Thank goodness someone else noticed too – If the SJ Rep can raise half the money through donations, they’ll receive a grant to pay for the rest of it.  Click this link for details:
The SJ Rep gets called to the carpet
UPDATE!  The Rep has already met their goal!

Two new Summer Shows: Forbidden Broadway and The Second City

Tickets on Sale June 10^th!

Forbidden Broadway opens July 7 and runs through July 12.  New York’s longest running musical comedy revue that parodies, jeers and cheers American musical theatre celebrates its record-breaking 25^th year.  This year’s special victims include the puppets of “Avenue Q,” the witches of “Wicked,” “Billy Joel’s Movin Out” and new look at old favorites such as “La Cage aux Folles,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Les Miz,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Chicago.” Rounding out the laughs are Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” Abba’s “Mamma Mia” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie;” with lots more Broadway past and present.

The Second City, running from July 14 through July 19, provides audiences with the chance to see comedy stars in the making, but they will also have the opportunity to see absolutely hilarious satire and cutting-edge improvisation.  No topic or subject matter is off limits for The Second City.  If your parents asked you not to speak about it at the dinner table, chances are it will be made fun of in an evening with The Second City.

Roy's Station - photo by Matt Bruensteiner

Your chance to save a life could happen today. Two families here in San Jose are looking for a match.

The Asian American Donor Program will be at Roy’s Station Coffee Shop. 28-year old Nick Glasgow is in need of a bone marrow transplant. He is 3/4 Caucasian and 1/4 Japanese-American. Any person of Asian and Caucasian mix can be a potential donor.

Roy’s Station
Saturday, May 30
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
197 Jackson St.
San Jose – 95112
AADP

Across town a bone marrow donor registration drive will be held by the Lincoln Glen Little League for 6-year old Mateo Kohler. Mateo was adopted from Guatemala. Though finding a match might be difficult, it should be possible here in the Bay Area.

Lincoln Glen Little League
Saturday, May 30
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
River Glen Park
Pine & Bird Aves. – Willow Glen
Be The Match

Our own San Jose Repertory Theatre is a really beautiful venue, even more so inside than out.  They also generously support our community and youth, and are a huge contributor to the Cinequest Film Festival.  San Jose would not be such a fun place to live without the Repertory Theatre.

However, upon exiting the balcony from a recent show that I attended, I happened to look down at the steps and was shocked at the condition of the carpet.  Threadbare, dull and worn, it really showed the effects of having thousands and thousands of feet walking through over the years.  It was so disappointing to see how worn it was, and it really takes away from the great beauty of the rest of the building.

So I was surprised and very happy to hear that the SJ Rep has received a Challenge Grant to remedy this exact problem!  Emeritus Board member John Michael Sobrato has pledged to pay half the cost of new carpet if The Rep can bring in the other half with contributions.  This is a very generous gift, and one I hope will not be missed.  In even more wonderful news, The Rep has already raised one third of the matching funds.  The other 2/3 must be raised by June 30, 2009, and despite their very generous regular donors, they need funds specific to this fundraising goal.

Offers as generous as this don’t come around very often.  It is my sincere hope that although we are all in some very tough times, the people of the South Bay can help pitch in to take advantage of this offer.  If you could contribute just five dollars it would be so appreciated.  If you could contribute $20 or $50 it would bring them even closer to their goal.  They only have one month to collect donations in order to receive this Challenge Grant; I hope we can all pull together and help The Rep achieve this goal.

Time is of the essence.

Please contact Development Associate Janet Herrington to make a donation to this cause.  She can be reached at 408-367-7264 or JanetH@sjrep.com.