I know many of you are probably getting into the holiday season. San Jose (and I’m sure other cities) have had holiday decorations up around town for a couple of weeks now. In downtown San Jose, you can already go ice skating, and the tree lighting ceremony will be Nov. 28 at Christmas in the Park. (More info on that here). And I’m sure holiday festivities are starting around the South Bay each day.

But I have to admit, I’m becoming somewhat of a humbug. It started two years ago, actually. All the stress of buying gifts for people seemed futile. The people I was buying for didn’t need anything. I didn’t want anything from them, except maybe some time to spend together over dinner or drinks. So last year I decided - no gifts. Instead, I would be giving my precious (and few) hard-earned dollars to those who needed it. Did my friends and family miss the presents? Not one bit. Especially when I told my mom, who works for the Girl Scouts, that I was donating money to her organization. And I told my pet-loving friend I’d be donating to the local SPCA. They didn’t mind one bit.

Call me Charlie Brown, but the holidays have become so focused on presents, that I’m afraid people are forgetting about those who will be the coldest, the hungriest this season.

Now more than ever we need to keep those less fortunate in mind. We’re facing an economic “recession” (a euphemism, I’m convinced), and the local foodbanks will be seeing more hungry, hopeful faces this holiday season than they’ve seen in a few decades.

As a board member of a local nonprofit, I can tell you firsthand that charities are hurting. They’ve been hurting for the last couple of winters, but this year is bad. People are scared, and are grabbing that wallet tight - for good reason. But we can’t forget that our neighbors need our help. Even if it’s $20, or 10 cans of food.

To raise awareness that charities need your help, the Silicon Valley Open Arms Coalition was created by local funders and nonprofits. The website gives several ways for people to contribute this holiday season, depending on which organization they’d like to support. Some of the nonprofits involved are First 5, Second Harvest Food Bank, Sobrato Family Foundation, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, and The Health Trust.

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The season of giving is upon us, and as a board member of a local charity, I have to spread the news!

Local nonprofit Second Harvest Food Bank has kicked off its annual food and fund drive. Spokesperson Lynn Crocker says they hope to surpass last year’s cash intake of $6.7 million. Between now and the middle of January, the organization hopes to raise $8 million in cash and 1.7 million pounds of food.

Crocker says the economic downturn, layoffs, and high food prices have resulted in an unprecedented number of people seeking food assistance, many for the very first time. For more information about the food drive and giveaway, please visit their website.

Second Harvest is one of the largest food banks in the county, but it’s not the only place people rely on for food during their holidays, so let’s spread the love! Here are a few other charities looking for some support this season, so they can keep on giving.

• Milpitas Food Pantry

• Sacred Heart Community Services
  

• Salvation Army
  

• Cupertino Community Services
  

And of course, my post wouldn’t be complete without a plug for my own charity - TurningWheels for Kids! Our San Jose-based charity raises money throughout the year to buy new bikes for local underprivileged children in Santa Clara County. Each December, our bikes are assembled by hundreds of volunteers and distributed to the kids in the community who need them most. Last year we assembled and distributed more than 2,000 bikes, and we hope to do the same this year. Bikes are important to kids for many reasons - the main two being health and responsibility. We love promoting healthy lifestyles among our youth, and we need your help! Just as other charities in the county, we’re experiencing higher costs and need more donations than normal. For more information about our charity, please visit the TurningWheels for Kids website . Our organization was built on $10 donations, and we still love them!

More than 2,000 bikes were assembled and distributed to children's charities just before the December holidays. TurningWheels is a local nonprofit organization that is run 100 percent by volunteers.

Here’s an update!

The video has more info than just the text so make sure you watch it. What a lose-lose situation. I can’t believe the city of San Jose has to choose between owls and cats.

So I’ve long been obsessed with horses.

As a kid, we’re talking pony rides at events, trail riding on family vacations, the Saddle Club, and My Little Pony. Forget Barbie Dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, give me a horse plushie any day. As an adult, I am embarrassed to admit that I chose Wells Fargo as my bank because they have horses in their ads (and a very cute horse plushie). Basically, I am as horse crazy as an urban/suburban gal can get.

Now that I’m older (and more importantly, have my own source of discretionary income to spend) I try as often as I can to go riding short of buying my own horse (not THAT much discretionary income just yet).

So to celebrate this wonderful obsession of mine, I thought I’d do a round-up of bay area horseback riding locales:

Garrod Farms Stables: [Saratoga] This is a nice big stable. Very fine and right next to a vineyard. They offer trail riding up the mountains where you can see spectacular views–even a bit of San Francisco on a clear day. They offer western and english style for $30-$35 per group lesson. Each lesson is an hour, and they’ll have the horses all saddled up for you so you get to ride the full hour. Very casual atmosphere though I thought the instructor did more talking than instructing sometimes. Still, this was the very first time I got to play groups games while on horseback and went out for drinks with classmates for the holidays. I actually felt like I could bond with my classmates and teacher. And dude, they even offer vaulting lessons!!!! (think gymnastics on a horse’s back!!)

Sea Horse Ranch: [Half Moon Bay] I only do their early bird special. $45 for a two hour ride on trail and beach. I’m not talking about nose to butt trail rides either as they often have groups of 30-40 people riding at the same time. Once you’re on the beach, you’ll get to canter/lope as you please. One of my favorite places to ride on the weekend, and I have a favorite horse (Grumpy!!!). Lots of new riders and tourists with a few more experienced folks sprinkled in. I wrote a way long post on Yelp here.

Hampton Place Stables: [San Jose] Very tiny and hard to find but a wonderful place for rescue horses to go. They take in horses that have been mentally and physically abused and rehabilitate them. I don’t have too much else to say about them because I only managed to volunteer once before we moved out of San Jose. I spent the afternoon grooming horses there. I noticed lessons going on so if you live in San Jose, check these guys out. I doubt their lesson fee is too expensive, and your money will go to a great cause.

3K9 Ranch: [Sunol] I’m currently taking western lessons here, and I wholeheartedly recommend this place to anyone who wants to learn to become a better rider. This is a small establishment and is privately owned by a family who lives on site. This means for the price of a group lesson elsewhere, you get a private lesson on horses that the owners ride competitively at local competitions. No lifeless school horses here. Lessons are $40 for an hour and a half, and if you have time, you can stay longer too!! I got to drive an atv dummy cow, learn how to rope, and herd cattle too. The only downside for some people is that he is not always available every week for lessons. For me, this just means I get to go ride at Sea Horse Ranch so it works for me.

Did I miss anything? Here’s a great website that’ll give you a list of all the possible places you could ever hope to ride at in the bay area.

Photo Credit: From Garrod Farms Website

Town Cats recently took in 30+ cats from a home in Morgan Hill. Thanks to many new fosters and volunteers, all the cats are doing well, and Town Cats have been kept busy trying to find new homes for all of them.

Unfortunately, a rescuer’s work is never done. A local ranch in San Jose that has been the home for 80+ cats will be demolished soon. The city won’t allow ferals to be neutered and returned (for more information on the TNR process, check this article out) AND beginning Oct 3rd, any cats seen on that property will be trapped and killed.

Visit the Town Cat’s website and help them out! They’ll update their website soon but at the moment, they need fosters, volunteers, and folks to write letters to the city council. Most of these cats have been there for years as local residents just dump them there. (Don’t even get me started on that…)

What’s great about Town Cats is that they are a no-kill shelter and rescue group. Please support them!

Everyone, if you have a spare bathroom, garage, bedroom, etc. and you can foster a cat or two or three, please send an email to towncats@garlic.com as soon as possible.

Animal Control was called to a home in Morgan Hill where there are around 100 cats/kittens. All are healthy and happy but need a place to stay immediately. The cats will be taken from the home this coming week, and have no where to go. If Town Cats can’t find room for them all, I don’t know what will happen.

If you can’t foster, Town Cats still needs help at their already very full shelter. Please visit www.towncats.org for more information.

This morning I joined about 6 other volunteers to work on the restoration project at the historic water fountain in central San Jose’s Backesto Park. This work is being done by the Friends of Backesto Park, a subcommittee of the North 13th Street Neighborhood Advisory Committee.
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Donating blood was not on my to do list this weekend until I was notified that the Stanford Bloodmobile would be near my home. It will not take long and it does not hurt, so I am willing to do my part. The staff will ask me the required questions: If I am taking any medications, (I will not have Aspirin in my system) have I had a recent body piercing, electrolysis, or tattoos etc. (Not likely) I won’t be offended when I am quizzed about just how wild my sex life might be. (Not to worry) They will take my temperature and check my blood pressure. I will not show up if I feel like I am coming down with a bug. After the procedure I will enjoy juice & cookies, and receive a $15 gift certificate for Sports Basement.

Washington Mutual Bank, 1402 Lincoln Ave - Willow Glen (the bank on the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues)

July 20, 2008

10:00 AM- 2:00 PM

This weekend is the 13th Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Athletes from throughout Northern California will compete in aquatics, track & field, bocce, tennis and volleyball. Athletes trained for 6-8 weeks and then participated in a regional competition to qualify for the Summer Games.

A short list of events includes Aquatics: assisted swim, flotation race, individual medley, and relays; Track & Field: running & walking events, high jump, running long jump, standing long jump, softball throw, tennis ball throw; and wheel chair events.

Bocce is played with one small ball and eight larger balls, four for each team. The small ball is thrown first becoming the target. Then each larger ball is thrown with the goal of placing it as close to the small ball as possible. The 4-person team competition for bocce will take place at Martinez Waterfront Park.

On Friday evening, there will be an Opening Ceremonies that will include the traditional parade of athletes and the lighting of the Special Olympics Caldron.

Volunteers are a very important part of Special Olympics throughout the year. During the Summer Games, there will be more than 300 coaches accompanying the athletes and another 1,300 individuals will help at one of the five venues hosting a competition.

Schedule, maps and parking here.

Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games
University of California, Berkeley and Martinez Waterfront Park

Friday, June 6 - 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm - Opening Ceremonies
Saturday, June 7 - 9:00 am to 4:00 pm - Competition - event times
Sunday, June 8 - 8:00 am to 2:00 pm - Competition - event times

Admission: Free to all events

For information about Special Olympics Silicon Valley, including upcoming events in the South Bay, check here.

I’m feeling warm love. It started today when I bought some new pajamas. They were on sale, which was nice. I left the tags on and tied a pretty ribbon around them. This Thursday, Valentine’s Day, I’ll take the PJs to The Fairmont Hotel in exchange for some freshly baked heart-shaped cookies. The pajamas will make their way to someone in need of a warm cozy feeling. The Pajama Program event is billed as ‘Pajamas for Kids Drive’ though there is a need for all sizes.

The Bay Area chapter of the Pajama Program has its headquarters here in San Jose, and the employees of the Fairmont Hotel are generously giving their time to our community. Pull your car up curbside - drop off the brand new pajamas - get cookies and a warm heart

The Fairmont Hotel
Thursday - February 14
6am to 10am

The Pajama Program