Santa Clara County Community Service & Support Digest

Taking advantage in the local commercial real estate slump, Goodwill of Silicon Valley recently purchased a large, empty office building in north San Jose. Read on for details.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Blood donations drop over the holidays, but demand at hospitals remains the same. Beginning today, Stanford Blood Center is offering $20 gift cards and a chance to win a $3,000 grocery gift card through the season to donors at their mobile collection units.

Learn how you can help local programs as they struggle to meet an increase in need of food assistance.

The Food Closet in Palo Alto has been serving the needy for over 40 year. Learn how you can help them help others by donating or volunteering.

Learn how to donate to the annual Mountain View Voice Holiday Fund campaign, and support the nonprofits working to make Mountain View better.

Learn about efforts by the City of Milpitas to provide essential services to local homeless and at-risk individuals.

Read on for details about how your donation to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund will help them reach their goal of $700,000.

Learn more about the annual fundraising day on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this year falling on December 3.

As part of the celebration of their 100th anniversary, the Los Gatos Rotary Club is funding a new oak grove in Live Oak Manor park.

The nonprofit Community Services Agency has been preparing to provide more services for homeless residents of Mountain View, Los Alto and Los Altos Hills following Governor Newsom's order to agencies to clear camps from state property.

Beginning Monday, 150 households in Fresno County are expected to receive a $500 prepaid card to spend on anything they’d like — no strings attached. It will be the first of 12 monthly recurring payments those Southwest Fresno and Huron residents will receive as part of a guaranteed basic income program for low-income families.

Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the community school initiative with $4.1 billion in grants to connect students and their families to medical care, counseling and other services.

Housing, climate change and inequity were among the topics for discussion as local community leaders met to discuss the most pressing needs in the region.

Hundreds of volunteers have signed up to participate in painting a mural on San Pedro Street in downtown San Jose.

While Bay Area residents have criticized PG&E for not being better prepared for power outages, Los Gatos residents are increasingly turning to their community for help. Enter Mark Zhang, a “prepper” of sorts who collects supplies in the event of a natural disaster or emergency.

Avenidas CEO Amy Yotopoulos announced Feb. 9 that she is resigning as leader of Palo Alto’s senior center, ending a seven-year tenure at Avenidas in mid-June.

From all over the Bay Area, bingo players flock to Milpitas Charity Bingo, citing its ultra-friendly staff and volunteers, cleanliness, and fun atmosphere.

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley received a much-appreciated infusion of funding over the holidays: a $3.4 million gift from philanthropist and Amazon shareholder MacKenzie Scott.

County leaders may limit how much money they give to nonprofit groups and projects serving low-income neighborhoods in light of looming budget challenges.

The nonprofit group Mothers Against Murder is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest of the man who robbed at gunpoint a Taco Bell in south Palo Alto.

Lauded for its direct impact, a temporary cash assistance program has helped some of Mountain View’s most vulnerable residents meet their household needs, without stipulating how the money should be used.

A new Los Gatos commission is taking a look into how the town treats people who live and work there, and how it welcomes visitors.

In celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, the African American Community Service Agency in San Jose aims to connect residents with educational and supportive services.

At the Avenidas Chinese Community Center, the Lunar New Year is more than a yearly tradition, it's become a celebration of freedom and community among elderly Chinese community members.

The Vietnamese American Democratic Club of Silicon Valley wants to be chartered within the Santa Clara County Democratic Party to organize and empower like-minded members within its community.

Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS) partnered with 40 local agencies to create the Winter Wellness Fair. Not only did families receive holiday gift cards and food, but it was a festive atmosphere that included health services along with a visit with Santa Claus.

“Progress remains slow,” according to a recent report on faculty diversity at California’s community colleges. For Nikia Chaney, the sole full-time Black faculty member at Cabrillo College, the experience is personal.

For Country Sun, the venerable organic produce store on California Avenue, the holiday season felt particularly festive this year after two customers stepped up to buy the market just as it was on the brink of closure.

Emery Unified took a targeted approach, including paying teachers extra to stay after school and tutor students.

Students in the MTC mentor program are from vulnerable populations who have significant stressors in their lives that impact their mental health and social and school engagement.

The Santa Clara Fire Department, in conjunction with the Firefighters Foundation, worked with the Santa Clara Unified School District to identify local families in need.