|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
If one of your new year’s resolutions is getting more involved in your community, then next weekend’s Make A Difference for Pleasanton Festival might be the event for you.
Curated by Make A Difference, Today & Always — a local nonprofit cofounded by community members W. Ron Sutton and Jerri Long over 25 years ago — the festival is a free, yearly gathering of dozens of local nonprofits offering volunteer opportunities for adults, families and teenagers.
“The purpose is to encourage and foster community service in Pleasanton,” Ken Mano, a longtime local volunteer leader, told the Weekly. “This is a great opportunity for nonprofits to let people know what volunteer opportunities they have and how people can help.”
Mano, who has helped organize the festival for over a decade, said last year they saw over 500 people attend the festival and that the over 40 nonprofit organizations received a lot of signups, which is why those organizations tend to return to the festival.
“For those who want to be involved in community service, it’s a wonderful place to talk to a lot of volunteer organizations and discover the type of volunteer opportunities that are available in a lot of different areas and sign up to help,” Mano said.
Sutton told the Weekly that this year, there will be 50 tables set up for the different nonprofits — and they are trying out a few new things.
One of the main improvements to the festival, Sutton said, is distinguishing the nonprofits who offer community service hours for high school students. Members from those organizations will be wearing a special necklace so students know to go directly to those tables for their volunteer hours.
He also said that this year, the festival will offer an opportunity for teenagers to sign up in advance to get an hour or two of community service credit on the spot by helping out with various tasks set by several nonprofits.
Those tasks include sorting color crayons for The Crayon Initiative, which melts them down to make new crayons for children in hospitals; tying fleece blankets for people without homes; creating greeting cards for the Pleasanton Military Families nonprofit to send to troops; and assembling sets of safety pins to use at the next Tri-Valley Turkey Burn in November.
Apart from all of the different volunteer opportunities, residents will also be able to get valuable tips about safety, emergency preparedness and wellness. According to a press release for the festival, visitors can find out how to prepare a 72-hour survival kit, store water, protect important documents and prepare for the next earthquake.
Representatives from the Pleasanton Police Department will also provide police dog demonstrations throughout the festival, and there will be several wellness exhibits from the American Red Cross, Alan Hu Foundation and Donor Network West.
Sutton said he has always admired both citizens and nonprofits coming together to solve issues in the community and that even if they reach only a few people at this year’s festival, he hopes they can continue to get as many people involved in their community as possible.
“It may only reach 50 people this year … 200 people, but it’s admirable to see these things occur,” Sutton said. “And that’s one of the things that I’ve learned over all those years of working with Make A Difference and community service, is how … active community members can be a very valuable asset in the community.”
He added that visitors will be encouraged to take the “50/50 Pledge,” which according to the Make A Difference press release states, “I pledge to spend at least 50 hours in community service, and to spend 50 more hours with my family in the next year.”
“You’re here to get connected to your community and then stay connected,” Sutton said.
The festival will be hosted at the Pleasanton Senior Center — located at 5353 Sunol Blvd. — next Saturday (Jan. 18) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parking and entry is free. For more information, visit www.mad4p.org. Pre-registration for student community service projects can be done at www.bit.ly/2025-festival.
Who will be there
Here’s a snapshot of the organizations scheduled to attend the festival to recruit volunteers, based on early registration:
ACCUSPLIT Make A Difference Programs
Agape Villages
Alameda County CASA
Alan Hu Foundation
Amador Valley Lions Club
American Association of University Women
American Red Cross
Assistance League of Amador Valley
Be SMART for Kids
Big Bay Ray
Blankets for Kids
Culinary Angels
Donor Network West
Eden I&R
Goodness Village
Go Green Initiative
Hively
Just Serve
Just Serve High School Clubs
Little Miracles, Inc.
Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club
Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department
Lynnewood United Methodist Church
Make A Difference, Today & Always
Make A Difference for Pleasanton Programs
Museum On Main
NAMI Tri-Valley
Open Heart Kitchen
PG&E
Planting Love Project
Pleasanton Community of Character Coalition
Pleasanton Library & Recreation
Pleasanton North Rotary
Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation
Pleasanton Police Department
Pleasanton Puppy Raisers/Guide Dogs for the Blind
Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association
Pleasanton Unified School District
Special Olympics
Spectrum CS
Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
Sunflower Hill
Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve (EBRPD)
Sutton Family Make A Difference Programs
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Three Valleys Community Foundation
Tri-Valley Haven
Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance
Tri-Valley REACH
Valley Humane Society
