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For many people in the Tri-Valley, they may have a desire to give back to their community in some form or another, but it can be difficult to find the time, energy or right organization to align themselves with.
The Make A Difference Festival — a yearly gathering of dozens of local nonprofits — removes many of those barriers.
This year, more than three-dozen of the most impactful Tri-Valley community organizations will be present, shedding light on their causes and connecting with volunteers. Residents can attend the free event this Saturday (Jan. 13) at the Pleasanton Senior Center.
Community members W. Ron Sutton and Jerri Long co-founded the nonprofit Make A Difference, Today & Always and its annual event 25 years ago as a way for residents to “get connected and stay connected” with volunteer opportunities near them. The Make A Difference for Pleasanton Festival has since helped connect hundreds of Tri-Valley adults, families and teenagers with organizations.
“We founded the Make A Difference Festival years ago because we want people to get connected and stay connected with the community and here we are,” Sutton said.
“In one day, visitors to the festival can learn the many ways local organizations are working year-round to make our community even better. Visitors also can get valuable tips about safety and emergency preparedness, plus wellness,” Sutton added.
The nonprofit operates the one-day festival in partnership with other entities like the city of Pleasanton, Pleasanton Unified School District, Community of Character Collaborative and others.
Organizers said the 2023 event was the most successful festival to date, having over 900 visitors.
A section of the festival will feature resources specifically for high school students looking to fulfill community service hours. These include Museum on Main, Valley Humane Society, the city library and Go Green Initiative.
New to this year’s event, teenagers wanting community service credits will be able to engage in day-of activities such as sorting crayons (for The Crayon Initiative), tying fleece blankets or making greeting cards for military families.
A safety and emergency preparedness section will give visitors information about how to create a 72-hour survival kit, store water, protect important items or prepare for earthquakes.
The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department has an active community emergency response team, another returning vendor of this event. The program trains, supports and distributes resources for members of the community to effectively handle emergency situations in the event of disaster. Volunteers with CERT learn team organization, emergency medical care and search-and-rescue procedures.
Tracy Hein, emergency services manager with LPFD, represented the CERT booth at the 2023 Make A Difference Festival.
“Taking part in this event is great,” Hein said. “It gives us an opportunity to promote our community emergency response team which is a critical asset and resource to the city of Pleasanton area. Volunteering is an opportunity for you to help other people so we encourage it.”
According to Make A Difference organizers, there will be health and wellness booths like Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley, HERS Breast Cancer Foundation and Axis Community Health.
HERS supports individuals that have been impacted by breast cancer. The organization provides post-surgical products and other services.
“Our ability to serve breast cancer patients depends greatly on community volunteers,” said Tina Fernandez Steckler, who has previously attended the Make A Difference Festival as part of HERS. “We have many volunteer opportunities throughout the year including fulfilling administrative tasks at our Fremont and San Leandro locations, and representing our nonprofit at community events such as health fairs.”
Visitors will be encouraged to sign the “50/50 Pledge” that 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.”
The Planting Love Project, a returning organization, is a program where participants are able to anonymously gift plants to strangers. Founded to lift spirits and create a feeling of connectedness, the organization believes small acts of kindness can have an enormously positive effect for the larger community.
Capt. Kurt Schlehuber shared remarks with the public on behalf of the Pleasanton Police Department while at the 2023 festival.
“The Pleasanton Police Department is dedicated to working with the community it serves. Our programs build relationships between the men and women of the police department and the Pleasanton community,” Schlehuber said. “Various services and programs are offered to help educate, inform and empower our community members.”
“We really enjoy this event, it’s a pleasure to be here every year representing the PD. Our volunteers are out here speaking with the community,” he added. “If people want to make a difference, we have a very robust volunteer program. It’s nice because it’s a chance for us to answer questions about what we do in general too.”
In addition to their information booth, PPD will be showing live police dog demonstrations throughout the day.
“We love coming to the Make A Difference Festival because this a great place for us to find people who are interested in giving back to the community,” said Lori Carducci, coordinator for the adult literacy program at the Pleasanton Public Library. The library branch plans to host a booth again this year.
“Our program focuses on helping adults who are learning English as a second language — we’re always looking for adult volunteers to help us do that,” she added.
The Make A Difference for Pleasanton Festival is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 13) at the Pleasanton Senior Center, 5353 Sunol Blvd. To find out more, visit the organization’s website at www.mad4p.org.
Festival participants
Agape Villages Foster Family Agency
Alameda County CASA
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Assistance League of Amador Valley
Axis Community Health
Big Bay Ray
Blankets 4 Kids
City of Pleasanton Library-Recreation Department
CityServe Cares
Donor Network West
Everytown For Gun Safety/Be SMART For Kids
Go Green Initiative
Guide Dogs for the Blind – Pleasanton Puppy Raisers
HERS Breast Cancer Foundation
Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay
Just Serve
Little Miracles, Inc.
Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club
Lynnewood United Methodist Church
Museum On Main
NAMI Tri-Valley
Open Heart Kitchen
PACE
Planting Love Project
Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council
Pleasanton North Rotary
Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation
Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association
Special Olympics
Spectrum Services
Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
Sunflower Hill
Three Valleys Community Foundation
Tri-Valley REACH
Tri-Valley Evening Rotary
Tri-Valley Haven
Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance
Twice Loved
Valley Humane Society
“”In one day, visitors to the festival can learn the many ways local organizations are working year-round to make our community even better.”
“Everytown For Gun Safety/Be SMART For Kids” makes our community better? How?
Harassing/lecturing/shaming law-abiding people doing nothing wrong (and living in a state with the strictest gun laws) that they are “not doing enough” to prevent firearms related problems while simultaneously paying lip service to stopping (or rationalizing) what criminals do on the streets of our cities does NOT make people safer and better off.
Don’t be misled by the harmless sounding “gun safety” claims. It’s the same agenda (gun control) and reasoning process (blame society/collective guilt) being recycled. It’s not going to be considered “safe” until the entire legal process for law abiding people to own/use firearms is either made prohibitive and/or completely shut down. Criminals will not be deterred/stopped, and self-defense will be impossible for the average person.