Community Corner
Patch Picks: 5 Great NonProfits Making A Difference
Spend your three-day weekend giving back: mentor a high school student's business project, plant a tree or get a local teacher the resources she needs. Here's our how-to volunteer at a nonprofit guide.
Looking for a local place to volunteer your time and expertise, or just looking for a little inspiration? Check out our five favorite local nonprofits and see how they are making a difference in our communities.
1. Greenest
Learn how to save the world, one energy-saving light bulb at a time. Their mission: "To bring people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet." How to get involved: Help with habitat restoration at the San Francisquito Watershed, become an environmental leader with Be the Change environmental leadership program, or help others learn how to "green" their home and business, saving money and reducing their carbon footprint, with programs like Green@Home. Find them at 3921 East Bayshore Road in Palo Alto, at 650-962-9876, and at www.acterra.org.
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2. For the Kids
Enlighten the life of a seriously ill child. Their mission: "Ronald McDonald House at Stanford creates a home-away-from-home and supportive community for families of children with life-threatening illnesses receiving specialized treatment at local hospitals." How to get involved: Volunteer a weekly shift in the office or with the CLIK (Computer Learning for Ill Kids) or Gardening Program, participate in a fundraiser such as Denim to Diamonds night March 12, or become part of the The Supper Program or Teen Volunteer Program. Find them at 520 Sandhill Road in Palo Alto, at 650-47-600, and at www.ronaldhouse.net.
Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
3. Business-Minded
Share your business skills with local high school students. Their mission: "BUILD runs the nation’s largest youth incubators with the mission to use entrepreneurship to excite and propel disengaged, low-income students through high school to college success." How to get involved: Be a group mentor in a business development project, volunteer to help students fill out scholarship applications, or share your expertise as a guest speaker. Find them at 2197 East Bayshore Road in Palo Alto, at 650-543-4762, and at www.build.org.
4. Women Volunteers
Join like-minded women in a variety of community volunteer opportunities. Their mission: JLPA "is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers." How to get involved: Work with other local nonprofits like in Los Altos or participate in one of the League’s Done in a Day projects, which focus on short, intensive community projects. Find them at 555 Ravenswood Avenue in Menlo Park, at 650-321-5026, and at www.thejuniorleague.org/paloalto.
5. Education Support
East Palo Alto Kids Foundation
Promote the academic success of your neighborhood. Their mission: "To promote educational opportunities and academic success for students in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park." How to get involved: Donate money to support quality public education and help give grants to local teachers in need, sponsor a book drive, or volunteer as an events coordinator. Find them at 650-852-9398 and at www.epak.org.
