- Be the Change Day 2009
- Family Volunteer Day
- Project Leader Spotlight: Kumaril Bhattacharya
- Hands@Work with SAP
- Support HOBA
- Be the Change Day sponsors!
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BY THE NUMBERS
| Be the Change Day
3,800+ hours of volunteer action
900+ volunteers
24 unique projects
Quarterly Recap
October
* Be the Change Day
* Hands@Work with Gap, Moody's, SAP, CBeyond and UBS
November
* Family Volunteer Day
* Hands@Work with LifeScan and E*TRADE
December
* Adopt-a-Family with Gap
*
Hands@Work with SAP, Medivation, Fusion Storm, Barclays, HP, VISA and LifeScan
Upcoming film screenings
HOBA partners with ITVS to host monthly Community Cinema. Join us at Oakland Asian Cultural Center or the SF Main Library!
February
The Eyes of Me
March
Dirt! The Movie
April
The Horse Boy
May
A Village Called Versailles
Apply now for a new TeamWorks series!
Click here to read more.
Hands@Work '09
20,135 volunteer hours
5,765 volunteers
268 projects completed
8 corporate clients
Help us win $50K!
We've been selected for Pepsi's Refresh Everything grants
-- but we can't win without your votes. Click here and vote once a day per e-mail address to get us in the Top 10 for $50,000!
We can do it! |
Be the Change Day 2009
As headlines focused on layoffs, budget cuts and strained social services, volunteers moved to the front lines, transforming local parks, schools and shelters. On Be the Change Day 2009 (BTCD), more than 900 Bay Area residents stepped forward, completing 24
transformative projects that reinforced the Bay Area's safety net and spruced up our under-resourced public parks.
More than 100 of those volunteers enjoyed
some of the best views in San Francisco at
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill at the 11th
annual BTCD. Community members, our
Leadership Institute Fellowship Team (LIFT)
and groups from PG&E and Accenture
joined the San Francisco Recreation and
Park Department to spruce up Pioneer Park,
the 5-acre green space that surrounds one
of the most memorable parts of the city
skyline. The grounds had become overgrown
over the years, so having dozens of
volunteers onsite was an exciting opportunity
to really get things done.
“Bringing my students from San
Francisco International High
School was an incredible
opportunity to help foster service
learning in young adults. My ninth
graders raved about the
experience and on the bus ride
back asked when we could do
this again!”
Vlada Teper,
BTCD volunteer and LIFT Member
HOBA volunteers split into groups of ten and broke
out the rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows and gardening
knee-pads. The teams smoothed out the hillside,
hauled away lots of brush and non-native plants, and
laid down erosion-control berms, setting the stage for
a lovely native garden. With just one day’s work, our
volunteers transformed this park, so that it will
continue to impress tourists and locals alike for years
to come.
Family Volunteer Day
One of HOBA's special Project Calendar events this year was Family Volunteer Day, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. With the help of a Disney "Minnie Grant" through HandsOn Network, the HOBA team pulled together several family-friendly projects across the Bay Area.
At the SF Food Bank, volunteers from HOBA worked together with other community members to package more than a ton of rice in one afternoon! Volunteers lent their green thumbs to a new project at the Gardens at Lake Merritt, restoring habitat at the once-neglected Butterfly Garden and removing 40 square yards of thick, overgrown grasses in the Bonsai Garden.
Half Moon Bay State Beach was the scene of lots of fun and hard work for families from all over the Bay Area. Volunteers got up early to remove invasive plant species along the coastline.
Once again, our agency partners shared their thanks with us for bringing needed help to their organizations. "There is no staffing accorded by the state to do this work," said Ken, a parks employee at Half Moon Bay State Beach. "Without volunteers, this wouldn't happen."
Project Leader Spotlight
We spoke with Kumaril Bhattacharya, a Project Leader at RESTORE HABITAT at Overfelt Gardens in San Jose.
 Why did you decide to become a Project Leader?
I wanted to transfer my energy and enthusiasm for volunteer work to as many people as possible. HOBA PLs have a chance to influence volunteers at HOBA events and convince them to come again to volunteer with us.
What do you do when you're not leading volunteer projects?
I have a very active lifestyle. I am part of two cricket teams and participate in sport events throughout the year. Studies for my Masters degree also take considerable amounts of time. Any left over time is spent either hiking or watching movies.
Meet more of our PLs or nominate your favorite here!
Hands@Work with SAP
2009 was HOBA's fourth year partnering with software company SAP, who dedicates an entire month each year to serving their community. In a huge step forward in our partnership, HOBA managed the entire month of service for the first time.
This year SAP chose to focus on the "Three Es": Environment, Education and Essential Services. HOBA created 19 transformational and engaging projects for their dynamic teams, from sorting food at the San Francisco Food Bank and painting classrooms at Overfelt High School in San Jose to removing non-native plants at Half Moon Bay State Beach.
"HOBA's Month of Service projects helped SAP employees harness their desire to reach out and help others," said Kirsta Bradley, Corporate Citizenship Specialist at SAP.
SAP volunteers proved to be hard workers who accomplished much more than was set out for them. SAP's Month of Service was a huge success -- and they've already signed on for another event with us!
Check out photos from an SAP project at Half Moon Bay!
Support HOBA
Did you know that things you do every day, like refilling your coffee bean supply, shopping online, or collecting those pesky 5-cent BART tickets, can add up to support for HOBA? Find out the many ways you can help support our programs.
Our Be the Change Day sponsors!
 
 
 
 
 
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Community Action
