Silicon Valley Moms Blog

It takes a village

Around this time last year, I spent a week in San Francisco on business.  Even though I live in Silicon Valley, my manager and I agreed that the commute was too much for the long hours I was going to work so I booked a week a four-star hotel in the city and went on my merry way. 

I am a Bay Area native and have heard new reports practically my whole life about the "homeless problem" in San Francisco.  When I was newly licensed driver, my dad took me to the city to make sure that I didn't get lost and end up in a bad neighborhood.  Every time I have come to San Francisco, I have seen people living on the streets.  But something about this business trip made me more aware of the issue.  Instead of seeing well dressed financial folks and wide-eyed tourists, I could not take my eyes off the people of the streets.

In fact, my week in San Francisco has haunted me ever since.

I watched a disabled veteran get into a scuffle with a gawking tourist.  I saw men older than my father sleep on the street.  For all the women dressed in glamorous clothes as they power walk to their high-profile job, there was as many homeless women wearing the only clothes they own.  There was more than one man in a wheelchair and a woman asking for money with a baby on her hip.  An elderly man was drinking from a brown paper bag while he sat on the steps of a church. 

My heart raced when I walked down a street where a group of homeless are clustered.  I am not used to this.  It's uncomfortable.  I was afraid.  When did they become the enemy?  Something to be feared instead of someone to save?

The People Stimulus: The heart of Silicon Valley

I live in Silicon Valley where 3 bedroom 2 bath homes in the "desirable" neighborhood can sell for upwards of $2 million.  This is a place where the sunshines brightly, innovation is golden, and schools are highly competitive.  But this is also the place where a small business owner who makes $90,000 a year and pays $36,000 a year for her husband's medication and $30,000 in mortgage and property taxes is told  she makes too much money for student aid for her college bound senior (a straight A student by the way)  and should be able to afford $27,000 a year in tuition.  And this is also the place where just across from treelined Palo Alto with neighborhoods named Crescent Park and Professorville sits East Palo Alto with homeless children, women not being able to afford proper prenatal care, and people living in homes too unsafe to be legal.  While nonprofits are finding monetary donations and grants dwindling, I am heartened by the people factor that has the power to truly help in many cases.

My Fantasy Charity: One Laptop Per Mom

If I could fund any fantasy charity it would be called something like "One Laptop Per Mom (and others)". Beyond the current "One Laptop Per Child" programs, I would like to target Moms, Dads, Teachers, Community Organizers (per Sheila BD) and even animal shelters (as Jill C. reminded me) IN NEED! While big local Silicon Valley companies like Cisco, Google, HP, Intel  and many others understand the impact of donating technology, I would like to start on a smaller scale and enable those in charge of taking care/educating of others with at least one (Wi-Fi enabled) laptop. With a Wi-Fi enabled laptop even those without internet access in their house can utilize free Wi-Fi hot spots.

Why laptops?

Our Daily Bread: Making it fun for kids to give throughout the year

I grew up with parents who gave back to their community on a very regular basis - food drives, volunteering at the recycling center, serving dinner at the homeless shelter, doing the heavy lifting to help set up whatever, whenever. I remember being toted around with my sister to this place and that, to lend a little help...and sometimes to do something big. My mom and dad have both sat on the board of many a non-profit over the years. Volunteering was just the norm for them. The standard they have set is too high for me to ever possibly match, but I do believe there is something that every person can give. And that helping others is not just a holiday event. Sharing this with our kids can set the stage for how they will conduct themselves as they become contributing adults of our society.

Living 3 miles away from my parents, my kids spend a lot of time with their grandparents and they are now experiencing the same thing I did. Every Thursday, my 71-year-old dad meets "the guys" (his fellow volunteers) for breakfast. After they fuel up, they head over to Trader Joe's to load up whatever food the store is donating that day (usually meat, fruit and veggies, bakery items - think things that are getting close to their spoilage date. Trader Joe's is VERY generous - another reason to love that store - I mean, besides the fact that they give balloons and stickers to the kids and have great healthy food that kids will actually eat!) and they take it over to Santa Maria Urban Ministries in downtown San Jose, a facility that aids needy families with emergency food, clothing, education and more. A couple of weeks ago, my 3 little kids and I accompanied my dad on his trip to Santa Maria. My dad and I had been talking about the food needs getting larger while the aid gets smaller. And, especially since I have been talking with my kids a lot about (as we call it) The Money Problem, I thought it would be a good time to start giving the kids a real in-person taste of lending a helping hand.

2008 Donors Choose Blogger Challenge - reaching out across the blogosphere, one post at a time!

For the month of October 2008, Silicon Valley Moms Group has partnered with DonorsChoose.org, to help spread the word about the lack of funding and support needed for our public schools The premise behind Donor's Choose is quite simple and effective. Through DonorsChoose.org, teachers request what they need and write a descriptive proposal of how funding will benefit their classroom. Some of the requests are basic: note books for a third grade class so the children can learn cursive, markers and highlighters, a binding machine, books, a digital camera, pencils (yes, PENCILS!), chart paper and washable colored markers. Others are to enhance the education environment in a creative way. Trust me, you'll be shocked and floored over as you read through the many requests.  And you will want to help.....

Since Silicon Valley Moms Group is spread throughout the country, we have made it simple for you to see requests from teachers in each region.  Please click on the links below to learn about requests in YOUR area... and please consider making a donation.  Skip that latte or cappuccino today - and give those few dollars to our public school classrooms! Your donation would be greatly appreciated. There is no donation too small or too big when we’re talking about supporting the education of our children.

• Los Angeles
• Silicon Valley
• Deep South
• DC Metro
• New York City
• New Jersey
• Chicago

We also wanted to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT (and link-love) to SV Moms Group Contributors that have already posted about DonorsChoose.org on their personal sites and blogs.  As Parents and bloggers, we are passionate about the public schools system and lack of funding to educate ALL our children. Regardless of our political views, public school teachers should not have to request the essentials to teach! As a country, we should be doing better.  Our teachers and students deserve more......THANK YOU SV MOM GROUP CONTRIBUTORS for spreading the word across the blogosphere!

• Beth from Techmamas:  DonorsChoose.org Challenge:  Donate To Help Schools
• Jamie from Blonde Mom Blog:  Help Make A Difference In Our Public Schools
• Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama:  Website of the Week:  Support Public Education with DonorsChoose.org
• Meghan from Meaghan's Mindless Muttering:  Donor's Choose
• Jodi from Jodifur:  I Know That These Are Hard Economocial Times
• Lotus from Sarcastic Mom:  Definitely Good For The Kids
• Amy from Selfish Mom:  Help Out Some Public Schools
• Florinda from The 3R'S: Reading, 'Riting, And Randomness:  Saturday Review 10-4 (good buddy)
• Ana from Finding Bonggamom:  Give, baby, give!
• Nicole from Not Just A Working Mom: Help a kid out... Invest in our future... Are you up for the Challenge?
• Robyn from Who's The Boss?: What if you could change the world for the price of a latte?
• Josephine from MOMMYVENTS: Help a teacher out.....
• Melissa from Cool Stuff We Dig:  We Dig the DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge
• MJ from ChicagoMomViews.net:  Chicago Public Schools need us!
• Jessica from Surely You Nest:  DonorsChoose - Targeted Gifts to Public School Class Projects
• Lisa from Blog On The Wall: Help Impoverished Public Schools
• Stacy from Fabulous Miss S.:  Boogers and Giving and DC Metro Moms Donor Challenge
• Karen from SOBCon08:  Karen Putz Shares Her World
• Michele from Mom Without A Map:  Keep The Momentum Going
• Shelli from BagMomma:  Invest In Education
• Stacey from Laptop TV Mom:  Donors Choose:  Buying Books for our Schools
• Jessica from Jessica Gottlieb:  Hey, Mom, This Means You
• Donya from Crooked Eyebrow:  It's Your Choice.....
• Cindy from We All Fall Down:  Help Chicago Schoolchildren
• Sara from Self Made Mom:  Hi, I'm Alive
• Lia from Freitas Family Follies: Donors Choose: Help A Teacher Out
• Dayna from Bourbon Baybee:  A Poser Donates
• Myrna from Tangerine Times: Donors Choose Blogger Challenge

We also have many friends and bloggers throughout the blogosphere sharing the SV Moms Group - DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge!  THANK YOU for helping us spread the word!

• Six Apart/blogs.com:  Bloggers, Start Your Engines!
• Burbed.com:  Silicon Valley Moms Blog Donors Choose
• Dad Or Bust:  Laughs are only a nickel
• Successful and Outstanding Bloggers:  Karen Putz on the Chicago Moms Blog  Donors Choose Challenge

If you have put up a post about our DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge on your personal blogs/sites, please leave a comment below and we will make sure to add your link to this post.

Jill Asher is the Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Moms Group.

Shout Out to East Palo Alto Teacher: Help Students Learn to Read and Speak English

I remember last year sitting in my son's kindergarten class at their reading comprehension station, where they'd listen to a story then write and draw pictures about it. I was amazed to see an actual cassette tape! When was the last time you saw one of those? But we know that In many classrooms around Silicon Valley, our children have incredible technology to help with their reading comprehension: Ipods, MP3 players and laptops.  What a new way of learning....    They are the "fortunate" students.

I see there is a school around here (East Palo Alto) that doesn't even have these cassette players. Or reading stations! We all know how important it is for ALL our kids to read and pronounce words properly, especially ESL students!  Ms. B, a librarian in nearby East Palo Alto has put out this request and she is  hoping that the Silicon Valley Community will give her students a fighting chance at learning and reading in English:

Using a listening center allows students to read the text and hear the language fluency simultaneously. Having listening centers available to students is HUGE!

Giving them the opportunity to hear fluent English and read along gives them the exposure to language they need to become fluent in speaking English.

Your help will ensure my students exposure to the English language. Their fluency and confidence in reading will only grow through the use of a listening center!

Living Strong

Yesterday, the Silicon Valley Moms team (consisting of myself, Ana and Courtney) from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog met up for the Livestrong Challenge 5K Walk/Run in San Jose. No, it was not 2000 miles, like our fellow Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers and road trippers...it was only a 5K (about 3 miles). We may not be getting interviewed by the morning news, taking hilarious videos or logging miles with cool technology, but we were doing something important. We were picking a fight. Oh, and we "met" Lance Armstrong. Check out Courtney's story here (did I mention she raised $1,500? Go Courtney!). Ana is showing her support here. For Linsey's story, read on...

****************************************

I send a text to about 6:50 am to let Ana and Courtney know that I am standing by bag check and next to a sign that says "Starbucks -->" (tempting...). Ana originally organized us Silicon Valley Moms as a team and here we are. I see a cute girl who has a "I'm a Survivor - 11 YEARS!" and I ask her where she got it. She points and I head that direction, feeling a bit lame because......

From Disaster to Disaster Relief

Disasters were fascinating as a child.  I remember poring over my parents' National Geographic issue on the Mount St. Helens eruption, comparing pictures of the mountain before and after, and learning how people had escaped.  Next, there was the Titanic phase, followed by reading all about forest fires. 

It's all different now.  I became a mom.  Instead of considering how infrastructure should be repaired or how best to pack an emergency kit, my thoughts immediately go to the families.  Especially now, with a brand new baby in the house, it's been impossible for me to think about the recent earthquake in China without feeling overwhelmed with sadness.  The suffering of the parents who lost children, often their only child, is unimaginable. How can I help them from so far away?

San Jose colleges have banned discriminatory blood drives

Three San Jose colleges have suspended on-campus blood drives as a stand against the federal ban on allowing gay males to donate blood. According to the SJSU President, the federal ban is in direct conflict with the university’s policy prohibiting discrimination. 

The ban on donation from gay men has been around since 1983, when AIDS first emerged in the United States.  Many campuses have protested the ban on donations from gay men, but this is the first time an administration has taken such a drastic action against it. Of course, students could go elsewhere to donate blood, but campus blood drives can be essential to a community's blood supply. According to some statistics I’ve heard, 16 to 20 percent of blood comes from college-aged donors.

It's important to consider, though, that all donated blood is screened for HIV anyway.  And that the new cases of HIV are on the rise in other groups as well.

Because what gets measured gets done!

There are times when my work world and home life intersect; today was one of those days. 200 elected officials, community leaders, schools, non profits and government agencies gathered to discuss the Santa Clara County Children’s Agenda, hosted by Kids in Common.   The Children’s Agenda is a focused, integrated initiative that seeks to engage all segments of our community to improve the lives of children.  By outlining 10 indicators of child well-being, the agenda provides a common vision for all of our children. It forces us as a community to move from data to action and to be accountable for how our children are faring - after all because often times what gets measured gets done. Check them out here.

These goals are obvious.  Imagine if we as a county were able to insure that:
Goal 1:  Children are physically, socially and emotionally healthy.
Goal 2:  Children are prepared for and successful in school.
Goal 3:  Children are supported in safe and stable families and communities.

As I looked around the room, I couldn’t help but think about how regular parents, like the SV Mom Bloggers, my friends and neighbors would feel about this. In a world that often spins out of control and we never know if what we are doing for our kids is actually right, it is often hard to pinpoint what we can REALLY do to make a difference.  I think this agenda could prove to be the lightning rod we need to focus our efforts.  BTW - a national organization that has a similar platform for children and mothers is Moms Rising.

I am NO expert, but I am a mama, with mama bear tendencies to take care of ALL the kids I know - mine, the ones in my children's classrooms, my neighbors and the ones I see at the soccer field - all of them.  I imagine many of you feel that way, but don't know how.