Summer Adventures in Palo Alto is a summer camp offered to the fifteen children that live at the Opportunity Center in Palo Alto and to any neighboring kids who qualify. The children are students in the Palo Alto school district, a school system where a majority of their peers will attend summer camps, often paid for by their families. Paying for summer camp represents a financial hardship for our clients, so we provide our camp free of charge for the families that live in our building and in nearby low-income neighborhoods.

Summer Adventures is an eight-week camp that mixes fun activities with opportunities for students to continue their learning during summer break. 2012’s agenda includes trips to the California Academy of Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Oakland Zoo, & much more!

The Opportunity Services Center depends on community support to make this program a success. If you are interested in donating to our Summer Adventures program, please visit our donation page or send a check to P.O. Box 702, Palo Alto, CA 94302. If you want to sponsor a specific activity, you can note that in the memo section. A full list of activities/prices can be found in our 2012 Summer Adventure Wish List, or you can talk to our program leaders for more info.

As well as meeting an important need for our clients, Summer Adventures also provides a unique leadership opportunity for local Peninsula teens. Teens who are interested in working with at-risk populations and mentoring youth can apply to become a part of our Teen Leadership Program. These teens will accompany staff and assist in facilitating activities for our students. Applications for the program can be downloaded here. For more information about the application procedure, interested teens should contact Kelty Spencer at kspencer@innvision.org.

We hope you share our excitement for this year’s Kids’ Summer Adventures program!

For more information about how to get involved or sponsor a project, you may contact Kelty Spencer at KSpencer@InnVision.org or 650-853-8672.

In the South Bay, Donation Depot is the hub of clothing, shoes, and linens donations. Donors come to drop off clothing between the hours of 12:30pm-3:30pm Monday through Thursday. The InnShoppe operates the same days and times and offers clients the chance to come and pick up new and gently used clothing. Each client is allowed to choose four pairs of pants, four tops, one jacket, and one pair of shoes. Children under 10 are allowed 10 pieces of clothing total.

The Clothes Closet operates in Palo Alto at the InnVision Opportunity Services Center. Every Wednesday from 11:00am-1:00pm, adults can shop for clothing. Families in need of clothing for their children can visit the family side of the Opportunity Services Center from 10:00am-12:00pm Monday-Friday and pick up clothes for school or the weekend.

Donation Depot, The InnShoppe, and Clothes Closet are always looking for volunteers! Those interested can fill out a volunteer application here.

- South Bay: volunteers at Donation Depot and the InnShoppe typically take 2 hour shifts – Monday-Thursday from 12:00pm-2:00pm or from 2:00pm-4:00pm.

- Peninsula: volunteers interested in helping at the Clothes Closet in Palo Alto can do so on Wednesdays from 11:00am-1:00pm.

Donations in excellent condition are also happily accepted – and we are especially in need of men’s clothing and new underwear/socks for all sizes and genders!

- South Bay: donations accepted Monday-Thursday between 12:30pm – 3:30pm at the InnVision Georgia Travis Center (297 Commercial Street, San Jose)

- Peninsula: donations accepted Monday-Friday between 9:00am – 5:00pm at the Opportunity Services Center (33 Encina Ave, Palo Alto)

The Produce Market provides healthy and nutritious food items to very low-income individuals and families. When you are worried about where next month’s rent or electricity payment is going to come from, buying healthy foods isn’t always on the top of the to-do list. We want to make sure that our clients don’t have to choose between healthy food and paying their rent. Most importantly, we distribute everything free of charge.

In order to ensure the Produce Market runs smoothly – especially since we are increasing our service hours – we are going to need new volunteers! If you have some spare time on the 2^nd and 4^th Thursday mornings of each month between 9:30am-12:00pm consider stopping by to help hand out produce! It’s also a great opportunity for groups and companies to volunteer together. To fill out a volunteer application please go to http://www.innvision.org/volunteer_online.php.

As a parent, the idea of sleeping on the street with no food for your children is unimaginable. Sadly, for the more than 29,000 men, women, and children, including the mentally ill, domestic violence survivors and veterans that InnVision serves, this is reality. And single parents with children continue to be the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.

Please help us reach our goal of $600,000 during the season of giving. Donate online at www.InnVision.org or mail a check to 1900 The Alameda, Suite 400 , San Jose, CA 95126.

Together, we can provide support for critical human needs.

With the wet winter months approaching, the homeless need your help now. Due to the current lingering economic crisis, cuts in government funding, and the continued increase in clients served, private funding is critical to keep all of our shelter/housing programs open and to provide safety net services to those most in need. Please consider increasing your annual gift by 10% to close the funding gap so we can meet the growing need for life-changing services. If you are a first time donor, the Sobrato Family Foundation will match your donation, dollar for dollar, making your gift go twice as far. And knowing that InnVision is the proud recipient of the Charity Navigator 4 Star Rating, you have the satisfaction of knowing that your gift will be used wisely. A transformed life can begin with you.

Your donation of $1,000 will pay for 40 days of emergency shelter;
a gift of $500 will cover 125 meals for the homeless;
a contribution of $250 will provide holiday gifts for one at-risk family;
$100 will pay for a birthday party for a resident child

InnVision the Way Home is the leading provider of shelter and services for homeless and at-risk families and individuals in Silicon Valley. Each and every day we provide assistance to over 1,400 people at 25 locations and the need continues to increase. Last year, households served by InnVision grew by a staggering 16%. With 38 years of demonstrated experience, we continue to provide 190,000 nights of shelter and 425,000 meals each year. But we need your help to keep these critical programs open.

Many factors put people at risk for homelessness. Unemployment, illness, and lack of education and affordable housing are all risk factors and each one, or several combined, can land a family out on the street when they are left with few options and little resources. Some families lose their housing completely, while others have shelter but rely on multiservice centers for food, healthcare, job training and physical and emotional support.

The InnVision approach is to offer a continuum of care that first meets the emergency needs of the client, including shelter, food and clothing. Once stabilized, a family can then move from survival to overcome barriers to independent living and achieve self-sufficiency.

Thank you for your incredible support of our homeless and at-risk clients. We hope you will give generously of your time and financial resources to the families who rely on us during the holiday season and throughout the year. To see our progress toward our goal of $600,000, donate online, and to learn more about other ways to give, please visit www.InnVision.org. We rely on donations made during the holiday season to fund our programs all year long. Please consider making a meaningful gift today, and ask your friends to do the same. And if you can’t give as much as you’d like now, consider a monthly pledge. Remember, together we can help people find the way home.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

Did you know that America is the most generous country in terms of individual philanthropy? In fact, charitable giving in the U.S. is about 1.7 percent of GDP, the highest giving percentage in the world. These individual contributions allow American philanthropies to provide social services such as housing, food relief, and medical care to those who need them – services that the governments of other countries provide through higher taxes. Since American tax rates are comparatively lower, it is falls on individuals to provide the money to organizations like InnVision that provide essential social services.

One individual who recently stepped up to the plate is Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Just named TIME’s 2010 Person of the Year, Zuckerberg last week announced that he would join Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and other American billionaires and pledge to give away more than half of his wealth to charitable causes.

Not only has Zuckerberg promised to donate the majority of his estimated $6.9 billion, but he has also called on others to give generously to charitable organizations. “People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?” said Zuckerberg in a press release. “With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts.”

Zuckerberg has turned out to be quite the role model for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Let’s hope that our local community members, both rich and not-so-rich, follow his lead and become ever more generous in 2011 and beyond! It’s the American way!

InnVision is committed to doing whatever it takes to see that homeless families and individuals are safe. Thank you to all the staff and residents at Montgomery Street Inn for creating a welcoming home for our visitors!

Even though winters in Silicon Valley are not as harsh as those in say, Alaska, the families who come to InnVision over the next few months need food, clothing, and household supplies to get them through the cold weather. New toy drives, milk fund drives, and gently used coat drives help us get these items, and they are happening all throughout the South Bay and Peninsula. To find a donation drive in your area, contact Jaynie at JNeveras@InnVision.org.

In addition to these amazing donation drives, hundreds and hundreds of individual and group volunteers are sharing their time and talents with us at InnVision centers in San Jose, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park. Groups from National Charity League, Adobe, IBM, Ernst & Young, Cisco, Dell, and NetApp will also join us during November and December, taking on huge projects at InnVision facilities. Our fabulous volunteers help decorate our centers for the holidays, sort donations, wrap children’s gifts, and prepare special meals for InnVision clients.

The generosity of our friends never ceases to amaze us.

There are so many ways for you to get involved in this time of need. Respond to our Holiday Appeal and help us reach our $500,000 fundraising goal. If you would like to volunteer, let David know at DTran@InnVision.org. Donate coats, blankets, gloves, hats, or other items from our Holiday Wishlist to the Opportunity Services Center in Palo Alto or Donation Depot at the Georgia Travis Center in San Jose. Become InnVision’s fan on facebook to get more frequent updates about all we do, and check our website often for more ways to help!

We wish you all a warm and wonderful holiday season!

Celebrating the still beautiful fall weather, the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto threw a Jazz and Wine Garden Party on September 26^th. The event was to benefit Hotel de Zink, InnVision’s homeless shelter in Palo Alto that rotates monthly between local churches. Over one hundred guests sipped wine and listened to two jazz combos for a good cause, raising more than $12,000 to ensure the continuation of Hotel de Zink.

One of our corporate partners, Avnet, Inc., held an event just a few days later. This year, Avnet decided to add a charity portion to their annual thank you party for customers and suppliers, and they chose InnVision as the beneficiary. On September 30^th, over 1,200 people came to the Avnet Big Deal, where they enjoyed food, wine, and entertainment. By the end of the event, $26,130 had been raised for InnVision programs and services!

InnVision was the beneficiary of yet another charity event in Silicon Valley. The fashion show at the Filipino American Real Estate Professionals Association (FAREPA) charity event featured the young designer Aaron Paul Juni and his “Cinderella” themed creations. This high fashion event, held on October 15^th, raised about $3,000 for InnVision, with real estate professionals, community members, and former InnVision clients able to enjoy the glamorous evening.

If you, your organization, or your company would like to throw a fundraiser to support InnVision, we’d love to have you! InnVision staff would be happy to help arrange any details and publicize the event. Please contact us at 408-292-4286 for more information!

Stay tuned for more!