San Ramon Valley High’s Pledge To Humanity Club supports some of the amazing non-for profit organizations in the East Bay with volunteers such as The Crayon Initiative, Challenger Baseball, Habitat For Humanity, multiple soup kitchens and more. Our goal is to get high schoolers involved in community service and make a difference in the community where we live. We have folks in need right in our back yard, like Martinez, where our club can reach out and help. We are committed to reach people of all ages in our local community to provide aid for their needs. Through working together with this common goal, our high school community will see that it is truly much better to give than to receive. So far, SRVHS Club has logged 6700 hours of service time!
City Team Oakland Soup Kitchen
Serving the Homeless at Glide Memorial
What an amazing day at Glide Memorial! We are so grateful for our friends at Clif Bar for donating 3 cases of bars to the homeless! The recipients were incredibly grateful! Thank you Clif for sharing this gift. You are amazing people with an incredible heart!
Another great day volunteering at Habitat For Humanity Playhouse Building!
White Pony Express Food Rescue and Toy Sorting
We had a super fun time helping at the Food Rescue and then at the Free General Store. The teens had so much fun putting together puzzles, repairing toys and preparing them to transfer to the upcoming free store.
St Vincent de Paul Holiday Party
Today we had a great time hosting 3 craft tables for Oaklands most needy children/families at St Vincent De Paul Oakland. We feel very lucky to be chosen for this opportunity. The kids had so much fun making the holiday ornaments our club prepared. After crafts each child received holiday gifts and gift cards which our club helped collect.
Kids Against Hunger
Concord Homeless Shelter
We had such a great experience at the Concord Homeless shelter. However, we left feeling very sad that there were folks that did not make it into the shelter and had to stay out in the cold. Our group is working with an organization to see if we can get them warm coats. We plan to take some of our blankets that we made for the folks that don’t make it into the shelter. It’s hard to think about those that have to spend the night out in the cold.
Blanket Making for the Homeless
Glide Memorial
Special Olympics
We had another amazing day with the Special Olympic athletes! Their smiles are contagious! We are super grateful to have been given the opportunity again!
Kids Against Hunger
Today our SRVHS teens packed over 8000 meals for the hungry. Today’s meal kits will be sent to Puerto Rico which was recently devastated by the hurricanes. The video they showed was so amazing and inspirational. What an incredible organization!
Halloween Parade
Last week our group was invited to attend SRVHS’s Sister School’s Halloween Parade in Richmond. The high school teens played with the kids at recess and also joined them for the Halloween parade around the neighborhood. It was a heartwarming experience to see the smiles on all the kids faces. The staff at the Peres Elementary School was so appreciative that we had all attended and donated costumes.
The Crayon Initiative October 2017
Sandwich Making for Concord Homeless
SRVHS Kenya Trip Presentation
We are so proud of our very own PTH members that went to Kenya this summer to volunteer!!! The group shared their amazing experience which was both inspiring and educational. We all left the meeting wishing we could go next time! A huge thank you to the group for an amazing presentation!
Foster A Dream Senior Portraits
Today we felt very privileged to assist while Foster Kid Teens had their senior portraits taken! We are looking forward to working with the Foster A Dream organization more closely in the upcoming years! A huge thank you to the Foster A Dream folks for allowing us to assist with such a special event!
The Crayon Initiative
Today we helped The Crayon initiative move warehouse locations. There were many of us there an all worked very hard to move tons of crayon totes, boxes and more. We are very thankful for our partnership with The Crayon Initiative!
Glide Memorial
Great day at Glide Memorial today! A huge thank you to Mr. Hasselbrink and Mrs. Young for taking the group! Everyone said they had a great time!
Kids Against Hunger
This past weekend we had another great experience volunteering with Kids Against Hunger in Pleasanton! A special thank you to Carrie Nevis for taking the group! 
Back to School at St. Vincent de Paul
The SRVHS PTH Club officially kicked off the new school year with an amazing Back To School event at St Vincent de Paul in Oakland. Families with school age children and teens came to receive a brand new backpack filled with school supplies provided by a lost from the school district . Our club hosted 3 craft tables where kids could come make a key chain pull for the new backpack, we made book marks and cute pipe cleaner worm pencils. The kids had a ball and so did our volunteers! We are very grateful for our partnership with St Vincent De Paul!
Easter Carnival at St. Vincent’s
Today was an absolutely amazing day! We were able to pass out Easter baskets and do crafts with west Oakland’s most needy children. Over the last two months we have collected Easter supplies (adding up to four carloads of toys, Easter baskets, eggs, and candy to donate for today’s Carnival). The kids were overjoyed! It was a magical day for us all. We are very grateful for the amazing partnership we have with St. Vincent’s!
Dose of Awareness Walk
We are proud to be part of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse Walk each year. It is great April Rovero continues to bring awareness to this epidemic! She is saving lives and making a difference. We are happy to support this great cause!
Special Olympics Basketball Tournament
We had a great time volunteering at the annual Special Olympic basketball tourney in Santa Rosa. Despite the 2+ hour trip in traffic to get there, the volunteers were great sports about the whole thing and really enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of this great tournament.
White Pony Express Free General Store
Kailey Mcknight, Kyleigh Boval and Beth Mcknight spent our Sunday volunteering at White Pony Express’ Free General Store
in Richmond. Here locals in this poor community are able to come shop for free. Attendees can pick up clothing for the entire family, shoes and toys. We worked in the toy department and it was wonderful to see the smiles on the kids faces as they walked away with new and gently used toys, bicycles and sporting equipment. We love his amazing opportunity to give back!
City Team Oakland Soup Kitchen
Last Sunday we had an amazing time at City Team Oaklands soup kitchen! It’s a special place where men who are living in a sober loving environment are able to take shelter, 12 step courses and bible study for 1 year. These men are so happy to be alive and are so appreciative to be there! There stories are heartbreaking but uplifting at the same time. Each of the men has a job at the shelter so we worked alongside them and got lots of amazing interaction. Just ask them about their story and they are happy to tell you. Many are filled with joy to share how God has changed their life for the better. It’s amazing to have our teens see the effects of drugs and alcohol. It’s truly a humbling experience.
Sorting Clothes at White Pony Express
We had another great day helping at White Pony Express. It was so nice to get a great report from Katie (the gal in charge) saying that the kids did amazing and mentioned what a great group they are! We couldn’t agree more!
Building Play Houses for Kids
SRVHS had another great day building playhouses for the playhouse program at Habitat for Humanity! It’s such a great team building activity and we all had a great time!
Packing Food at Kids Against Hunger
Today we had an amazing day at Kids Against Hunger. KAH is an organization that packs foods to send to people in need around the world. It was a great team building activity enjoyed by all!
Habitat for Humanity
Today we tried our third type of Habitat For Humanity which was fixing up mobile homes for Hayward. The group was split into too with one group of boys working under the mobile home on plumbing and another group repairing some stairs that had been severely compromised from dry rot. The owner with the step issue was facing major health issues according to the nice neighbor who invited the group inside to use her bathrooms. Overall it was a great day and we truly appreciate the volunteers for giving up their entire Saturday to help!
Serving Meals at Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen
Today we had a great time at Martin De Porres soup kitchen in San Francisco. This is one of our favorite places to volunteer. The small venue makes it one where the teens feel like they can be up close and personal with the clients. We are super thankful for this partnership!
Sorting Donations at White Pony Express
Today we had another great experience with White Pony Express. Two of our boy volunteers were able to sort toys and clean them so they could be given out to families in need. The rest of the ladies were tasked with taking brand new jeans out of bags and stacking them by size so we could get them
ready for the Mobile Boutiques. Our group absolutely loves volunteering here! It is a fun day with lots of team building!
Serving Meals at Glide Memorial
We had another great day at Glide memorial in SF. It was a cold and blustery day but it was wonderful to provide a warm meal and shelter for those that attended.
Sharing Homemade Cards & Warm Blankets with Senior Citizens
During this holiday season we had a couple amazing opportunities to share the spirit of the season with some loving senior citizens. Club member Lexi Daetz had a birthday party where she and her friends made fleece blankets to share with some deserving seniors. The seniors were delighted to receive these! Kylie Yarwood organized an amazing handmade holiday card drive where our members made homemade cards with special notes written to these special seniors. They were touched by the thoughtful gifts! We are so excited about the new connections that we have been able to make with our local senior homes in the area thanks to Kylie and her families help! We look forward to many more opportunities to share our love and gifts with local senior citizens!
Caroling for Seniors
Last night we enjoyed one of our annual traditions singing holiday carols to senior citizens. We started at Danville Rehab and sang carols to a small group and handed out holiday door hangers for their rooms. Next we went on to a larger home called Sunrise. When we arrived a fun man named “Crazy Jack” asked if he could accompany our group by playing the piano while the group sang. This really livened things up and everyone really enjoyed that! We got Jack’s card for next year and we will definitely try to see if he can join us again. This is such a fun tradition that really gets everyone in the holiday spirit!
Special Olympics Bowling
We had an amazing day at the bowling alley with the Special Olympics!
St. Francis Senior Home
Today a few of our girls helped at St Francis Senior Home and had an amazing time. The video is of the girls putting on a little show for the senior citizens.
SRVHS Students at the St. Francis Senior Home from Pledge To Humanity on Vimeo.
Martin de Porres House of Hospitality
We had another amazing experience at Martin De Porres in SF. George runs the place and is so great with our teens! He gave us a tour and told us all about the history of the free kitchen. The client attendance was low so our volunteers got lots of face to face interaction. This is truly one of our favorite places to volunteer.
Bowling with the Special Olympics in SF
Today we had a great opportunity to assist with Special Olympics bowling in SF. The teen volunteers and athletes had a great time! We feel blessed for these opportunities!
Serving Meals at Loaves & Fishes in Martinez
We had a great day at Loaves & Fishes in Martinez. It is a very small soup kitchen where teens have the opportunity to spend time with the clients. A group of men that came from a men’s group home were so gracious and insisted they sweep and mop the floors for us. We were blown away by their generosity and kindness!
Making Blankets for Foster Kids
Last week we had our first of 3 Blanket Making work parties to make 75 blankets for the foster kids. These newly tied fleece blankets will be given to foster kids at an annual holiday party were 1000 foster kids come from all over the area to enjoy crafts, games, cookie decorating and more. We will look forward to seeing the smiles on the foster kids faces when they receive their new blanket!
Playhouse Building with Habitat for Humanity
We are excited about our partnership with Habitat for Humanity where teens are able to make playhouses for kids in low income areas. Sometimes the playhouses are donated to a child care center,a church or child in need. Our teens are able to use power tools and learn real building skills while feeling good about making a difference. It’s a win win!
Serving at Glide Memorial
We had a great day volunteering with our sister school Monte Vista High’s PTH club thanks to Janet Nunan who invited our club to come along. The teens had a great time and it’s always eye opening for our teens that come from privileged families to have exposure to the folks living in the Tenderloin. We all have so much to be thankful for and its nice to be able to give back together. It makes us all feel good to be able to help these folks out that struggle on a daily basis. I was touched by one of our club members that asked the group to wait while he ran back to give his packed lunch to one of the homeless folks on the street. These are the small things that we can do to help others.
White Pony Express
Today we had another great opportunity to help provide kids in need with new toys. White Pony Express is an amazing organization that provides new or like new clothes and toys to kids in need in lower income areas. Today we were able to assemble brand new dolls for our communities most needy. Our teen volunteers put wigs on and dressed these dolls, braided their hair, and boxed the dolls to provide kids with brand new packaged dolls.
Special Olympics
Today we had an amazing day participating with Special Olympics in SF with 8-10 year old soccer players. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time!
Three Events in One Weekend!
We started the weekend with sandwich making where 20 of our club members made sandwiches for a homeless shelter. We also had a group go to Martin De Porres, one of our favorite soup kitchens. There hundreds of meals were served to those in need! Today we had a group go to help with Special Olympics soccer practice. We are so grateful for the many service opportunities we have been given. It’s so rewarding to give back! We are making a difference in the lives of others!!!
Our First Meeting of the School Year
Starting the School Year Right
We kicked off the new school year with a big weekend with events both Saturday and Sunday! Saturday we had Playhouse Building with Habitat For Humanity and Sunday we began a 6 week series where we will play soccer with 8-10 year old Special Olympics athletes. Both events were a huge success and we are very excited for the upcoming year!
Challenger Baseball
We are so excited to be able to volunteer with Challenger Baseball! We have all grown so fond of our team (the SRV Giants). These athletes are sweet and adorable and truly appreciate the opportunity to play. Everyone is a winner at Challenger and they are given as much help and support as they need to hit the ball and run the bases. This is definitely one of our favorite volunteer opportunities! The athletes have a number of challenges (autism, down syndrome, many are in wheel chairs or walkers). Nevertheless, they all have an amazing time and we feel privileged to be partnering with such a great organization!
St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen
We are super excited about our partnership with St. Vincent De Paul. Last Saturday we had the opportunity to serve in West Oakland’s most needed soup kitchen. The folks that came had a wide variety of challenges which make attaining their most basic needs very challenging. This amazing organization not only provides an amazing hot lunch that we would all feel privileged to eat, but they allow their guests to shop for free for single items that are donated from local grocery stores. As we were sorting the items, we were thinking about how amazing some of the donated food looked. Many of those that attend have super tough challenges they face, such as mental illness, disabilities, addictions..etc. Nevertheless, these folks are sweet and super appreciative for the hot meal. They are allowed to eat
until their tummy is full and we were happy to replenish their plate as many times as they needed. We fee super honored to be partnering with this amazing organization!
Free General Store in Richmond
Today we had the amazing opportunity to help at a “Free General Store” in Richmond. Families received one empty bag that they were able to fill with all the clothes, toys and books that they could fit into their own bag. Our PTH crew helped the folks shopped for outfits in their size. Some did not speak any English but their smiles were contagious and we all figured out what they needed. As we held up outfits in their size, they could shake their head ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if they liked it or not. It was so amazing to see how appreciative they were to receive something for free. White Pony Express is an amazing organization that is doing amazing things. We are excited to be partnering with this amazing organization.
White Pony Express Foundation
Today we brought a group to help sort and prepare new and used clothing for an upcoming mobile boutique organized through the White Pony Express foundation. Katie gave us an amazing tour and showed us a video to help our group understand what these mobile boutiques were all about. Every month the White Pony Express organization offers a free boutique where tons of clothes are transported to a location in Pittsburgh or Richmond where folks in need can come and shop for clothes, books, toys, and more. Our team helped in a variety of ways: sorting clothes, shoe polishing, steaming clothes, packaging up outfits that we’d all be happy to wear in a variety of sizes. We are hoping to come back and help on a regular basis!
Challenger Baseball Day 2!
Challenger Baseball Day 2
Today we had such a great opportunity to volunteer with Challenger Baseball. This organization is for kids with disabilities to be able to play baseball. The athletes have a variety of challenges (from autism, down syndrome and other illnesses). The smiles on the kids faces were from ear to ear. Their enthusiasm and excitement was contagious. One mom said- we are so thankful for you volunteers. Without an organization like this, our autistic son would not have the opportunity to play. We had a little rain but it did not even phase the athletes or volunteers! We had such a great time and we are very thankful for the opportunity to participate in this great program!
Special Olympics in Santa Rosa
We had an amazing day volunteering with Special Olympics for a basketball tournament in Santa Rosa with over 700 participants. The day couldn’t have been better. The athletes had such big smiles and were so happy to be there. Our volunteers absolutely love these opportunities. We can’t wait until the next Special Olympics event!
Easter Carnival Supply Drive for St. Vincent de Paul
In February and March our SRV PTH club did a school wide drive for St Vincent De Paul Oakland where we collected a variety of supplies for SVDP’s annual Easter Carnival. Kids from West Oakland’s most needy families might not have an Easter basket this year if it wasn’t for SVDP. The kids are able to come to this Easter Carnival and enjoy fun arts and craft activities, participate in an Easter Egg hunt and go home with all sorts of books, candy and toys. Our school was able to collect 2 cars full worth of amazing donations! We are super excited to be able to participate again next year. The photos shown here are from this year’s Easter Carnival. It is wonderful to see the smiles and joy on these kid’s faces!
Bradley’s Video at SRV from Pledge To Humanity on Vimeo.
Dose for Awareness Walk
Today we had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at the annual Dose For Awareness Walk. The walk is held to raise awareness for prescription drug abuse to help prevent accidental deaths. Prescription Drug abuse is the #1 cause of accidental overdose and folks right in our area are dying because lack of education and awareness. The master of ceremony was Cheryl Jennings and there were state senators, assembly woman Catherine Baker and local mayors who all spoke about this epidemic and how they are getting involved in our community to reduce these unnecessary deaths. It was great for our teens to be involved and see how dangerous these drugs can be. Our teens were able to volunteer in a huge way at the youth station, filling and passing out balloons, passing out T-shirts/totes, working at the photo booth and more. Our club feels very honored to be able to volunteer for such a great cause!
Serving the Homeless in San Ramon Valley
Once again our group had the amazing opportunity to be able to serve the homeless right at San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church in Alamo. This program houses homeless families during the winter months when it gets cold so these families don’t have to sleep in their car or on the streets. 3 Meals are provided by volunteers like us. We decided to make burritos so everyone could help. We made 70 burritos and then we were able to sit with the clients and enjoy the meal we prepared. It happened to be Superbowl Sunday so they put the game up on the big screen right above their tents.
The clients were very appreciative and seemed to be super happy with our meal. Even though we made too many burritos, we were told that they were all eaten the next day! Thank you to all the families that donated ingredients for our meal. In addition to this meal, teens from our group have been assisting the children in this program with tutoring, activities and arts and crafts. This is an neat opportunity to help those in need right in the town we live.
Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Speech
Soup Kitchen at St. Vincent de Paul
Today we had an amazing day at Saint Vincent De Paul in Oakland. This was not only a soup kitchen but a complete “campus” filled with showers, a multi-use room and more. This amazing place offers all sorts of services (medical, counseling training classes and more) to West Oakland’s most needy citizens. We were super impressed with the facility and how much they do for those that come for help. They had an amazing education part in the beginning where we learned about the history of how they got started, we learned about West Oakland and how it became one of the poorest communities in the bay area and how they were helping this community. There were probably 50 volunteers there helping out today.
Today we did a multitude of jobs that ranged from serving, prepping food to washing bins in the back. Whatever they needed, we were there to assist! The group felt enriched from this experience and the girls made sure to tell me that they wanted to go back to this one. We have started a new partnership with this organization that we hope to continue for years to come.
Yesterday we brightened the day for some senior citizens at 2 senior homes in Danville. We brought each of the seniors a little snowman or santa doorhanger to hang in their room. It was so fun to see their faces light up when they heard the songs and many of them clapped an joined along. The seniors were so sweet and were very complimentary of how much they appreciated us coming. We passed out cookies at the second senior home which was a big hit too. This event helped get us all in the holiday spirit! We will definitely do this event again next year!
The SRVHS Pledge To Humanity Club was very involved in the Winter Wonderland for 1100 foster kids that traveled from all over the bay area to attend. Our group provided volunteers on 3 separate dates, totaling 30 volunteers from our club that attended. We proudly collected 69 gift cards valued at $895! Seeing the foster kids was amazing. They were super excited to participate in all the games and crafts and appreciative for every gift they received. It was fun to see their faces light up after getting to pick out a prize or toy. Each of the foster kids posted their dreams and one little girl said that her dream “was to get gifts and thank you for making my wishes come true.” Others commented that their dream was to go home which was heartbreaking, as many of these kids have been taken out of their homes because they were unfit environments for them to stay. These opportunities make our club community more appreciative of what they have. We are thankful for the opportunity to give back!
Today we had the amazing opportunity to attend the East Bay Habitat for Humanity workday at Muir Ridge in Martinez. It was a freezing cold morning and we all woke up early so we could arrive at our worksite at 8:30am. We learned a little about how Habitat For Humanity works and we were able to choose from 3 different jobs (working on putting together foundations for houses, putting up siding or calking). Our PTH group split up so that some of us worked on siding and others worked on calking. Each of the houses were surrounded by scafolding and getting around was tricky and could be dangerous if you were not paying attention. We worked for about 4 hours and then took a lunch break before beginning our tasks again for another 3 hours. It was a tiring day but we all were super happy that we decided to do this! We will definitely go back and help again. It was rewarding and satisfying to build houses for those in need.
Tonight was an amazing opportunity to be able to serve at Oakland’s A Place At The Table. They have an amazing recovery program and homeless shelter to assist in getting folks off of drugs/alcohol, while they get back on track. The helpers were recovering alcoholics who were glad to share their amazing stories. Two men shared that they had lost everything for alcohol but were excited to be part of this city ministries program to help them quit. It was another great night and we felt privileged to serve!
We were so proud to be able to see the turnout for the latest SRVHS Club meeting! Mrs. Ghorbani was so happy to see a huge group of kids engaged and excited about helping their community. Thanks to everyone involved with this amazing club! You are certainly changing the world and making a difference.
This past Saturday, 10 Pledge To Humanity teens went to Santa Rosa for a Special Olympic Soccer Tournament. We had a long 2 hour drive to get there but it was totally worth it! We were told that this Special Olympics Soccer Tournament had their largest turn out yet (with athletes coming as far as 5 hours away). It was amazing to see the happy athletes so excited for the day. No matter where they placed, they seemed overjoyed to get a metal (regardless of their standings in the event). There was such a sense of camaradery among the athletes as they cheered each other on and congratulated each other. We all left feeling very thankful for this experience. We are excited about the connections we made and that we’d be invited to participate in the upcoming basketball tournament in March. We love Special Olympics and we are looking forward to working with these athletes in the future.
Today we had the amazing opportunity to get dressed up and participate in a fun Halloween Parade with a low income elementary school in Richmond. We were told that police have to surround the area during the parade because they are afraid of violence in the surrounding neighborhoods. The kids are absolutely adorable and all decked out in costumes (most of which have been donated by SRVHS) as most of these families don’t have the money to spend on these types of things. We started out the day playing at recess with the kids. There were also some adorable siblings there that were 2-4 years old that were all dressed up. We played 4 square, teather ball and more. After the recess the SRVHS teens walked the parade with the kids. It was such a fun day! We can’t wait until next year!
This past weekend on Saturday and Sunday, tons of PTH kids helped set up and host games / activities for a kids carnival at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church in San Ramon. The event was free and open to the community where guests can pack a shoebox, play carnival games and enjoy a variety of craft and food booths and more. The club teens that worked each did 2 hour shifts. PTH club members said they had a great time and so did the kids!
I can’t say enough about how great it feels to work the Special Olympics. We rarely get to see a happier group! It is so fun to play soccer with the athletes and to help cheer them on. Today we were back in Golden Gate Park with 4 new Freshman SRVHS girls in our club. They were so enthusiastic and excited about this opportunity. One of the grils even passed up the opportunity to go to a big Raiders/Bronco’s game to attend this event (WOW!). It is amazing to see that the girls would give up other activities to attend. We feel so “filled up” after working with this group. We are really excited to help score keep for the Special Olympics soccer tournament in 2 weeks. We are very grateful for these amazing opportunities!
This was an amazing weekend for the SRVHS PTH Club! We had 5 events (Soup Kitchen (Martin De Porres), Special Olympics, Operation Christmas Child Sat & Sunday, and the Run for Education to raise $ for schools).
The PTH teens jumped in with a record level of service in one weekend! The first event was serving at a soup kitchen in San Francisco. It was a quaint and gorgeous spot that has been acting as a ‘free restaurant’ for the past 40 years. They do not take government donations, it is strictly funded by private donations. They serve breakfast and a soup lunch (love in a bowl). There is a gorgeous garden that any of us would enjoy dining at. We served with volunteers that have been helping for 20 years at this facility. We are blessed to have these incredible experiences that make us truly appreciative that we donated our time for such a meaningful experience!
Sept 19th was a busy day for the SRVHS Pledge to Humanity group with 2 separate events! A big thank you to Sue Connelly for taking a group to Glide Memorial to serve lunch to hundreds of folks in need of a good meal. The second group spent 3 hours picking up trash from a beach in Albany during National Beach Clean Up Day. Our group continues to make a difference in our community!
Today we had an amazing day volunteering at Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen in Martinez. The folks from Loaves & Fishes were thrilled to see a group of teenage boys, as most of their volunteers come from NCL (all girls). The four teenage boys who volunteered will attend San Ramon and Monte Vista high schools in the fall so it was a great chance for them to see the types of community service they can do when they attend high school in the upcoming year. The boys were great sports and did everything from: opening canned food, preparing the main dish, getting chairs ready, serving about 200 folks that came for lunch, doing dishes and mopping floors at the end of the day. It was great for them to be able to serve local folks in need and walk away richer from the experience.
“Today we had fun day serving 705 lunches at Glide Memorial in SF. There were 6 girls that attended (Nicole, Ava, Hannah, Nathalie, Bailey and Katie) and we all had a great time. It always amazes me how appreciative the clients are despite the hardships they face in their lives. We all have so much to be grateful for and it’s wonderful to be able to give back.” – Beth McKnight
We had a fun filled day helping out the Special Olympics with Track & Field Practice. We helped with the Shot Put, Softball throw, Javelin, 100 yard dash and long jump. Maile, Devin, Annie and Nathalie were all on hand to assist, participate and cheer the athletes on! The skills of the participants varied but their smiles and enthusiasm would light up any room. We got to see some familiar faces from our last Special Olympics Soccer event. They were super excited to see our girls again! We are hoping to do many more events with Special Olympics in the future!
Today we had the most incredible experience to be invited to We Day at the SAP Pavilion! 10 dedicated girls from the Pledge To Humanity Club at San Ramon High were able to attend this amazing day! These girls have dedicated so much time to volunteering in the community, that it was amazing to be able to reward them for all of their hard work! We were able to see some phenomenal singers and motivational speakers and be inspired to make a difference in the world. We all left incredibly grateful for the work we have been able to do this year! Together we know that we ARE making a difference!
We had an amazing night last night playing with some adorable homeless kiddo’s that were gaining shelter at the Methodist church in Danville. We did sweatshirt & cupcake decorating activities and enjoyed eating dinner with some very nice families. It was an amazing experience for us all. Thank you to Caroline, Carley, Caitlin, Maile, Kailey, Gracie, Annie, Siena & Kenna for helping us!
Today 17 girls from the Pledge To Humanity Club served lunch at Glide Memorial. We were all divided to different jobs: from ticket taking, to meal serving to clearing tables. We all left enriched from the amazing day feeling very blessed to have the opportunity to help those in need.
Yesterday 15 girls from the club went over to the Martinez Community Center to share home baked cookies and to sing Christmas Carols. We had a great turn out with 40 seniors that came for the occasion. The older folks sang along with us and we all had a great time.
Today was a real adventure. We started out with a super cold morning waiting for the station to open. We had lots of interesting things happening around us in the station at 8am! We made it to Glide to find a huge amount of volunteers (probably double the amount that we had in October when we volunteered). There was hardly a spot in the line to make sandwiches but we all scattered about to do what was needed. We finished in record time after we packed up 550 sandwiches. We decided that it would be fun to watch the end of a Glide Memorial church service. The church choir was truly amazing…. the choir was so incredibly enthusiastic and sang with real passion. The choir was lifting their hands as they sang- and members of the church audience sang and raised their arms to join in. It was a truly memorable experience….
The ride home on BART was a real adventure! Our train went off the track and we were stranded in West Oakland for a bit. They told us abruptly to “get off the train, the train is not in service”. We were all very confused with what was going on. They were finally able to move the broken train off the track so that a new train could come take us home. As always, the girls were troopers and never complained. It was a great day even with the little bumps in the road. We were all very thankful for the experience!
The Foster Winter Wonderland party was by far the highlight of our year. It was truly an amazing experience to see the joy and happiness that the foster kids showed during this amazing event. It made us appreciate our great families and want to do more for foster kids in our area. We want to find out how we can get more involved with this amazing organization. The woman in charge of the event started crying when she told us how much this event meant to these kids. It was moving and touched us all. We were all thankful to be able to participate in this amazing event.
Last Friday 5 of Pledge To Humanity girls went to the Martinez Senior Community Center to help some adorable senior citizens learn how to use their cell phones. The girls got such a kick out of these sweet older folks. One lady was happy to get help changing the background wallpaper on her phone which she had been stuck with for 2 years (the Verizon sales guy had taken a selfie of himself and put it on the background of her cell phone) so the poor lady had to look at this guy everyday! She was super happy to change the background to a nice picture of a sailboat in a tropical setting. There was another nice lady who couldn’t figure out how to delete photos off her phone. She had been to radio shack and all over trying to figure it out. We downloaded the manual for her onto her laptop and finally figured out how to delete the photos to make more storage space for her on her phone. For the other folks we helped with a range of tasks like programing contacts, checking voice mail, turning phones on silent. The kids thought the seniors were so sweet and they giggled the whole way home at the cute stories from the day. We will have a long list of kids that want to go back to do this one again! We are looking forward to visiting this community center on 12/22 (11-1pm for Christmas Cookies, Carols and Crafts). We are excited about our new partnership with the Martinez Senior Community Center!
A group from the Pledge To Humanity Club volunteered to help with the Halloween festivities at a low income elementary in Richmond. The high school kids were all decked out in Halloween costumes and ready to enjoy a fun day with the kids. When we arrived it was raining pretty hard so the parade was cancelled. Instead we enjoyed a fun classroom party with music, dancing and even a congo line! The kids were adorable and super appreciative of all the goody bags we brought for them. During the classroom party kids from other classes would parade through our class and join in on the fun. The high schoolers that participated had a great time and were all very happy that they went. We will look forward to visiting Peres again next year!
We had a truly amazing day with a Special Olympics soccer team in Golden Gate Park. Four girls from our Club (Hannah Connelly, Siena Atkins, Ava Begun and Nathalie Riddel) came geared up to play soccer and help facilitate the practice. The head coach Dwight has been volunteering his time every Saturday for over 28 years. Today was the very last practice before the big tournament which will be held in San Jose next weekend. There were about 20 players that were spit into 2 groups: the “Golden Gaters” (the higher functioning group) and the “Golden Nuggets”. We had tons of volunteers including our four girls that all jumped in to play and participate. Some of us were asked to cheer the players on because it helps them stay focused and the participants love the encouragement. We truly enjoyed the athletes who ranged in age between 14 and 72 years old. Our very favorite player was a 26 year old young man named Robert whose personality would light up any room. He was full of smiles, hugs and so much fun. He wasn’t afraid to let our pretty young Pledge To Humanity gals know that he was a “ladies man”. He loved being the center of attention and loved making us laugh. The Special Olympic athletes were engaged in the soccer and seemed to really enjoy the weekly practice. The other volunteers couldn’t believe that our group drove all the way from the East Bay area… but it was well worth the trek. We all left with a smile on our face and truly rich from the experience. We are all looking forward to doing more sporting events with Special Olympics.
Six girls from San Ramon Valley High School’s Pledge To Humanity Club woke up super early on a Sunday morning to drive into San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church to make bagged lunches for folks in need in the Tenderloin district. The girls suited up in aprons/hair nets and gloves ready and eager to take on the task. They worked all worked very hard for 2 hours making 1200 bagged lunches (comprised of one peanut butter sandwich and one ham sandwich). The 1200 bagged lunches will be refrigerated and distributed the week to those in need. These sandwiches contribute to the 27,000 meals a week that Glide Memorial Church serves. When I thanked the girls for spending their Sunday making sandwiches, they all said they had such a great time and were very happy that they went. I feel blessed to have come across such an exceptional group of young ladies. I genuinely believe that they are seeing that it is truly much better to give than to receive.
Nine girls from the SRVHS Pledge to Humanity Club got together to make homemade fleece tie blankets to donate to a senior home. Each girl purchased the material and carefully cut it in advance. Together the girls worked hard to make a blanket that they will be able donate to a senior citizen who will treasure this gift for years to come.
We are so grateful to the wonderful girls from the San Ramon Valley High School Club that came and helped us clean up the day after the annual gala! They are a real team of worker bees, and we couldn’t have had such a wonderful event without their help. They cleaned up in record time and with wonderful smiles and a great attitude. Thank you girls! The team has great things planned for this fall and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish this year.
“Today it was our pleasure to work at Loaves and Fishes with Gary the director of the Alhambra location. Our group proudly served 185 meals today and were very excited that no one went away hungry (which unfortunately is not always the case). We were happy to hear that many of the local retailers in the area such as Safeway and Costco donate a great deal of food to Loaves and Fishes that might be otherwise tossed in the trash. Not only can these folks get a hot meal and and eat as much as they need (until the food runs out), but there was also a table of baked goods and produce that these folks could take home to help them make it through until the next day. We served children all the way up to senior citizens. The attendees were appreciative, thankful and very polite. It was truly an amazing experience that we will not soon forget. We will absolutely be back to volunteer again soon.” – Kailey McKnight
