             
Giving Back > Environment > Health > Community > Employees Giving Back Through Employee Nominations Through the company, Earthbound Farm employees have supported these worthy causes over the past year.
July 2010 The Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition (nominated by Sherry Parsons) provides invaluable support to terminally ill children and their families in California. They work with hospitals and community organizations to improve end-of-life care by promoting compassionate, all-inclusive medical treatment; their approach serves the child and the family as a unit and helps the family to cope and care for their child under extreme circumstances. In January 2005, CHPCC successfully convinced Governor Schwarzenegger to expand Medi-Cal reimbursement for palliative care when the patient is a child.
June 2010 The Unity Care Group (nominated by Cheryl Rositano) provides transitional housing and teaches life skills to teens and young adults who are “aging out” of the foster care system in Santa Clara County. These young people, ages 16 to 24, leave foster care without sufficient education or skills to become contributing members of society; Unity Care Group provides structure, guidance, and hope to help them make the transition to living on their own successfully. Our donation will help provide needed supplies such as blankets, clothing, and household items.
May 2010 Dancing Classrooms Monterey (nominated by Becky Carpenter) is a standards-based arts-in-education program which uses ballroom dancing as a vehicle to build social awareness, confidence, and self-esteem in upper-elementary schoolchildren in Monterey County. The children learn more than just dance steps: respect for the opposite gender, manners, self-control, and discipline. Becky volunteers as a videographer, and she says that “there is no way to express how good it feels to watch these kids perform something they have worked so hard on for so many weeks. They dress up in their Sunday best clothes, and with parents, grandparents, and siblings watching them, perform with such dignity and pride.”
April 2010 The Leadership San Benito Comfort & Care Backpack Program (nominated by Tracey Rodriguez) is one of three organizations in San Benito County that provide transitional housing and care to displaced children, from infancy to age 17. When children are removed form dangerous home situations, they’re often unable to take any belongings with them. The backpack is filled with age-appropriate items ranging from books, toys, clothing, and healthy snacks to personal hygiene items; it’s given to them upon their arrival and is theirs to keep, providing a bit of comfort in a stressful situation. Tracey is a member of the Leadership San Benito Class of 2010.
March 2010 Like many California schools, Spring Grove Elementary School in Hollister (nominated by Marybell Perez) is struggling to provide services to its students amid budget cuts and escalating costs. Our donation will help expand the school’s lunch program to cover 450 students who don’t qualify for other free lunch programs.
February 2010 The goal of The Chiapas Project (nominated by Whitney Muse) is to eradicate poverty in Latin America by supporting microfinance lending to women, making it possible for women — who typically earn less than $2 a day — to start a small business and bring themselves, their children, and their families out of poverty. Microfinancing institutions have been shown to have a 97% repayment rate and have empowered women to save for the future, invest in their children’s education, and raise families in healthier environments. Whitney volunteers as the organization’s Junior Committee Chairperson.
January 2010 Zuzu’s Petals (nominated by Katie Comartin) is a locally organized nonprofit whose mission is to provide food, clothing, educational supplies, and other necessities to underprivileged children in our neighboring communities. Identifying needy children with the help of local churches, shelters, and youth organizations, Zuzu’s Petals offers support these children need but aren’t able to get elsewhere.
December 2009 At Alianza Charter School in Watsonville, CA (nominated by Norma Barboza), teachers and parents not only help students excel in their academic education, but take care to foster in each child a sense of responsibility, confidence, pride, and self-worth. Two Earthbound Farm employees take a very active role supporting the school, both as members of the Parent Club and one as president of the School Site Council. With all their budget challenges, schools statewide are finding it increasingly difficult to fund basic improvements; our donation will support repainting Alianza.
November 2009 The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation (nominated by Betty Plazola) grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to help give them hope, strength, and joy. When it started in 1984, the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation granted just 27 wishes that first year; today it’s one of the largest chapters nationwide and has now granted over 5,000 wishes. Betty volunteers 2-3 times a month as a “Wish Granter,” helping with the granting process.
October 2009 The mission of Kids Konnected (nominated by Westy DuRant) is to connect children who have a parent or loved one with cancer, allowing them to share their fears and feelings in a safe environment and know they’re not alone. It was started in 1993 by Jon Wagner, then 11 years old, when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. When a parent gets cancer, the entire family is affected, and though there are many resources for patients and caregivers, the kids’ emotional needs are often left out. He thought it would help him to speak with other kids who were in a similar situation. Today, Kids Konnected is a nationwide organization.
September 2009 The Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk (nominated by Dave Moore) draws participants from across the country to celebrate cancer survivors and raise funds for cancer research. Our donation is in support of Sally Cashman, an Earthbound Farm broker in Phoenix and a breast cancer survivor. She wanted to find a way to help other women faced with this diagnosis, so she decided to take on the walk and put together “Team Bad Girls” to walk with her; they will walk over 60 miles during the 3-day event. Sally says, “I am passionate about what these funds will do for so many. I am so fortunate to be here to do something positive with my experience.”
August 2009 Ag Against Hunger (nominated by Hillary Fish) collects healthy, nutritious, fresh produce and makes it available to those who can least afford it. They collect surplus fruits and vegetables from local fields and distribute them to food banks and more than 240 nonprofit human service agencies. This translates into feeding 75,000 low-income people in the Monterey-San Benito-Santa Cruz County area, plus thousands more throughout California and the West Coast, each month. Hillary volunteers and sits on the organization’s Board of Directors. |
