Helping Hands Community Outreach

Events | Continued Support | Where to Donate Goods | Volunteer | Donate Online

SURVEY

The Helping Hands team is conducting a survey to determine where BMC moms choose to donate their time and money. Please take a minute to email us at and tell us about the organization and why it's your preferred choice.

EVENTS

2ND ANNUAL BMC FLEA

Sunday May 15, 2011
9am to 2pm
Burlingame Rec Center gymnasium
850 Burlingame Avenue

Come shop at the 2nd Annual BMC Flea!

The Flea is a great place to find good-condition, second-hand products related to parenting and children, or a little something to spruce up your home. It's also a fun way to spend the day - making deals and making friends, while supporting some very worthy organizations! If you took part last year, you know what a great success it was - and we have expanded to a larger space this year.

Spend some time with your fellow BMC moms and local merchants and get great deals on baby and toddler clothing, strollers, wagons, toys, books and small home furnishings, as well as sporting goods and decorative and functional housewares.

UPDATE: We will have coffee and bagels in the morning, baked goods for sale, and food vendors to feed the hungry masses. There will also be face painting and a crafts table to distract the little ones while you shop. Room to Read is providing story times at 10am, 11am and 12 noon in our Book Exchange corner - bring a gently used favorite, and take home a new favorite! (scroll down for Book Exchange details)

Admission to shop at the event is $3/person or $5/family.

All admission proceeds will go directly to the following organizations:

BCE (Burlingame Community Education Foundation) www.bcefoundation.org
Family Connections www.familyconnections.org
for kids! (San Mateo-Foster City Community Education Foundation) www.forkidsedfund.org
Room to Read www.roomtoread.org

If you have any questions about the event, please contact [email protected].

If you would like to volunteer to help at the Flea, please contact [email protected].

UPDATE: In addition to your fellow BMC moms selling their wares, the following mom-owned and local businesses will have tables at the Flea:

Stella & Dot - jewelry
Christina Liu - Best Princess Parties
Kimberli Moffitt-Tsui - photographer
Kimberly Park - 4acemall.com (products for babies, kids & moms)
Margret Werner - Two Chicks (baby/family/toddler food company)
John Brewer - Exanit Trading Company (silicone kitchen items)
Heike Shelton - Interior Designer for Children's Spaces
Wendy Quaccia - ALLS (pediatric speech, behavior, OT)
Jill Wright - Speedy Wash & Fold

Book Exchange at the BMC Flea

Donate a gently used book and take home a new favorite!

Books should be geared for children who are not yet reading and/or those just starting to read. Books on parenting, pregnancy, etc. also welcomed.

Three ways to participate in the Book Exchange:

Donate gently used books you no longer want or need to the BMC Flea before May 15th. We will sell them and all proceeds will go to the organizations listed above.
Drop off the books you want to exchange BEFORE May 15th and receive a ticket for each book you drop. Bring your tickets to the Flea and shop for new books!
This option is ONLY for those who are unable to pre-drop books. Ideally we would prefer to have all the books dropped PRIOR to May 15th. However, if you DO wish to participate and can only come the day of the Flea, your books must be dropped to the Book Exchange by 9:00am. You will get a ticket for each book you drop off, and you can use those tickets to "buy" second hand books at the Flea.

Please note that from 9:00-11:00am, the Book Exchange will be open ONLY to those with tickets. This will ensure that those who have contributed to the Book Exchange have a good selection of books from which to pick. After 11:00am, we will open it up to anyone who wants to purchase a book for cash. Books will be well priced. The main goal of the Book Exchange is to share books with one another and make a little extra cash for our recipient organizations.

To drop books before May 15th, please e-mail [email protected] (pick up or drop off will be arranged via e-mail).

UPDATE: Also at the Book Exchange: Story time, presented by Room to Read. They will have a character in costume and story times at 10am, 11am and 12 noon. So come all you avid readers and join us at BMC Flea's Book Exchange!

RECENT OUTREACH EVENTS WE'VE ENJOYED

Keller Center Donations

March 2011

The BMC has been a proud supporter of the Keller Center for the past few years. This year, based on feedback from the organization, the Helping Hands team used about $500 of its budget to replenish the supply of board games, puzzles, DVDs and coloring materials in the Keller Center's waiting room, as well as purchasing gift cards in small denominations to be provided to families who come through the center. These donations were made possible by contributions from those of you who opted to add an additional $10 to Helping Hands when renewing your BMC membership. A special thanks goes to the Maple Moms playgroup for collecting puzzles, games and coloring materials to add to our donations. We are so grateful for the support from our members, which enables the BMC to make a positive difference in our community.

The Keller Center for Family Violence Intervention is the first stop for healing for victims of sexual, physical, emotional or other abuse. In 2010, the Keller Center treated approximately 100 adults and 400 children for all types of abuse, as well as for witnessing violence. Over one-third of those children were under six years old. For more information about the Keller Center, please visit www.sanmateomedicalcenter.org/content/KellerCenter.htm.

GENTLY USED BABY CLOTHES & SUPPLIES DRIVE TO BENEFIT CORA

On March 16, 2011, at the “Race to Nowhere” screening, the Helping Hands team hosted a Baby Clothes and Supplies Drive to benefit CORA.* Your support of this drive was incredible, and the CORA staff was so appreciative to receive three overflowing carloads of baby clothing, supplies and household goods for their clients. Thank you for your generosity!

* CORA stands for Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse. Many of CORA’s clients are forced to leave their homes without any of the items we all use on a daily basis. When they come to CORA’s shelter, transitional housing and support groups, or into the office for legal assistance, CORA provides some of these “comfort” items. Most people have gone through very traumatic situations and stay in temporary housing facilities for many months. CORA provides lifesaving services for many people who literally start their lives over and need everything to begin anew in a home without violence. www.corasupport.org

Holiday Toy Drive Benefiting Lucille Packard Children's Hospital

A heart felt thank you to all the BMC members who made our 2010 Holiday Toy Drive benefiting Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH) such a fantastic success! The outreach staff at LPCH was incredibly grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support and generous gifts. Thank you!

Juice in the City and Classic Kids Photography Promotion

In the fall of 2010, the BMC worked together with Juice in the City and Classic Kids Photography to offer a special promotion to BMC members, with a percentage of proceeds from the promotion benefiting the Keller Center in San Mateo. The Keller Center helps the victims of child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. In December 2010, we presented a check for almost $700 to the Keller Center, and they were thrilled to receive the generous donation. Thank you to all of the BMC members who signed up for the promotion and helped to make this donation possible! In 2010, due to the generous donations from our members, whose giving of funds, goods and service exceeded our expectations, the Helping Hands team was able to donate $1,000 to the Burlingame Public Library. Thank you to all who made such a donation possible!

San Bruno Fundraiser

November 14, 2010

On November 14, 2010, the BMC Helping Hands teamed up with the San Bruno Mothers' Club to hold a "Day for San Bruno" fundraiser at San Bruno City Park to benefit those families affected by the San Bruno fire. The event was a great success from start to finish. The unseasonably warm weather set the stage for a lovely day of family fun, which included live children's music, face painting, pony rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts and ice cream. An estimated 300+ families attended throughout the day, enjoying the activities, buying t-shirts and vying to win one of the 70+ Raffle and Silent Auction items, which were generously donated by BMC members, our advertisers, other mothers' club members and local businesses. There was a wonderful spirit of community and goodwill, and we were thrilled to have raised more than $5,600, which will be donated to those families affected by the fire.

Please click here to enjoy photos from the event.

In order to allow for 100% of the money raised to be donated, we relied heavily on the generosity of others to support this endeavor, and there is a long list of people and groups to thank. Specifically, all of the wonderful entertainers and performers who donated their time and talent, with a special thanks to:

Pam Donkin, Director of Peninsula Music Together, who arranged for the donation of hundreds of cds, worked her magic on industry contacts near and far to join us, performed her own songs, and coordinated all of the other performances to help us celebrate a special day. www.pamdonkin.com.
Magic Dan, for his flexibility regarding scheduling of the event, his commitment to helping the cause, and his uncanny ability to transfix the kids. www.magicdan.com
Terry Tenzing of Friendly Pony Parties, for bringing us ponies, goats, bunnies and lots more furry friends, all of which delighted the children. www.friendlyponyparty.com
Herb Perez of Gold Medal Martial Arts, for making an extremely generous donation to the silent auction, and arranging for a special demonstration to entertain the crowd. www.goldmedalcenter.com

Many thanks to the following, without whom the event would not have been nearly as successful:

Renee Fischer, BMC Volunteer Coordinator, who worked tirelessly to get our eager volunteers to their stations!
Chris and Tony of Man Cave Memorabilia, the wizards behind the silent auction who graciously volunteered to organize that portion of the day - which was responsible for over 50% of the funds raised – and who spiced up the selection with some of their own items, donating 25% of those proceeds towards the event.
Kristin Dokoza, BMC member and graphics guru, who stepped in at the 11th hour, with no advance notice, to help with unforeseen technical issues on the t-shirt design.
Robert Chan of Annex Screenprint Inc. in South SF, for not only printing the t-shirts in full color, for free and in less than two days, but for going above and beyond to make sure the design worked perfectly.
Angela Allen Espinosa, BMC member and all around superstar, for getting the t-shirts donated by Gap Outlet, and for managing the entire printing process.
Kohl's, who provided more than 20 volunteers through their corporate volunteer program.

And lastly, a big thank you to all our members who came out to volunteer and support this community event: Terese Piazza Fuss, Emma McCulloch, Mona Shah, Nicole Sorger, Robyn Kamisher, Jacquie Haggarty, Heidi Schell, Kerry Ann Ruff, Dana Shepard, Jennifer Quan (and her husband Mike!), Beverly Lamberson, Jina Choi, Debbie Crisp and Gail Tanaka. We couldn't have done it without you!

Please try to support those who graciously and generously offered their time and goods to this event!
Click here for a list of our generous donors.

Celebration of Kindness

November 6, 2010

The BMC community came together for a wonderful cause on Saturday, November 6, 2010. A huge thank you to all of the BMC families who participated in our Kindness Celebration - there were over 50 families (80 children)! The kids had fun sorting their food donations, decorating cards and putting together a beautiful kindness chain. Samaritan House* picked up approximately 60 boxes of food that afternoon and graciously thanked us for our efforts and donations. And the beautifully decorated and filled gift bags for San Bruno are sure to be treasured by the families who receive them.

It took many helping hands to make this event a success. In addition to the food donated by all who attended, this year we received food donations from Mollie Stone's, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Safeway. Pasta Pomodoro generously donated gift cards and coupons that were included in the gift bags for the families affected by the San Bruno Fire. Pam Donkin, Director of Peninsula Music Together, coordinated the donation of over 100 cds from the Children's Music Network for the gift bags as well. Powell's Sweet Shoppe and Harmony Frozen Yogurt donated fun door prizes. From the BMC membership renewal donations, we were able to purchase $25 dollar Target gift cards to be given to families served by Samaritan House and those affected by the San Bruno fire. And special thank yous to BMC mom Diana Schumaker and her company Dean Foods for donating all of the snacks for the kids, and to BMC mom Darcey Wong, whose gorgeously handmade heartfelt cards wowed everyone!

Thank you to all of our hard working volunteers and everyone who attended for a terrific morning of kindness and fun! Your efforts were greatly appreciated by the grateful families who received the food donations and gift bags.

Please click here to enjoy photos from the event.

* Established in 1974, Samaritan House is a non-profit health and human services agency with over 30 years of experience in providing a broad range of services and resources to low-income residents in San Mateo County.

BMC Flea

May 1st, 2010

Reduce, reuse, recycle, save money and raise money for charity! This is what brought our local community in droves to the first ever BMC Flea held on May 1st. What a day it was! A combined effort of moms, merchants, and donated services led to a sun-filled day of shopping, facepainting, tumbling, tasting and fun. Bargains were found and basements were unloaded. One member explained, "We've had to cut down costs where ever possible (due to economic downturn), and buying gently used clothes for our two year old helps us do just that. For the most part, people who do this regularly know how to keep the clothes presentable, and you would never know that my daughter's clothes were used or second hand because they are in really nice condition. Along with getting excellent deals, it is such a rush to score a great item for really cheap...it starts to become sort if an obsession... Anyone who buys used can tell you they feel the same. What fun!"

The BMC Helping Hands team would like to thank the family vendors, the local businesses and all who were involved to help make this day a success. We are truly grateful for your time, talents and generosity!

Thanks to The Congregational Church of San Mateo, 3 Bees Coffee, Magic Princess, Accel Gymnastics, and House of Bagels. These local "friends of ours" offered the BMC free services and/or dramatically reduced rates so that we could direct all flea profits to charity.

Thanks to the following businesses who added culinary delight and great shopping to the BMC Flea: Curry Up Now, Famous Johnny's Pizza, Apartment 46, Nature at Play, Too Cute, Mad Stitches, Little Tweets Boutique, Stella & Dot, It's a la Mode, Bling it On, Pampered Chef and Mary Kay.

And last but not least, thank you to our amazing volunteers. If it weren't for you, it might have been mad chaos! Really - you made this happen and we appreciate your time and dedication!

From the funds raised at the BMC Flea, we were able to make significant monetary donations to Family Connections, the Keller Center, Room to Read, and Women's Recovery Association. Thank you to all who participated and made such a donation possible!

Little Pilgrims Pack-a-Feast

November 7th, 2009

The Little Pilgrims Pack-a-Feast held on November 7th was a great success! Over 60 families assembled 100 food boxes for needy families in San Mateo County. The food boxes were distributed via Samaritan House. Established in 1974, Samaritan House is a non-profit health and human services agency with over 30 years of experience in providing a broad range of services and resources to low-income residents in San Mateo County. At the Little Pilgrims Pack-a-Feast, the children had a great time decorating the food boxes and coloring a card was attached to the $25 Safeway gift cards and given to the recipient of the food boxes. Once their box was decorated, the children pushed around child sized grocery carts and shopped for the items to put into their box. As always, shopping with their own shopping cart was a big hit with the kids! Many of the children also asked questions about who the food was going to and why. It was a great way to involve our children in community service during the month of Thanksgiving.

It took many helping hands to make this event a success. We would like to thank all of our volunteers and the participants! Most of the food for the boxes was donated by Del Monte and Bay Valley Foods. Lunardis Supermarket also donated some items and provided the rest at cost, with free delivery. Please remember their generosity the next time you go grocery shopping!

Please click here to enjoy photos from that event!

Continued Support

The Burlingame Mothers' Club has recently completed several community outreach projects. These projects are only possible because of the generosity of our members who combined donated approximately $5,000 this year to outreach projects. (Members may choose to donate $10 to fund outreach projects when they join or renew their membership or may Donate Online at any time throughout the year.)

Many members also donated their time to help with the many logistical details of orchestrating these projects! We are also very grateful to several local area businesses for helping us stretch our dollars even further by donating goods or services.

The BMC has partnered with outstanding organizations on the Peninsula that provide unique and invaluable services to the community.

Please click on the links below to learn more about our efforts to help these amazing organizations carry out their mission of service to others.

Family Connections

Keller Center for Family Violence Intervention

Women's Recovery Association

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Where To Donate Goods

Do you have clothes, books, toys, shoes, or food to donate? Here is a list of local organizations, locations, and what they accept.

Children's Items(toys, books, bikes, shoes, clothes)
Children's Shoes
Clothing and Household Items
Food and Toiletries
Furniture
Professional Business Attire
NEW! Please visit the Community Wish List web site which aggregates many of San Mateo County's Non Profits' Wish Lists in one place:http://communitywishlist.org

This document provides a more comprehensive list of all organizations accepting donations within San Mateo County.

Childrens Items(toys, books, bikes, shoes, clothes)

Children's Fund of San Mateo County
www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/hsa.dir/fund.htm
Too Cute in downtown Burlingame is an official drop off site. Goods donated go directly to those in need in San Mateo County. Or, to arrange a pickup from your home, contact Al Teglia at (650) 301-8444

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
1215 California Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 373-1235

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
28 W. 25th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 293-8500

Samaritan House
www.samaritanhouse.com
1515 S. Claremont Street
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650)-341-8309

Shelter Network First Step for Families of San Mateo
Please view their needs list (pdf) for more information.
www.shelternetwork.org/firststep.html
325 Villa Terrace
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 685-5880

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Children's Shoes

Gumshoe Children's Shoe Store
275 Primrose
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650)-342-2048

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Clothing and Household Items

CORA
www.corasupport.org
(650)652-0800

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
1215 California Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 373-1235

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
28 W. 25th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 293-8500

PARCA
Please call 1-877-997-2722, or locally (650) 312-0725 to schedule a donation. PARCA will send a truck to pick it up!

Samaritan House
www.samaritanhouse.com
1515 S. Claremont Street
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650)-341-8309

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Food and Toiletries

CALL Primrose
www.callprimrose.org
139 Primrose Road
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650)-342-2255

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Furniture

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
1215 California Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 373-1235

Goodwill
www.sfgoodwill.org
28 W. 25th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 293-8500

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Professional Business Attire

Career Closet, San Mateo County
careercloset.org
1163 Chess Drive, Suite A
Foster City, CA 94404
(650) 572-1368

Samaritan House
www.samaritanhouse.com
1515 S. Claremont Street
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650)-341-8309

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Volunteer Opportunities Serving Families And Children

Community Gatepath

www.gatepath.com

Community Gatepath is dedicated to helping children and adults with disabilities lead fulfilling and meaningful lives by achieving their full potential in health and work. Your donation is an investment in the health and well-being of thousands of children and adults with disabilities, their families and caregivers throughout the Peninsula.

Hands on Bay Area

www.handsonbayarea.org

Hands On Bay Area creates, manages and leads volunteer projects that benefit more than 300 Bay Area nonprofit agencies, including Bay Area Food Banks, Glide Memorial Church, The Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, the San Mateo County AIDS Program, San Jose Family Shelter, and the Oakland and San Francisco Recreation and Park Departments. Search Hands On Bay Area's project listing for a project that matches your skills, interests, and availability.

Parca Reading Program

www.parca.org/Volunteer.htm

Parca is a private, nonprofit organization serving people with developmental disabilities and their families in the Bay Area. Volunteers are needed every Saturday for the Parca Reading Program. All you have to do is assist the teacher in passing out materials and helping students read and write basic words like "tacos" and "hot dogs." Please call the contact on the website if you are interested in volunteering.

Shelter Network

www.shelternetwork.org

Shelter Network is committed to providing housing and support services that create opportunities for local Peninsula homeless families and individuals to re-establish self-sufficiency and to return to permanent homes of their own.

Reading Partners

www.readingpartners.org
Reading Partners is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering students through literacy and investing community members in underserved public schools by working in partnership with school districts, including the San Mateo-Foster City Unified School District. Reading Partners recruits and trains community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring for elementary and middle school students reading below grade level. On average, students jump an entire grade level in reading skills after only 30 hours of Reading Partners tutoring.

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Last updated July 31, 2010 -7:24pm Pacific Time