Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) addresses juvenile crime and incarceration in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. FLY works with juvenile justice youth and those 'at-risk' of entering the system.
Incorporating cognitive and behavior therapy approach youth take a semester long law course and learn about the consequences of crime and how to make better behavior choices. They also develop assets and build skills in empathy, anger management and problem solving. Through these classes, FLY identifies youth who want and need additional support.
For one to two years, these youth work with a FLY mentor and a community of their peers to set and achieve personal goals. They create and execute service learning projects to develop the leadership skills they need to transform their lives. These teenagers also serve as FLY advisors, providing input on program design and improvement, interviewing and selecting volunteers and staff and giving feedback to system partners on how to increase their effectiveness in working with youth.
The Milpitas Food Pantry is not a soup kitchen where a hot meal waits. It's a food pantry that distributes groceries–canned goods, produce, cheese and eggs–to low-income families and seniors. Intended to help residents of Milpitas and Alviso, the pantry gives three days of groceries to clients who come to pick up once a month.
Along with food donations, the pantry also distributes clothing for adults and children. On the Saturday before school, volunteers distribute uniforms.
Volunteers are always needed. Financial contributions and donations of clothing and unexpired food are accepted though the pantry discourages leaving donations at the front door.
As part of the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area provides meaningful, monitored, one-to-one matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and enrolled children ("Littles"). For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single parent, low income families or households and independent studies prove that mentoring can make a positive difference to help these children reach their potential. Find out how you can positively impact a child's life by donating and/or volunteering; visit www.bbbsba.org to learn more.
Sankara Eye Foundation USA raises money for eye hospitals in rural India that provide eyecare services, including operations for cataracts and corneal transplants. Currently, there are seven such hospitals, and plans are underway to build another one. Sankara's goal is to open an eye hospital in each of India's states. Sankara provides 70,000 surgeries a year and rural outreach on a weekly basis.
This not-for-profit organization acts essentially as a counselor with multiple hats. Community Alliance for Recovery and Education offers counseling programs for all walks of life including beaten and battered spouses, persons with drug and alcohol addiction problems, marriage counseling and job loss counseling. CARE also assists with post-war veterans in reintroducing traumatized military personnel back into a civilian state of mind. CARE hosts many of these classes and support groups during the evening and weekend hours to cater to individuals with busy schedules.
The Milpitas Community Educational Endowment (MCEE) is a non-profit organization that raises funds to help Milpitas public schools. Services include fundraisers, raffles, donations and more. For additional information, or to make a donation, be sure to call the telephone number or visit the website provided.
EHC is passionately committed to ending homelessness. EHC LifeBuilders provides a wide variety of comprehensive solutions to help people overcome the obstacles in their lives. From shelter and long-term housing to homelessness prevention and supportive services, we match people with the right kinds of opportunities for assistance to help them succeed.
Website: http://www.ehclifebuilders.org/
Housing Services Partnership for Homeless Individuals
EHC LifeBuilders' One-Stop Homelessness Prevention Center
Boccardo Reception Center
2011 Little Orchard Street , San Jose
The mission of Public Allies is to advance new leadership to help strengthen communities, nonprofits and civic participation. Through its core program, Public Allies advances the skills, networks and experience of diverse young leaders. The organization selects a community's most promising young leaders who commit to a rigorous and rewarding ten-month program of full-time, paid apprenticeships in community organizations, team service projects, and weekly leadership training.
Public Allies envisions communities where people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences work together and share responsibility for improving their own lives and the lives of those around them.
For more information please visit their website at www.publicallies.org or call their Milpitas office at 408-586-7633.
Vision Literacy is a nonprofit literacy advocate in Santa Clara County. It teaches adults to learn to read. It also offers tutorials in writing, math and computer skills or advance their fluency in English as a second language. Its programs are nationally accredited and learner advancement is monitored using CASAS assessments. Vision Literacy is the only literacy organization in Silicon Valley to meet all 16 rigorous quality standards required by ProLiteracy America. All of our quality services are free to any adult needing to become functionally literate. There is also a Vision Literacy center in Gilroy.
This new state-of-the-art facility offers a dog park, a pet store and a vet clinic. Some of the Humane Society's services include: vaccinations, spaying/neutering, microchipping, pet food delivery and grooming. But above all, this shelter prides itself on saving animals' lives.
The organization's website posts hourly updates on adoptable animals. In one year, 3,500 dogs, cats and critters found new homes. HSSV also has an open-shelter policy, which accepts pets turned in by their owners for a fee.
The Society's full-time staff of 80 and an active volunteer team of 650 people keep its operations running smoothly. Fundraisers like the Walk n' Wag attract hundreds of pet lovers with their dogs in tow.
"Great Futures Start Here."
At The Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley, children ages 6 to 18 have a safe, positive place to learn and grow into successful adults. Their target population in San Jose is at-risk youth that are vulnerable to negative influences in the surrounding community. Each welcoming location provides engaging and creative activities, with adult role models always available for support and advice.
There are currently seven Boys & Girls Club locations throughout the San Jose area. Each location incorporates fun and innovative programs such as: Education & Career, Technology, Character & Leadership development, Sports, Health, etc., that provide the children with limitless opportunities.
A non-profit organization founded in 2000 by a group of young Vietnamese professionals, the International Children Assistance Network's programs aim to create strong family and community networks that support Vietnamese children. ICAN offers several parenting workshops such as Happy 5, a series of child development workshops for parents and grandparents that help explain how children develop from infancy to age 5. There is also a radio station with doctor and lawyer guest speakers, monthly forums and fundraisers, such as concerts or wine tastings. Also, there are ongoing scholarships and international programs to help children in Vietnam.
The Avatamsaka Buddhist Lotus Society is the religion's sole nonprofit charitable organization in Milpitas. It was established in 1985 by The Venerable Cheng Yi, now board president of the society, who is a great proponent of education. Under his guidance, the Avatamsaka Buddhist Lotus Society has initiated a scholarship award program for high school students from the area to assist them in achieving a successful life and becoming pillars of society.
This nonprofit is best known for its fall Backpack Drive when it delivers 17,000 school bags stuffed with supplies to kids who need it the most. For the most part, it's a hub for individuals and companies alike to donate time and money to benefit Bay Area children who receive free or reduced price lunches at school.
Both middle schools in Milpitas and a host of elementary schools receive backpacks, including Zanker, Weller, Spangler, Rose, Randall, Pomeroy and Burnett. With a full-time staff of 16, the Family Giving Tree depends on 750 volunteers a year.
The holiday gift drive produces more toys and clothes than backpacks. According to the program director, 65,000 gifts are distributed to agencies close to Christmas time.
TYM is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving at-risk children in the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento. Through summer camping and year-round follow-ups, these children gain a caring mentor and are encouraged to recognize their potential for a bright future. Programs are provided primarily to children in the Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda and Sacramento counties.
Habitat for Humanity Silicon Valley is an affiliate of the international Habitat for Humanity organization. Warm-hearted locals committed to providing affordable housing to low-income folks gathered in 1986, and have been building homes ever since. Through monetary and material donations, the organization's volunteers work together to build, paint and complete homes throughout the year. There are also many office volunteer opportunities, and one may choose to help with its website or plan committee events, for example. Visit its website for more information on how to become a volunteer.