Moraga Community Service Days
The second annual Moraga Community Service Days was a great success. Over 450 volunteers from many Moraga Organizations participated in 13 service projects that benefited organizations serving Moraga and the East Bay, including a blood drive, donation of 1,335 meals for the homeless, and beautification of our schools, among others. |
Friends of Moraga Library Book Sale & Distribution
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley recently transported sale books from storage to assist library personnel to prepare the sale tables. After the sale they returned unsold books to the library's storage area.
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Backpacks for Kids
The Moraga Valley Kiwanis Club once again in 2023 partnered with Target to assemble and provide 100 backpacks with back-to-school supplies that were distributed through the Monument Crisis Center in Concord to some eager children preparing for the next school year starting in August.
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KCMV Sends Books to the Philippines
The Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley worked with the Friends of the Moraga Library with the set-up of books for sale to the local community, for the take-down of the books at the completion of the sale, for the distribution of some unsold books to local non-profit organizations, and for collecting books for the Bahay Pagasa Center in Bacolod, Philippines. About 800 books per year are shipped to the Bahay Pagasa Center, a center for juveniles in conflict with the law, sponsored by the University of Saint La Salle, located outside of Bacolod. While some of the books are added to the small library at the center, most are re-distributed to needy schools in very remote rural areas outside of the city of Bacolod. Recently a few Kiwanis members lunched with Brother Kenneth Martinez, President of the University of Saint La Salle to discuss his vision for expanding access to the library at Bahay Pagasa to the local public school teachers. |
Postal Carriers Food Drive
Moraga Postal Carriers completed another annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive in May 2023 supported by the Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley. Postal Carriers Nationwide retrieved food donations during their normal routes for distribution to local food banks. Kiwanis Club members assisted by transferring the donations from the returning mail trucks to shipping boxes for later distribution. It was a very successful joint effort by all parties to support our local neighbors in need.
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After School Virtual Tutoring
Harbor House Ministries manages an after-school program of virtual tutoring for students from Franklin Elementary School in Oakland. Three members of our club volunteered to tutor a student one-on-one each week from April to June in 2022. In collaboration with the classroom teacher and parents, the tutor and student each prioritized academic areas of focus and created engaging times of learning which took place for both the student and the volunteer. Each looked forward to when school resumed in the Fall.
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Sharing the Fruits of their Labor
One of the favorite nonprofits that we serve is Family Harvest Farm, a thriving organic farm in its third year in 2022 of employing transition-age foster youth in a hands-on job-readiness program, teaching marketable skills and preparing them for life outside the foster care system. Mary Cherry, the farm manager, recently approached our club and asked if we could build them a produce stand. The apprentices grow the crops and seedlings and then give them away to the local community, but they were using card tables and boxes to place and display the produce and plants. Sam Sperry, a long-time club member, stepped forward and led the design and build of the stand you see here with the help of three other members, along with a roadside sign announcing the periodic giveaways. |
Giving a Helping Hand on the Road to Recovery
The Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley’s See’s Candy Holiday Fundraiser was back after Covid. Celebrating the store opening in the Rheem Shopping Center after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic were Moraga Vice Mayor Steve Woehleke, County Supervisor District 2 Candace Andersen, Club President Leslie Engler and Moraga Police Department Chief, Jon King. |
Pumpkin Carving is Fun & Scary
The Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley again led an after school pumpkin carving event for children in Concord served by Hope Solutions. The group arrived in costume and had at least as much fun as the kids did. Each child walked away with their very own decorated pumpkin to show their family and friends and to scare trick or treaters. Hope Solutions heals the effects of poverty and homelessness by providing permanent housing solutions and vital support services to highly vulnerable families. It's one of our many favorite agencies to serve. |
Support, Equity, & Inclusion
At a meeting in October 2021 our speaker was Dr. Lynnā McPhatter-Harris, Director of Student Support, Equity & Inclusion for the Acalanes Union High School District. Dr. McPhatter-Harris shared her new district role and her insights within her first 90 days of work, as well as future initiatives and areas to address. |
Book Sale Record
After cancellation due to the pandemic, the Friends of Moraga Libary biannual book sale was the greatest on record! Sales totaled almost $50,000 which helps to fund purchases of library supplies as well as community programs. And 12 Kiwanis volunteers were there again to help make it a success. But service to the community didn't end there. When the sale was over our dedicated members packed up the remaining books and sent them to the Hayward School Dristrict, the Veterans and to recipients in Kenya and The Philippines. True bibliophiles. |
Backpack for Kids
The Monument Crisis Center (MCC) kids school backpack giveaway is a very rewarding and fund activity each year. Our club buys, equips, and donates a large number of back packs each year with school supplies, and always has a ball picking them out and filling them up. In late 2021 we provided over 100 backpacks to the MCC. Earlier that year we donated 12,000 diapers to MCC, Harbor House, Bay Area Crisis Nursery and Shelter Inc. |
Kiwanis Schools & Stars & Stripes
When we learned that there is a little-known state requirement that school district offices must have a flag in front of their office, Kiwanis and the Moraga School District (MSD) joined hands and went to work. First the MSD maintenance crew dug the hole and then Kiwanis volunteers mixed and poured concrete around a tube into which the flagpole fit like a glove. Everyone got an A+ for the construction and effort, and now the stars and stripes proudly wave to everyone in Moraga.
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Moraga Beautification
The Moraga Garden Club (MGC), with the help of ten Kiwanis members, completed the beautification of the Rheem Triangle for the Town and citizens of Moraga. MGC removed overgrowth and related hazards prior to the project. Kiwanis members assisted in preparing the plant sites to accommodate approximately 100 new plants. The project was funded by the Moraga Park Foundation
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Sewing for Our Future
At Kiwanis we believe that kids are our future. During Covid, with the help of a few friends in our community, we made 274 masks for Oakland school children and donated them through Safe Passages, whose mission is to disrupt the cycle of poverty by engaging youth and families to build and drive a continuum of services that supports student success and community development. Two persons in our club cut all the fabric and sewed masks and many members got help from their significant others and their friends. But the award for stretching to serve the community goes to member Sonny Tsoboi, who taught himself to sew, with a little guidance from his wife, and then made all of his masks himself!
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Feed the Need Fundraiser
When COVID-19 prevented us from holding one of our two major annual fundraisers, for good reason, we decided to hold a fundraiser to raise money for three of our non profit partners who provide food to those less fortunate. In three weeks we far exceeded our $60,000 goal and reached $115,000 thanks to the donations of our generous community and Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley members. 230 contributions were received. We were so appreciative and inspired by the kindness and compassion shown by so many. We want to especially recognize the following 5 donors for their contributions –The Pease Family Fund, The Eagle Foundation, Olivier Paugam and Dropbox, Chevron and Moraga Rotary.
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Rodent Whisperers
Family Harvest Farm is an urban farm established to employ aging out foster youth, is located in Pittsburg, and is a program of the John Muir Land Trust. As these young adults head into the world on their own, they have a paid job that teaches them various life and job skills during their 6 to 12 month apprenticeship. An eight person crew of our members installed a hardware cloth barrier of 1,800 linear feet around this 3.5 acre farm to keep the ground squirrels from digging into the farm and eating the delicious (to them and to the farm's customers from the community) crops. This project and the concept and development of the farm is under the direction of the farm's founders, hands on and dedicated leaders, Jack Cortis and Jim Overaa. |
Working at the Monument Crisis Center Food Pantry
One favorite volunteer opportunity for our club members is helping to run the Food Pantry at the Monument Crisis Center (MCC) in Concord. MCC serves hundreds of families in need of food assistance and many other critical services for our community. One day when we were there State Senator Steve Glazer was visiting to give MCC the "Nonprofit of the Year Award." After the ceremony he sauntered back to see how the Food Pantry is run. What a treat for us! |
We have as much fun as the kids do
Our members have as much fun as the kids when we share time reading some favorite books to them. We read aloud and demonstrate the fun of reading and sing songs with K thru 2nd grade students that are part of the Superstars Literacy after school reading program. This program is now part of Safe Passages as the Safe Passages Superstars Literacy Program.
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