A well-established Palo Alto environmental nonprofit, with many projects underway, most notably the…read morehabitat restoration and stewardship project on Arastradero Preserve, a collaborative effort with the City of Palo Alto that has been going on for 10 years. Visit their website to learn about their many other projects, which change periodically as Acterra responds to changing conditions and priorities. Props go to Acterra for Arastradero, the Business Environmental Awards, and their ongoing fiscal sponsorship program, which has nurtured many powerful, high-impact local environmental startup groups over the last 20 years. Occasionally, however, they seem to experiment with rather slow-moving in-house programs that generate fanfare and consume funding but are light on delivering results. This, I find, is not a judicious use of public-benefit funds. In all fairness, of course, not all projects succeed, and some experiments are worthwhile; nevertheless, some recent projects such as the "Green@Home" initiative (which sends "tiger teams" of three people to "green" a single household by installing CFL bulbs and whatnot) just seem outright goofy from a cost-benefit perspective. Because of this recent trend towards slow, expensive 'wonderfulness" in preference to rapid, tangible achievements, I suspect they would benefit from some fresh blood and fresh perspectives somewhere in the upper echelons of the organization--board or management. On balance, though, this 30-year-old outfit is doing a great job of pursuing its primary mission of "acting locally" for the good of the environment, and has enriched the lives of many, many local people who have volunteered with Acterra's projects or attended its events.

I attended my first Acterra Business Environmental Awards last week and came away from it feeling…read moreso uplifted and inspired. This event draws much-needed attention to businesses that promote sustainability, creating a strong community of learning, support, and mutual inspiration. Their other projects are also so cool and seem to fly under the radar; right now they are working to convert people to driving electric cars as well as installing free solar panels on the homes of low-income Bay Area residents to lower their energy bills. If you are able to volunteer with them or donate, I really recommend it!

I love being a BUILD mentor. Once a week, you and two other mentors meet with a group of 4-5 high…read moreschool students and help them develop a business idea. They create a PowerPoint presentation, participate in 3 showcases and submit a written business plan based on their product. This culminates into a business plan competition where they compete against other BUILD teams from nearby high schools. It's held at Stanford's GSB and is a huge accomplishment for the kiddos. My team Star Mentality came in 2nd place and it was amazing to see them present their product with poise, maturity, and humor. The memorable moments include taking them out on a Saturday looking for outfits to wear at the competition or eating dinner with them at Chili's prepping for the showcases. The kids made this an amazing experience. I've volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters since high school and this is an equally awesome program. So awesome, I'm returning as an E2 mentor. I'm getting my team ready to meet a real venture capitalist in order to secure funding to start their business. If you can't commit to mentoring, volunteer to be a tutor. You'll love it!

BUILD is one of the most well funded, connected and professionally run non-profits I've…read moreencountered. I found them through the Cisco Volunteer Fair and what stood out compared to the other after-school program is their huge college acceptance rate and their approach using entrepreneurship to incentivize students that are just bouncing at school. They have branches in the East Bay and Peninsula and I know people who are very dedicated to the cause. Their Peninsula office looks like a tech startup. I signed up to be a mentor. To be a mentor is like applying to school and job all over again. You have a phone interview, need to provide references, and write essays on why you want to be a part of BUILD. They do a background check on you because you're working with children. I volunteered on the Peninsula E1 with Woodside High School paired with a co-mentor with 5 students. Jacyln, the BUILD rep, was there every day and a great resource for us and Mr Moses, the teacher was a great person to reign in the kids. Being a mentor is an exercise time, patience, frustration and exuberance while you're crafting a product, business plan and presentation with them. At the end their hard work is presented at the BPC at Stanford School of Education in a huge hurrah! For Peninsula, if you want a more established system, go to the Sequoia High. But if you want to work with underdogs and be more unscripted then go to Woodside or Carlmont High. The other mentors are very talented and dedicated to the cause. We drive an hour and a half across the bridge from work each Thursday in order to be here. We spend more time on the road we do with our mentees but it's definitely worth it. If we could do this next year we will definitely do the E2-E4 class at their main office which is closer to the 101 Freeway.

We all know 911 for emergencies and 411 for directory assistance, but did you know about 211?…read more United Way Silicon Valley is running Santa Clara County's free hotline for critical health and social services - 24/7 in 145 languages! If you need help beyond police, fire or ambulance then this is the number to call to get in touch with United Way's army of services. They have everything from food bank referrals, elder care, unemployment, volunteer opportunites, counseling, etc. So next time you see someone in need tell them to call 2-1-1 to get hooked up with all the great folks at United Way who are trying to make a difference by helping others help themselves.

If you are looking to give back to the local community in some way, United Way Silicon Valley…read moreboasts several opportunities for you to get involved. The staff there is professional, passionate, and personable. I am very surprised that this place hasn't had more reviews! I have had extensive experience -volunteering- for their programs: - Credit Coaching - "Earn It, Keep It, Save It" (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) - "Yes We Can Read" Literacy program and more! And would recommend becoming a volunteer for any of these. But there's certainly more to get involved with if the above programs don't strike your fancy.

Villages of San Mateo County is a non-profit membership organization of older adults living in…read moretheir own homes and communities we love. Their mission (and they do it and great) is to support members with services, resources, and community connections so they can enjoy vibrant, healthy and fulfilling lives in their own homes and live more independently. I am a very satisfied member of this great volunteer organization and there is little they can not or do not provide, mostly volunteer, and has pretty much saved me from moving by keeping me and my home safe and has field trips and activities that are fun and stimulating, even educational and each member and volunteer has been wonderful and reassuring to me. They provide: Home safety evaluations, Minor home repairs (installing bath bars, hand rails, special electric outlets, fire and other alarms, and fire extinguisher and more in home help for safety. Rides to medical appointments, grocery shopping, hair/nail salons..., Help with simple home and yard chores. Computer, cell phone and other technology services, shuttle to airport, and so much more and so well done and all are committed, kind, helpful, and enjoy helping others to thrive, not just survive, and lead a good life and enjoy social activities and help beyond one's imagination. I have no idea how I survived before joining Villages of San Mateo County. I cannot say enough the gift of being safe and knowing they are here for me means to my well-being, health and being connected to a super group of volunteers. I hesitate to say more or speak for them, but they do and have done so much for me I run out of ways to thank them. Please contact them for more information: 650 260-4569 or info@villagesofsmc.org You will be amazed at all they do and with such a great attitude. Carol Ormandy

On May 11 2025 I received an email stating I was confirmed for a free Bay Area Older Adults (BAOA)…read morehike on June 3rd and two others (see copy/paste of email below). Last week, I sent/resent several emails (to 3 BAOA email addresses) requesting meeting location & other details, but no reply was received. So I called (408) 774-0593 today and was told (presumably by Anne Ferguson) that the May 11th auto-email I got was NOT valid and I was NOT confirmed for the June 3rd hike. Reason was that they overbook trips like free hikes. Upshot: At BAOA, a confirmation is NOT REALLY a confirmation and you're not notified of that? Excuse was that they only have 2 volunteers working long hours 7 days/week and don't have time to correct auto email confirmations explaining their overbooking problem. I asked, "Why did no one reply to my email inquiries (sent from @ieee.org address)? Reply: "It must have been SPAMMED and I've been too busy to check my SPAM folder." When asked if I was confirmed for the other two hikes I was told they were too busy to check, but "assume if you don't get an email the week before you're not confirmed." COPY/PASTE of hike confirmation email I received: Sun, May 11, 2025 at 10:20AM events@bayareaolderadults.com wrote: Hi Alan, We received your registration for: -Hike 22 Exclusive Private Preserve History & Nature Hike on Tuesday June 3, 2025 from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM --Hike 12 Dragonfly & Damselfly Seasonal Walk on Wednesday June 11, 2025 from 08:30 AM to 01:00 PM Hike 13 Thornwood Preserve Exploration on Wednesday June 25, 2025 from 08:30 AM to 02:00 PM "If the event is free for you, your reservation is immediately confirmed (there was no waitlist). Once your reservation is confirmed, we will send email reminders with details about how to join the event. " ................................................................................................ Extremely frustrating and profoundly disappointing!

I do not suggest working with Anne Ferguson from Bay Area Older Adults. She is very rude and a…read morehassle to work with from a tour operator's perspective. Looking back at her original booking, I wish we could have declined her booking. Even though we advised her there was no guarantee of seeing wildlife BEFORE she made her booking, Anne still decided to book. A week after her tour, she sent a very demeaning email, blaming us for not seeing Dolphin and criticizing our business while placing blunt lies to try and prove her point. I DO NOT RECOMMEND TOUR OPERATORS to work with Anne.

As a transplant to the Bay Area I was looking for ways to better connect to the community and make…read moresome positive friendship along the way. Little did I know that I would be in for a transformative ride. I've gained invaluable training and have had opportunities to step into leadership roles to refine my leadership skills. I'm a better version of myself as a Junior Leaguer and I can proudly share that this is an incredible community of women who believe in each other and collaborate to build up a better community! Don't hesitate to reach out for info. Explore the Membership opportunity. It's a treasure!

The Junior League is a wonderful charity to support. I have been a member for many years, When I…read moremoved to London, I transferred my membership to the Junior League of London. When I moved to Portland, Oregon, I joined the league in Portland. When I moved back to the SF Bay Area, I transferred my membership back to the Jr. League of Palo Alto. I am currently a Sustainer Emeritus of the Jr. League of Palo Alto! Judy Palm

This is a great place to hire hourly workers from. They did a number of gardening jobs for us.read more

Great service. Needed 2 for a job to move a huge pile of wood chips. Called Wed and booked for Fri…read more Super hard working and they finished sooner than I expected. Thanks to Josué for coordinating it all.

I have been on several volunteering trips together with 20-25 other volunteers from the Bay Area to…read morehelp with tech-related and light construction projects in Santa Barbara, Honduras where footsteps run most of the programs to benefit economic orphans (adding some pictures below). All of the trips were great, and I have very good memories. This non-profit is rather small and thrives on volunteering groups helping as they have a lot of needs. The work you do depends on the skills of each volunteer. I am a techie, so I helped to install network equipment, and fix old computers, other people did painting or helped with kid-related activities. I took my then 10-year-old son on my second trip, and he really enjoyed it as this is a family-friendly type of volunteering (on that trip we had 13 adults and 12 kids), it also was eye-opening for him to see how people who are less fortunate live as we had the opportunity to walk some of the kids home, and see they live in little shacks with no electricity, running water or sewer (adding a picture of one of the nicer homes where one of the families lives that invited us to take a look inside). The trip was very well organized, and we felt safe and welcomed by the locals. We stayed in a hotel that had air conditioning and ate very good meals (portions are smaller than in the US but way more healthy as they cook everything from scratch). The work was not really hard, but we felt we were making an impact. There is free time after dinner, and we got to know the other volunteers (we played a lot of board and card games at night, and shared stories). Overall I would describe it as a vacation with a purpose. Would definitely go again in the future if the opportunity comes...