Hey there, Crocs!

Sorry for the major spammage of the emails lately, but here is a unique service opportunity for you all, thanks to Mr. Ryan Wang, our DC community services coordinator! Here is a message from him to all of you:

What: Take Flight For Kids Festival

When: Saturday, September 25th, 2010. (8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.)

Where: Reid Hillview Airport in San Jose (the airport next to EASTRIDGE)

Why: To inform the middle school students and families of Silicon Valley of the Science, Technology, Engineering education opportunities, community resources for families in need, and to promote Interact and Rotary throughout San Jose. There will be about 200 exhibits with hands-on activities for the students to learn about, so you can imagine how busy it will be!

The Booth: We have been asked by the head coordinator, Lisa Bickford, and the Rotary Club of Sunnyvale, to staff a booth promoting Interact. We are good to go, so if you are interested in helping Ryan staff the booth that day, please let me know. The event lasts for about 8 hours, so we will be taking shifts in and out and throughout the other exhibits as well. Be warned! To staff the booth, you will need to inform others of what Interact is, and how we have impacted not only our community, but also internationally! I’m sure everyone can do that in their sleep and with their eyes closed. Logistics for the booth will be set once I have a good idea of who and how many people want to be in it.

Volunteering: Please advertise this event to all your clubs and encourage others to go! A festival does not come often, and one this large where Interact receives this caliber of representation is a must. Have all volunteers register at http://www.takeflightforkids.com/volunteer.htm and please send me an email if you are going so I can get a good number to report back to Ryan. We will be recording your hours, so if you sign in with Ryan, he will relay the amount of hours back to me.

“We may need some help on Friday afternoon (2pm – 7pm) , 9/24, with things at the airport if you have volunteers who might be able to help with that.”

More information can be found at http://www.takeflightforkids.com/

HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YOU THERE! A7, we need to  represent! San Jose is our turf. If you know for sure you are volunteering, please fill out BOTH the Take Flight for Kids Form and this form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dExab1VhSldpZndsVGRyMmJBU0NvM1E6MQ for documentation purposes. Thanks! And have a wonderful week.

Don’t forget! Officer meeting on Sunday at my place from 1pm-4pm. PLEASE CONTACT ME (if you haven’t done so already) IF YOU CAN MAKE IT OR NOT. Thanks!

Hello my wonderful CROCODILES,

There have been tons and tons of things to update you all on, so brace yourself, crocs! This is gonna be one long post.. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE IF THIS HURTS YOUR EYES. HAHA

I will be showing you the current calendar (with details) I have planned out for the next two months. The only reason why I put Mitty event dates up just to keep you guys posted that’s when we’re probably not free if you are thinking about creating an area event with me.

KEY: Gold: AMHS Interact Events, Green: Area 7 Events, Blue: District Events, Black: Ignore! (For my own reminders and the days I am booked )

SEPTEMBER
4: DC Meeting
12: Area 7 T-shirt Designs are due!
18: DC Meeting
19: Area 7 Officers’ Meeting/Bonding (location: TBD)
25: Take Flight for Kids at Reid Hillview Airport: 10am-4pm, Valley Medical Center Foundation is planning to partner with NASA and host our next big ‘Take Flight Festival’, a huge community festival at San Jose Reid Hillview Airport (near Eastridge Mall, across from Lake Cunningham Park). The biggest, most fun hands-on science, arts, do-it-yourself, etc festival in Northern California. (more details will be given in a couple of days)

OCTOBER
1-30 (dates vary): Halloween Haunt (@ California’s Great America): Ticket prices are still being figured out, but for every coupon used, Interact gets part of the proceeds! Funds raised will be going to the 2010-2011 International project. So grab your friends and experience a night to die for. ENJOY: 6 Horrifying Mazes, 4 Sinister Stage Shows, 4 Frightening Scare Zones, and other Twisted Attractions. All Rides available, with barely any lines! [Warning: Not Recommended for Wimps] Celebrate Halloween like it was made to be. (Dates will vary and not necessarily be all of October).
1: Sacred Heart Community Service (12pm-4pm) (need 20 volunteers total): Only for AMHS, sorry!
2: DC Meeting
9: Steps for Success (9am-2pm) (need 20 volunteers total) (ALSO available for October 2nd if Lincoln, Bell, and ND Interactors are available. E-mail me if you want to come!) , Santa Clara Rotary needs help giving out shoes to low income kids in Santa Clara.  I know one of those Saturdays (October 9th) is the same day as the SAT test so I don’t know how many Interactors would be available.
10: Area 7 Officers’ Meeting: Collecting FLC/Shirt Money: Location TBD.
16: DC Meeting
17: Fall Leadership Conference (@ San Jose City College: 8:45 AM-3:15PM): INVITE INTERACTORS, ADVISORS, ANYBODY TO THIS WONDERFUL DISTRICT EVENT. This conference consists of big workshops such as: leadership, fundraising & publicity, international, and community service, as well as group discussions for officers and general members. We will also be showing off our area pride and cheer. (Trip to the Dollar Tree for some crocodile masks? ) THIS IS A MANDATORY EVENT FOR ALL OF YOU TO ATTEND. We don’t want anyone to flake! If you can’t make it, please let me know as soon as possible.
24: End Polio Now Walk (registration: 11:30AM, Golden Gate Bridge Walk: 2:00pm, Ferry Lighting: 6:00PM): REMEMBER EPN? Even if you don’t, this gives you all a chance to reflect back on all of our efforts with EPN from last year. WE RAISED $75K! Y’all are sponsored by Rotary International and it is opened to all Interactors. http://www.crsadmin.com/gen/Accounts/50083/Eml/39464c51-3cc5-40a3-bb3f-61d574832abd.pdf . The Rotarian in charge needs the amount of people that want to go ASAP (NEED TO KNOW BY SEPTEMBER 16TH). Don’t miss out on this opportunity. WE WILL HAVE BUSES PICK US UP FROM MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, so don’t worry about rides to SF!
30: Lynhaven Pumpkin Walk: Our first community service bonding event! This is their annual pumpkin walk. There are carnival games, food booths, a bake sale, and much more. This is a community event we do for our school, neighbors, and outside community. It is a great event for all ages and for the whole family. The most important thing for us to know is if someone wants to volunteer the whole day. We do provide water and lunch for the volunteers who work at least a 3 hour shift. (I’ll give you all more info in a few days.)

That’s all for the calendar. This will also be posted on the website.

- REMINDER: T-SHIRT DESIGNS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 12TH (YEAH, THAT’S NEXT WEEK. ;P). http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=152041518146842&ref=ts
- Still look out for some cool merchandise we can have for A7!
- DON’T WORRY, THIS IS THE CALENDAR FOR JUST SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER. We will have more area events coming up soon. November and December are pretty much free, so contact me if you want to have an area bonding/ fundraising somewhere. Car wash anyone?
- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE UPDATE ME ON UPCOMING DATES ON YOUR CLUBS’ CALENDARS.

IMPORTANT, A7: IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE END POLIO NOW WALK IN SF, FILL OUT THIS SPREADSHEET PLEASE (INFO IS DUE BY SEPTEMBER 16TH). https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dE1DVmhtQ212X3FnYnExNEtkeGRCT2c6MQ#gid=0
Any questions? Just contact me!

Have a wonderful three day weekend, everyone!

Mama Croc loves you. <3

A7 YEAH YEAH!

NOTE: IT IS IMPORTANT YOU USE THE CODE TO HAVE THE $5 OF EACH REGISTRATION GO TO INTERACT! INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS & USE THIS FLIER AT SCHOOL!

IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE: WE WON’T EARN THE MONEY UNTIL YOU FINISH YOUR DRIVERS’ ED. Just something to keep in mind.

People who struggle are the strongest people. It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times you get up. I believe that if you have a heart and a pulse, you can help someone.

- Joseph, Homeboy Industries

If you want to give the greatest gift to a stranger, I can give you an idea: giving someone a job. About 20 years ago, East Los Angeles was one of the poorest and most dangerous places to live in the country. A former gang member once said, “Every day, I walked and would look at the end of the street, realizing that is how long it would take me to die. I would look at the street name, and that’s HOW I would die.” Within the neighborhoods of East LA lies Dolores Mission, what was one of the poorest parishes in all of Los Angeles. It was a place of sanctuary and hope in the midst of the gang violence that surrounds the small church.

This past June, I went on a service trip all around California and happened to visit that community in East L.A. Although conditions have improved since, it was all because of a tremendous man named Father Greg Boyle, former pastor at Dolores mission and founder of Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries is a place where former gang members can find jobs to make them become better candidates for permanent employment, giving them a second chance.

Homeboy writes on their website, “In addition to providing job training and placement assistance and other free programs, a distinctive feature of Homeboy Industries continues to be its small businesses, where the most difficult to place individuals are hired in transitional jobs, thus giving them a safe, supportive environment in which to learn both concrete and soft job skills, while simultaneously building their resume and work experience. Former rivals find themselves working side by side, finding true community and friendship in place of the limited community of gang life.”

The point of this? You can support Homeboy by ordering your Interact shirts from them, which gives more job opportunities to those who need it most. These jobs gives hope to those who truly want to rebuild their lifestyles. The silkscreen shop is legitimate. My sweaters for the service trip were printed there, and when I actually visited the shop itself, the manager there really wanted us to reach out to our clubs and convince them to get their shirts printed there. They showed us the process of how they make the shirts, and it is truly remarkable. One of the hosts at Homeboy told us that they had employees come from two rival gangs; in the end, the job brought them together as being best friends, a relationship that was establish through this job, breaking down the barriers that separated them because of the gangs they were in. Homeboy’s motto, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job” can definitely be seen through this example. Being able to witness something powerful like that through Homeboy is truly remarkable. I proudly wear my Homegirl shirt and sweater whenever I can.

As for the quotes of each item, please refer to this website: http://www.promoplace.com/homeboypromo. There, you can pick whatever item you want with the quantity you desire. There will be instructions on how to obtain a free quote on the product. If you have any more questions about Homeboy, I will be happy to answer them! area7@interact5170.org is where it’s at!

You want to provide the best type of service? Give someone an opportunity.

Jobs, not jails. Homeboy Industries.

N2 Out. <3