4/1: I DID IT! This is the last official day of my campaign - so sad! Today I gave pears to two homeless men in San Francisco on my way to work.

3/31: I played with kids at Haven House, a transitional home for homeless families. We played "follow the leader" and went all around the premises and took polaroid pictures of the kids in different rooms (some kids even got into the dryer in the laundry room!). When we got back, the kids had to put the photos in the order they were taken. We had a lot of fun!

3/30: Jon and I tutored Christian & Andrew at the Boys & Girls Club in San Mateo. We have worked with different students over the years since Fall 2005!

3/29: Picked up trash in San Mateo. I saw a lot of trash near the drains that say they drain to the San Francisco Bay - much of it removed!

3/27: Gave pears to two homeless men in San Francisco as part of my Vitamin C initiative. They were very grateful for the early morning snack.

3/26: Took a 5 minute shower - Nearby water districts are asking people to cut back water usage by 15%. Jon wins the Biggest Water Miser Award with his 4 minute shower! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/25/state/n065245D67.DTL&hw=water&sn=002&sc=986

3/20: I took a 5 minute shower (I was on a plane all day so choices were limited!).

3/19: I volunteered as part of a team at the Janet Pomeroy Center for Gap Inc's Day in Action. We painted two classrooms and played basketball with JPC's clients - a GREAT time. http://www.janetpomeroy.org/

3/18: I donated to a friend's son's fundraiser for Jump Rope for Heart to benefit the American Heart Association. I love it when little people give back! :)

3/17: Played with kids at Haven House, a transitional home for families. We had a St. Patrick's Day Party and the kids went wild. I saw a young kid volunteering there (he had to be 9 or 10 yrs old) with a shirt that said "tikkun olam" on it - it was amazing to see him playing with the kids - his best buddies were some kids that were born in kenya.

3/16: Tutored at Boys & Girls Club!

3/15: After seeing Allan Berkowitz speak Thursday night on behalf of Environmental Volunteers, I decided to support their project for an Children's Eco Center in the Palo Alto Baylands. The building that they are refurbishing is really unique - it's shaped like a boat!

http://www.evols.org/EcoCenter/index.html

3/14: Submitting winning bid on tennis lessons - all proceeds go to Peninsula Temple Sholom!

3/13: Unsubscribed from 7 catalogs! U.S. catalog production uses 53 mil trees and enough water to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools each year. For tips on how to do this:

http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/mail-order-divorcee-resolutions-week

3/12: Used Gap Rewards to buy 5 pairs of pants, 3 polo shirts and some socks for the young ladies at East Palo Alto Charter School.

http://www.epacs.org/

3/11: Spoke at the Junior League meeting about the status of The Shop in Menlo Park and provided a few incentives to spur more donations, which will enable us to increase our funding to our community grants and projects.

3/10: Volunteered at the San Francisco Food Bank. The volunteers bagged over 2 tons of rice - unbelievable. I met a girl there from the University of South Dakota who is volunteering with her friends on their spring break in San Francisco - what a great idea!

3/9: Tutored Andrew at the San Mateo Boys & Girls Club. He was being moody - I guess graphing pairs is not the most exciting thing in the world!

3/8: Picked up trash along the train tracks in San Mateo.

3/7: Took a 5 minute shower - for those of you that don't think this is a big deal, read on. Cutting your shower by 2 minutes will save 1,000 gallons a year! I have also given up baths this year since CA is low on water: A full bathtub can require up to 70 gallons of water, while taking a 5-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.

3/5: Went to the board meeting of The Shop (Menlo Park) which raises funds (over $4 million in grants since 1970) selling gently worn clothing. We came up with ideas to help encourage more donations and helped edit a solicitation letter for businesses. If you'd like to donate or for more information please visit our site at:

http://www.jlweb.org/paloalto/npo.jsp?pg=fundraiser&article=3

3/4: Forwarded a link to a site that provides mammograms to low-income women to ten of my friends. All you need to click and advertiser fees cover the costs!

3/3: Played with children at Haven House, a transitional home for families. We did an art project where the children drew pictures from certain prompts like: "this is my family" "this is my community" "this is the change I'd like to see in my community" It was a great time!

3/2: Tutored at Boys & Girls Club in San Mateo. Helped Andrew with dividing fractions - he was doing really well!

2/28: Walked around Central Park in San Mateo (right next to our apartment) and picked up trash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Central_Park_San_Mateo_CA.jpg

2/28: Took clothing donations to The Shop (Menlo Park), a major fundraiser for Junior League grants and community projects.

The Shop: http://www.jlweb.org/paloalto/npo.jsp?pg=fundraiser&article=3

y Allison on 02/28/2009

2/28: I saw an article in the San Mateo Daily Journal earlier this week that touched my heart: The story of an 11 year old boy named Ben who plays his guitar every weekend outside a bakery in Woodside, CA and gives the money to buy wheelchairs for Iraqi children. He has already raised $13,000+ and the wheelchairs are made voluntarily by inmates in the South Dakota prison system.

Ben's site: http://www.iplayforpeace.net

Article: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=106045

I sent him a donation and a note and will send this article to friends.

2/27: I gave oranges to homeless people in San Francisco and also put a heart chocolate that I found in my coat by a sleeping homeless man.

2/26: I picked up trash in San Francisco and gave $30 to the Women's Mentoring Network, a favorite charity of my friend Jeff who asked for donations in lieu of gifts for his 30th birthday - what a great idea!

http://www.wmninc.org/

2/23: I forgot another funny good deed today. Someone put a toilet by a trash can that is on my walk to the train station every morning. It is gross and people have been putting nasty things in the toilet bowl and this weekend some people must have taken a baseball bat to it because it was partially smashed. I emailed the Dept of Public Works in San Mateo and they said it will be removed this afternoon - has reaffirmed my faith in responsive government!

2/23: I tutored at the Boys & Girls Club in San Mateo. My student Andrew seemed very excited about a book he is reading which is a big improvement. We read a story about the man who invented braille and did some language arts skills worksheets. He also suckered me into buying some See's chocolates to support his school - he's a super salesman!

2/22: We're in Tahoe skiing this weekend, that's why I'm doing the cash donations as my good deeds. I sent a donation to Second Harvest, a food bank where I have volunteered in the past.

A little something from their most recent fundraising letter:

"The last half of 2008 was a tough one. We had planned for a 3% increase in service delivery, but during the last six months of the year, on average the Food Bank served 13% more individuals and provided 16% more food than we did during this same time period in 2007."

My donation will buy 40 meals (food banks have great negotiating power) including:

* 4 Hams * 20 Pounds Potatoes * 2 Industrial-size Cans of Green Beans * 8 Pounds Fresh Carrots

* 40 Servings of Fresh Fruit * 40 Rolls

2/21: I sent a cash donation to the Rosalie Rendu Center, which mainly serves the hispanic community of East Palo Alto. I'm looking forward to Sister T's handwritten thank you note - she is a very special woman. A little about their mission below:

"At the Rosalie Rendu Center, we strive to break the cycle of poverty through education, mentoring, and raising the self-esteem of the entire family. Adults are assisted educationally with English, parenting and computer classes while children are prepared for kindergarten in a supervised play group in the Tot Spot and older children are assisted in an after school Homework Club."

2/20: I emailed the Rosalie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto about getting some Spanish language pamphlets about the center's English classes for two ladies I know that don't speak English. The center is run by Sister T (and is associated with the Catholic faith). It is a former Junior League project, that's how I heard about it. http://www.rosalie-rendu-center.org

2/19: I picked up trash on my way to Cal Train and gave an orange to a homeless man.

2/18: I gave a magazine to a homeless woman who lives near my apartment and went to www.theanimalrescuesite.com (0.6 bowls of food for every day that you click!). I sent around the Chronicle article about Rob's campaign to my friends at work - congrats Rob on the great publicity! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/02/18/DDK715RIMU.DTL

2/16: A homeless kid approached me at the Caltrain station and I gave him 50 cents and an apple. We talked for a while and he said he was going to the laundromat to keep dry (it's been raining likea banchee for the past few days). I thought - should I have said something about ATC in our conversation? I emailed Rob (founder of ATC) to see how to handle such situations.

2/15: I unsubscribed from several catalogues to save trees! JCrew, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, and Lands End will no longer come to my door on what seems like a weekly basis! You can go onto their websites - how to unsubscribe is typically hidden in "customer service" or "privacy policy." This only took a few minutes!

2/14: These greeting cards from Paper Source should be my campaign's THANK YOU cards for donations, but out of stock - I hope they get more soon!

http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Gandhi-Be-the-Change-Boxed-Holiday-Greeting-Cards/3000.431/40908610.html

2/13: I gave oranges to several homeless persons in San Francisco. It's definitely a change on my walk from Cal Train to the office (along the Embarcadero) when I actively look for homeless people rather than zone out talking on my phone. It got me thinking - what does a homeless person look like? I've heard from Rob (ATC's founder) that many homeless people try very hard not to look homeless. However, I was nervous to give an orange to someone who looked scruffy and had a backpack and hooded sweatshirt - what if they aren't homeless after all? So I stuck to the more obvious homeless - with shopping carts, tents, sleeping bags, etc. Definitely got me thinking that there are probably a lot more homeless than meet the eye...and not to judge a book by its cover.

2/12: I gave a magazine that I read on the train to a homeless woman (I pass her almost everyday, and she's always reading) who lives in the park.

2/12: I made a donation to the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin in support of a friend's mother recently diagnosed with the disease. http://www.bcrc.org

2/11: I sent a "thinking of you" gift to a girl I mentored in college (Lexington, VA) - we've been friends for 10 years - she goes to high school in NOVA (can't wait for her upcoming graduation in a couple years!). :) She has been through so much but has persevered. I'm so proud of all of her accomplishments!

2/8: I used the reward I get from over-using my Gap credit card and used it to purchase two Boys white polo shirts for students at East Palo Alto Charter School, which serves a high-need area. Our friend Erik Brown used to teach there and my W&L classmate Claiborne Taylor is currently teaching 6th grade humanities at EPACS.

2/8: Jon and I went through our books (yes, we have 3 bookshelves in our 800 sq ft apt) and found some to donate to our wonderful public library in San Mateo. Why should they collect dust while someone else could enjoy them?

Kelli Austin, a college friend of mine, who works for our alma mater, Washington & Lee University, posted a link to my campaign on their alumni blog. Thanks for your support Kelli!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alumniwlu.wordpress.com%2F

2/7: I took the donations that I collected at the 2/5 meeting to the Shop in Menlo Park. Went through my closet and found a few donations of my own!

2/6: I received a giant yummy cupcake at the meeting on 2/5, but Jon and I didn't want to eat it, so I gave it to a homeless woman who lives a few blocks from our apartment on my walk to the train station. I also brought a plastic bag and picked up trash - it took just a few extra minutes. With a cleaner environment, I hope we will see increased use of garbage cans!

2/5: I attended a meeting of Junior League women to brainstorm new and improved ideas on how to be more effective in our community work. I collected clothing donations at the meeting which will be sold at The Shop (Menlo Park), a major fundraiser for our grants and community projects, such as East Palo Alto Charter School.

The Shop: http://www.jlweb.org/paloalto/npo.jsp?pg=fundraiser&article=3

East Palo Alto Charter School: http://www.epacs.org/

2/4: I gave an apple to a homeless guy this morning between 3rd & 4th on the Embarcadero (SF). He seemed a bit disoriented (maybe he's not a morning person?), but appreciative. I turned off all the lights in my area when I left the office - trying to be more eco-friendly (and I love saving the Gap $$)!

2/3: Played with children at Haven House (while parents received educational training), a transitional home for families with comprehensive, on-site support services. We played an educational game and did some crayon artwork.

http://www.shelternetwork.org/haven.html

I found this volunteer opportunity through Hands on Bay Area http://www.hoba.org

2/1: I picked up trash along the Sawyer Camp Trail in San Mateo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawyer_Camp_Trail