Sharing Service Stories » California

Livermore High School: Jefferson Awards’ Student Leaders Making a Difference in San Francisco Bay Area

Inglis Leslie — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:44:18 +0000

The student leaders of Livermore High School (Audrieana Bammer, Danielle Harvey, Kathryn
Rambo and Brittani Thurlow) were chosen to represent the San Francisco YSI Bay Area Region based on the school’s success in rolling out a new healthy foods program and its engagement of faculty support. Concerned about high rates of childhood obesity and diabetes, the Livermore High School students focused on creating a program to improve health and nutrition at their school, with the goal of expanding the program to neighboring schools across the Bay Area. In partnership with nutritionists and the Agricultural Department, Livermore now provides two to three vegetable and fruit lunch selections per day, and it has instituted various measures to ensure that they meet healthy food guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association.

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Jeffrey Benesch: Helping Bring Hands-On Learning into the Classroom

Inglis Leslie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:42:09 +0000

Jeff has melded his childhood passion for science with his desire to improve education, by helping Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) to grow its programs. RAFT helps students learn math and science, through giving teachers the techniques and materials to provide hands-on learning experiences in the classroom. He initially led a pro bono growth strategy and now serves as Board Chairman. He plans to help RAFT expand in California and Colorado, enabling them to reach an additional 4000 teachers in the next 2 years. Previously, Jeff volunteered with InnVision, Silicon Valley’s largest provider of services to homeless and at-risk families. There, he created multiple events, such as one-day shelter makeovers where volunteers remodeled centers for homeless families and the mentally ill.

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Catalino Tapia: A Gardener Grows College Scholarships

fordrm — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:34:51 +0000

Catalino Tapia was 20 years old when he immigrated from Mexico in search of a better life. He started his own gardening business, bought a home, and educated his children. In 2002, he decided to give back to the community by starting the Bay Area Gardeners’Foundation, which provides college scholarships to the children of low-income families. Since 2006, the Bay Area Gardeners’ Foundation has provided scholarships to 14 students who have gone on to continue their education. Tapia and other gardeners he knew began asking their clients for donations, and within two weeks, they raised $10,000 for the foundation. In 2006, when the group had raised $45,000, they sponsored five students at $1,500 each. In 2007, they sponsored nine more at the same amount and added a special award – the student with the highest grades got an additional $1,000.

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