Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Hootin' Hoedown: Field instructors Meredith Lauge (left) and Matthew Smith (center) sing and lead the 'Banana Slug' song for a group of students at Walden West Outdoor School. The school is a recipient of Silicon Valley Charity Ball funds.
Annual Silicon Valley Charity Ball gets retro
By Shari Kaplan
There is a place in the South Bay where patrons can get dolled up in their glad rags, sip a little hooch and dine on a gourmet spread as swanky as the surroundings in which they are seated. It's the Roaring '20s revisited--and the theme of the 14th annual Silicon Valley Charity Ball, a fundraiser by the Silicon Valley Charity Ball Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit organization formed by a group of friends and Silicon Valley business people in 1986.
Its mission is to support other local nonprofit organizations and charities that operate programs and projects benefiting children, families and senior citizens. Over its 13-year history, the foundation has awarded more than $7.5 million to 151 organizations.
This year's ball, "Puttin' on the Ritz," takes place on May 6 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, 150 W. San Carlos St., in downtown San Jose. The evening begins with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at 6 p.m. in an area designated as The Speakeasy, where Pamela Rose and the Syncopated Six will perform.
Actor Danny Glover will serve as master of ceremonies while guests visit and dine in the Art Deco Pavilion, followed by headlining Bay Area musician and songwriter Bruce Hornsby. The evening concludes with dancing to the band Pride & Joy.
Among this year's 44 beneficiaries from the greater Silicon Valley area is Families First, a broad-spectrum foster-care agency with nine offices in Northern and Central California. Families First offers a variety of services to abused, neglected and developmentally disabled children in the Bay Area, including professional foster care, adoptions, therapy, in-home support and after-school programs.
Founded in 1974, the organization began as a small group home in Davis run by two staff members for three emotionally disturbed boys. Its commitment then, and now, is to provide a safe, growth-enhancing environment for children with various special needs, whether they be social, emotional or mental.
According to Beth Williams, who is in charge of Families First's community relations, the SVCBF will be used to fund the new "Stufflebag Project." Its goal is to give each child a duffel bag filled with necessities and niceties, including a pillow, blanket, towel, toiletries, a coloring book and crayons (for younger children), a journal (for older children), a T-shirt and a stuffed animal. Although some items have already been donated to the cause, Families First still needs to buy some of the larger ones, such as the bedding supplies.
"Foster children are oftentimes removed from their homes with no time to prepare and arrive in their new living situation with their meager belongings literally in a garbage bag," Williams explains. "It is a demeaning message that their belongings are 'trash,' and Families First intends to change that experience."
Call 408.369.2220 for more information about Families First.
Walden West is another beneficiary. Walden West is a 35-acre residential school surrounded by Sanborn-Skyline County Park. It provides county fifth- and sixth-graders with weeklong educational camping experiences. Activities include nature hikes, science classes and creative writing.
"We foster socialization skills, an appreciation for nature and the building of self-esteem and self-confidence," says Walden West director Anita Parsons.
Information about Walden West is available at www.sccoe.k12.ca.us/waldenwest.
Tickets to the Silicon Valley Charity Ball are $300 per person. Group tables may also be purchased for between $3,000 and $20,000. For information, call 408.260.0594 or visit www.svcb.org on the internet.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
