March 10, 2005


Packin’ it in—and payin’ it forward

Almaden brothers are youngest recipients of Junior League Crystal Bowl Award

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Two Almaden brothers are planning to skip school on April 22, but instead of getting reprimanded, they will be getting rewarded.

Although Ben and Alex Greer would normally be in class on a Friday afternoon, they will join more than 900 community members and dignitaries from Santa Clara County for the 36th annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon [VRL] at the San Jose Convention Center.

For brothers Ben, front, and Alex Greer, an effort in community service grew into what could be taken for the extreme sport of backpacking—a good deed that has landed them both a Crystal Bowl Award and the recognition of the Junior League of San Jose.

The luncheon, sponsored by the Junior League of San Jose, celebrates the successes of more than 100 community members who have proven to be outstanding and inspiring volunteers. This year’s theme, “Celebrating Success in Voluntarism,” will highlight the everyday successes of 17 inspirational volunteers, including Ben and Alex, who will be among those chosen to receive the league’s highest honor, the Crystal Bowl Award.

Raised in the spirit of good will and their parent’s belief in giving back to the community, the two brothers, with the help of their younger sibling Zachary, decided to follow in their family footsteps, mirroring a successful backpack program that was created for Cross Ministries in Des Moines, Iowa by their grandmother, the agency’s director.

With a plan in place, Ben and Alex headed to InnVision the Way Home, where they implemented a program called Back to School Backpacks in an effort to help kids who were not able to afford new backpacks and supplies for school. It was a perfect companion to the programs offered by the largest Silicon Valley provider of housing and services for homeless and at risk individuals. Currently, InnVision provides services for more than 16,000 people at 20 sites each year by supplying job training and transitional housing for them and their families.

“My husband and I really do believe that if you are able to give back to the community, you should,” says Laurie Greer of her sons. “But I’m really surprised that they took on such a huge project. I’m thinking they were going to donate a few hours here and there, but they wanted to do something that they felt would really make a difference.”

“We thought that our community would really appreciate and benefit from something like that,” explains Ben. “We don’t want to just give people help—then go. We want to help people to help themselves. If we could help kids do well in school, get good grades, get into college, and then get a good paying job, we will be making a difference instead of just putting in a few hours of volunteer time.”

“When our parents wanted us to do something to give back to the community, we thought of doing what our grandma was doing, because it helped kids so much,” added Alex.

Through an aggressive letter-writing campaign and door-to-door requests from local businesses throughout the greater San Jose area, Ben and Alex raised an impressive $6,000 and were well on their way toward reaching their goal of 150 supply-filled backpacks.

To everyone’s surprise, the “zip” that closed the final backpack took them to well over 260 backpacks in all—with enough supplies left over for InnVision to distribute to other agencies as well.

In the meantime, the boys have learned that being proactive can change lives and that anyone—even kids can make a difference.

“People don’t make it through high school, get bad grades, then go off and get low paying jobs,” explains Ben.

“So we wanted to head the problem off at the beginning—starting with the kids. Instead of giving them money for a short-term crutch, we wanted to give them the materials it takes to do it on their own, so they get the enthusiasm they need to be successful in school.”

“We also wanted to give underprivileged kids supplies for school because we think it is important that everyone look forward to school,” adds Alex. “I think the Back to School Backpack Program is a great and successful program because it gives backpacks and supplies to kids who need them.”

“I was proud before they were selected for this award,” Greer adds. “I was happy with them being happy about how excited the kids got. Then they would all do the ‘backpack dance.’ To me that is better than any award.”

Greer is quick to point out that the enthusiasm demonstrated by Ben, who attends Bellarmine and Alex, who is at Bret Harte, quickly spread through the household and soon their youngest, 10-year-old son Zachary, became part of the effort.

“Zachary may not be getting an award,” she stresses. “But he’s the one who got up every weekend morning and started stuffing backpacks. He was right there the whole time—and he’s the one who will be keeping up the tradition when they’re long gone.”

Admittedly, news of the award, which found Ben and Alex up against seasoned community volunteers—most of whom were adults, took everyone by surprise.

“This is usually not a kid’s award,” Greer says. “The next youngest recipient this year is 18. The rest are adults who have been in the community for years. It’s kind of a big honor for them cause they are kids winning an award that is usually given to adults.”

“I think it is a nice honor and I am really surprised that we got it our first year,” adds Ben. “We got more donations then we thought and the businesses in the area were really generous.”

Now that the program has proved successful in their first round, the Greer family plans to continue their mission, starting with a family fun night fund-raiser. For everyone who visits Armadillo Willy’s and presents a flyer or mentions the program on March 23 from 5 to 9 p.m., the restaurant will contribute 20 percent of its total receipts to the Back to School Backpacks program. Participating locations include South DeAnza in Cupertino, Homestead Road, Santa Clara, Blossom Hill & Santa Teresa, and Camden.

For more information on the Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, held each year during National Volunteer Week, visit www.jlsj.org.