March 19, 2009

NEWS BRIEFS

San Jose moms receive parent awards

Four Bay Area mothers received the Most Valued Parent Award at the Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups' annual luncheon held earlier this month at Villa Ragusa in Campbell.

Shiva Rad-Garcia of Milpitas, Karen McVay of San Jose, Wendy Prickett of Sunnyvale and Heather Draeger of San Jose were chosen from among the more than 35 women who were nominated for the Most Valued Parent Award. The award honors the hard work and dedication of those members who exemplify the volunteer spirit of Las Madres, one of Silicon Valley's largest all-volunteer networks of playgroups.

The Most Valued Parent Award was given in four different categories: Community Service to Heather Draeger, Playgroup Level to Wendy Prickett, Club Level to Shiva Rad-Garcia and Executive Level to Karen McVay.

During the luncheon, Las Madres paid tribute to its wonderful volunteers and celebrated motherhood while welcoming its newest members. This year's theme was The Mad Tea Party and featured a slideshow, a jazz band, a homemade "Eat Me" cookie buffet, a silent auction and an opportunity drawing, and of course, a tea tasting.

Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups is a California nonprofit corporation created for the support and education of parents and caregivers and their children. Las Madres provides its members with a network of playgroups, arranged by neighborhood and children's birth year. Through Las Madres playgroups, members find friendship, support and helpful information, as well as, an opportunity for their children to make friends their own age. Las Madres currently has more than 2,000 members spanning almost all of Santa Clara County and is run entirely by volunteers.

Free financial information at MLK Library

Bay Area residents struggling to make ends meet from an unstable economy, rising unemployment rates and home foreclosures continue to impact consumers throughout the area can take advantage of a free service.

Three financial industry leaders are taking the issue of debt and saving to the streets during a national bus tour to deliver complimentary financial advice from volunteer, independent registered investment advisors and education to help consumers reverse these startling trends.

They will arrive on Monday, March 23 at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando Street and will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Consumer Education Foundation, TD AMERITRADE Institutional and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine are collaborating on the Your Money Bus Tour. Financial advisors on the bus will deliver the important message that it is never too late to start taking steps to prepare for a secure financial future.

Bring your financial questions and chat one-on-one with a financial advisor to get your answers. Be sure to also pick-up a handy toolkit full of information on debt reduction and saving

To learn more about the San Francisco Bay Area events, visit www.yourmoneybus.com for up-to-date schedule information.