December 28, 2006

Almaden Helping Hands collects over 500 coats, 200 blankets
for Emergency Housing Shelter and Foster Youth

It was a cold December night at Amato’s Pizzeria in Almaden recently and the yet the air glowed with the warmth of good cheer as people lined up to donate blankets, coats, clothes, shoes into the colorful gift-wrapped bins by the curb. Energetic young boys Aurash and Aurmon Bani-Taba together with Alex and Eiden Babaoghli, sons of the co-founders of Almaden Helping Hands (AHH), were part of the crew assisting in the collection.

The cold winter air glowed with the warmth of good cheer as people lined up to donate blankets, coats, and clothes into the colorful bins by the curb at Amato’s Pizzeria.

This blanket and coat drive, sponsored by AVNG (Almaden Valley Networking Group) wouldn’t have been possible without the help of all the members (comprised of local business owners) who helped get the word out by posting flyers in their storefronts (like Amato Pizza, Posh Bagel, Postnet and Unwined).

“We would also like to thank Almaden Times for their help in getting the word out to the Almaden community by printing a full-page ad about the event in such short-notice,” said Farah Bani-Taba

“I was blown away by the level of support from the Almaden Valley community for this drive to collect coats and blankets for the homeless and foster kids especially during the holiday season with everyone being so busy,” said Sue Datta. “The spirit of Christmas and Santa Clause came out with people like Chris Brubaker, Ramin Elahi, Beverly Canon, Jennifer Turk and Jennifer Mclaughlin (to name a few of the Almaden Valley residents) along with every member of the AVNG who came to our monthly meeting with a bag full of coats and jackets to donate.”

Raquel Hernandez came from the Family Resource Center in San Jose and Gilroy to collect coats for foster youths, ranging in age from newborn to 18 years of age. The festivity continued inside Amato’s where the AVNG members continued their monthly meeting of networking, introducing new members and exchanging referrals.

Almaden Helping Hands started the holiday donation season with an amazing donation collection from the Almaden Helping Hands Seniors, who are all residents of the Almaden community.

Earlier during the same day, (AHH) started the holiday donation season with an amazing donation collection from the Almaden Helping Hands Seniors, who are all residents of the Almaden community. They are Nandita Datta, Indira Avlani, Gita Kaul, Shobha Sinha and Balbir. This group of dedicated community supporters met in September and vowed to knit together woolen caps, scarves and socks for local poor and disabled seniors. Donating the yarn themselves and collecting yarn donations from their neighbors and friends, they knitting and completing 55 pieces of woolen items within three months.

AHH contacted the SVILC (Silicon Valley Independent Living Center), a center for the poor and disabled seniors in San Jose and Gilroy, and on Dec 18, sent staffers Mary Bell and Arlette to accept the donations. Arlette promised to collect yarn for next year and give it to the seniors for year-round knitting projects next year.

Donations were also given to the EHC Lifebuilder program for homeless shelters and the Youth foster care division.

For more information on how you can become a member of AVNG, visit www.almadennet.org.