Member Spotlight: April Edition, Group 2

Welcome to the JLPA-MP's 2012 April edition of Member Spotlight. Check out the first published group from this series on 04/10/2012.

Sherri Douville 

Current Placement: Endowment Fund Board Marketing Chair

Years in League: Active (10+ years)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Dark Chocolate-it's healthy!

What book(s) are you currently reading?
Mostly, I read newspapers and magazines: New York Times on Sundays, the Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Time, and InStyle are some of my faves.
I also read business books such as The Influentials, a book which describes influence within networks of communities.

What is your favorite form of exercise?
I do the Dailey Method most days, a one hour class that combines ballet barre work, 20 minutes just of ab work, all-over muscle strengthening, yoga, and stretching.
What is your favorite hangout or activity with girlfriends?
With my league friends, we tend to get together for the purpose of eating and talking, or occasional pampering. Our favorite hangout is the patio for dining, pool, or spa for relaxing at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley.

Nacole Barth-Ellis

Current Placement: Shop Treasurer and Finance Council Assistant

Years in League: Active (2-5 years)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
A tv show called Say Yes to The Dress. I especially like watching a couple in a row...

What book(s) are you currently reading?
I just returned from vacation and finished two Janet Evanovich books - pure fluff reading. I've moved on to a new cookbook on Mediterranean salads and next up is Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived. The cover shot is priceless!

What is your favorite form of exercise?
Hiking.

What is your favorite hangout or activity with girlfriends?
Getting together for drinks and nibbles.

Member Spotlight: April Edition, Group 1

Welcome back to another round of Member Spotlights. This is the first bundle of five total spotlights, so stay tuned and check back in for additional published spotlights!

Alison Sikora 

Current Placement: Provisional

Years in League: Provisional

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Celebrity/gossip magazines!

What book(s) are you currently reading?
I'm on the waiting list at the library for "The Hunger Games" - I've heard so many amazing things about the book!

What is your favorite form of exercise?
Anything outdoors, especially biking or jogging at the Stanford dish

What is your favorite hangout or activity with girlfriends?
Drinking wine and chatting at any type of outdoor cafe or winery

Cynthia Munoz

Current Placement: Piper Editor

Years in League: Active (2-5 years)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
It's hard to choose a favorite, but I'd have to say watching TV, and specifically reality shows like The Bachelor, American Idol, The Voice...I used to watch A LOT of TV - probably in the range of 5 to 6 hours a day. Now that I have a family, I've cut it

What book(s) are you currently reading?
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

What is your favorite form of exercise?
Walking. Although my childhood friend has gotten sucked into Zumba and she has been occasionally dragging me out to Zumba parties...and I have to say I really like it, even though half the time I feel totally uncoordinated and miss the steps.

What is your favorite hangout or activity with girlfriends?
Window shopping, going to lunch or catching a movie.

Endowment Fund Board Hosts Donor Recognition Event

By Bonnie Smyth, Endowment Fund Board

Over thirty League members and guests attended the Major Donor Recognition Event hosted by the Endowment Fund Board Thursday afternoon. It was a fun, sunny afternoon where Endowment Fund donors reconnected with long-time friends and made new friendships. Past JLPA•MP President and Endowment Fund Chair, Katrina Wollenberg visited from Texas especially to attend. The event took place at the beautiful home of Endowment Fund Board member emeritus, Kathy Ladra.

Susan Ford Dorsey, President of the Sand Hill Foundation, was the speaker for the event. Susan shared her touching personal story about why she made her $100,000 challenge match during the Endowment Fund campaign. It was very moving to hear that it was the friends she made in the League and the work she did on the League's Court Appointed Special Advocates (“CASA”) project that changed her life. Her League volunteer work and friendships helped to propel her to become one of our community's most generous philanthropists. Today, Susan’s Foundation invests in leaders and organizations that demonstrate clarity of purpose and a deep desire for lasting transformation.

Hors d’oeuvres for the event were based on recipes provided by Jane Stocklin and made by Endowment Fund Board members. Martha Edwards brought her signature chocolate chip cookies. Former Endowment Fund Board member, Margaret London, generously donated wine for the event.

The Endowment Fund Major Donor Recognition Event is held annually and honors our most charitable and consistent donors and our Legacy Leaders (those who have named the JLPA-MP Endowment Fund in their estate plans).

Want to make a donation to the JLPA-MP Endowment Fund? Click here.

Canned Quail Eggs and other delicacies at the Second Harvest Food Bank

By Amy Truel, Content Chair, Communications Team

Fifteen enthusiastic League members and Provisionals volunteered their time at the Second Harvest Food Bank Done in a Day on Tuesday, March 15. Our members volunteered alongside several other groups of eager volunteers -it really does take an army to properly sort, perform quality control, and categorize the donations! League member Samantha Symonds Shear felt the same way, “The Second Harvest DIAD project was rewarding because you see firsthand that the food you select, sort, and package will help so many people. This DIAD is a great team experience, working together to provide an immediate impact to those in need.” 

You may be wondering what the Second Harvest Food Bank is all about, so I’ve included some facts about the non-profit below. 

• 1 in 10 people in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties receive food from Second Harvest
• In fiscal year 2011 (July 2010 - June 2011), Second Harvest distributed 45 million pounds of nutritious food to low-income people in need in every zip code of our service area from Daly City to Gilroy, and from the ocean to the bay.
• Throughout the fiscal year, volunteers contributed 297,755 hours of service, which saved us more than $5.7 million in equivalent personnel costs.
• Partner Agencies include shelters, pantries, soup kitchens, children's programs, senior meal sites, and residential programs.
• For more information on Second Harvest’s great service to our community, visit their website.

A few of us braved the expiration date checking, but most ended up as the “queens” of categorization. We dutifully distributed donations among many categories, including canned protein, vegetables, fruit, bulk items, crushables, and our favorite…miscellaneous! That is where the canned quail eggs and “bread in a can” ended up. Yes, those items really do exist. We made sure to separate out “pop-tops,” which go to homeless people that may not have access to can-openers.

“Sorting the food was really rewarding and surprisingly harder than I thought it would be,” reflected Jen Cooper, DIAD committee member who also organized the volunteer activity. “There were so many special instructions to follow, such as green beans needing to be separated from the kidney, black, and refried beans.”

It was truly impressive to see the volume of food on site, but also sobering when you realize why it is all there and that our area’s homeless and low-income population still need so much more. Kelly Dayton was quoted, “I was also shocked to learn that the food bank serves 250K people a month which is 10% of the two counties but that food need is really 25%.”

It was the second time Nacole Barth-Ellis volunteered at the Food Bank. She keeps coming back because Second Harvest is very organized and she feels her time is valued by the organization - they put her to work! In addition, Nacole was quoted saying, “It’s always inspiring to see so many volunteers helping to feed so many people, and that these volunteers give up their time all year round.”

Countdown to Kids in the Kitchen

Jayme Allen, Provisional Member

The other day I asked my 5-year-old daughter what kind of fruit she wanted with her lunch. Her reply was “ I want strawberries! Fruit and vegetables make you strong! Right Mommy?” As any parent knows, there are many days when you feel like everything you try and teach your child goes in one ear and out the other. And then finally, they say something and you realize they really are listening! We only have so many years to help shape our children’s eating habits and help them understand the importance of living a healthy life. Soon my daughter will be making her own food choices and the days of cutting strawberries to pack in her lunch will be long gone. For the most part, today’s children will grow up knowing what foods are healthy, what foods Mom won’t buy at the store and will even understand that exercise is a way of life.

However, what seems like an everyday scenario for my family or yours isn’t necessarily the same for many other families in our community. Many children come from different cultures or a socioeconomic status that doesn’t allow them the information or resources to make those same healthy choices. And it’s no surprise that processed foods high in sugar and empty calories are often cheaper than the healthier alternatives. That’s why the Junior League’s Kid’s in the Kitchen event is so important in helping to make a difference in our community. This event brings together the students and families of the 49’ers Academy in East Palo Alto and shows them how healthy eating can be fun and accessible.

The Provisional Class invites you to join us for Kids in the Kitchen on Wednesday, April 25th, 2:00 – 6:00pm at the 49ers Academy, 2695 Fordham Street, East Palo Alto. The day will include lessons and demonstrations on healthy cooking and the importance of physical fitness. Can’t make it? Consider making a kid-friendly donation to help promote an active and healthy lifestyle (ex. kid friendly kitchen utensils, baseball gloves, footballs, jump ropes, bike helmets etc.)

This will be my first KITK event and I’m looking forward to seeing what a powerful organization the Junior League can be in helping to better our community. And you never know… maybe I’ll come home with new snack ideas to try out on my kids!