Starbucks #603: Rockstar Volunteers!

Cole Munoz, a longtime Family House volunteer, had a brainstorm this holiday season that she named Jeans for Joy. As a manager of Starbucks #603 (at 74 New Montgomery Street in downtown SF), she encouraged her team to donate to Family House so they could wear jeans to work instead of the usual uniform. She also posted signs in-store to encourage customers to donate, and to help spread the word about the Family House mission.

Cole’s idea spread like wildfire through the Starbucks districts in San Francisco, and all told, 33 independent stores participated, raising funds for Family House families.

Cole first got involved with Family House through Director of Volunteer Programs Greg

Mora - the pair have been friends since high school. Cole has volunteered at fundraising events for the past 4 years, and she took the initiative to do something more personal this year. We hope Jeans for Joy will become a regular holiday Starbucks tradition!

Happy Holidays from Family House

Happy Holidays from all of us at Family House!

Giving Changes Lives

Below is the text of a letter we received from a donor who is participating in the Family House "Adopt a Family" or "Secret Santa" program. It's so wonderful to hear from a family that demonstrates how giving can make such a huge impact:

Hello Amy,

Thank you for allowing our family to take part in the Family House Secret Santa. Family House took such great care of our family while Natalia was undergoing treatment at UCSF from April 2008 – March 2009. I will never forget being emergency airlifted to UCSF just before Christmas 2008. Natalia was released from the hospital the afternoon of Christmas Eve and was allowed to return home for Christmas. When we arrived back in San Francisco 2 weeks later for another hospital stay, Paul delivered presents that Santa left for Natalia and our youngest daughter Sophia. It truly filled them with the wonder of Christmas. No matter what stress our family had go through, knowing we had a place to stay where people cared tremendously was always a comfort.

I hope that we can help bring a smile to another family. Merry Christmas!

Best Wishes,
Roni V

For information on the Secret Santa program, please contact Karen Banks at kbanks@familyhouseinc.org or (415) 514-6663

Click here to read the details about the Family House Secret Santa program: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/events.html#communityevents

Manuel, A Miracle Baby

Manuel spent the first 10 weeks of his life in the hospital and at Family House.

This 5-lb miracle baby was born via emergency c-section with Transient Myeloproliferative Disorder, a type of Leukemia that affects children with Down Syndrome. At only six days old, he underwent heart surgery to close a hole in his heart. This was followed immediately by weeks of chemotherapy to treat his cancer.

"Manuel was in and out of the hospital for the first two months of his life. He had fluid building around his heart that wouldn't drain on its own. He got a lung infection and had to be on oxygen because his lungs weren't working properly," says Patty, Manuel's mother.

The day after the above photo was taken, his parents, Patty and Rosendo, would bring him home for the first time.

"At Family House, everyone was friendly and open, everyone was willing to help. It's nice staying there - a little home away from home."  Now 8 months old, Manuel can do the things that other babies can do, like hold his own bottle, roll over, and sit up on his own. He's starting to talk, too.

"His heart and pulmonary counts are great. He's doing what normal babies do; we're very happy, we're very proud of him."

Please donate today to Family House so we can help babies like Manuel have a happy, healthy future: https://familyhouse.ejoinme.org/holidaymiracles 

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

#GivingTuesday

It's #GivingTuesday!

Make a statement! Give Dignity to a family in need by donating to Family House: http://ow.ly/rpzA0

Boswick the Clown came to Family House!

     Boswick is the San Francisco Bay Area's premier family entertainer. An accomplished clown, juggler, and magician, Boswick has provided quality entertainment and fun for thousands of people across the country. He has been involved with Family House for many years and has provided endless laughter and joy to our families and their children.

  

           "I’ve been doing the Thanksgiving Family House event for a lot of years. I do a lot of shows, I’m approaching 7500 shows in my career but this is the show I get most nervous about. A lot of the kids have seen me, Raul’s family alone has been there now 2 years, they’ve seen me numerous times. Some kids will have nothing to do with me, the staff has certainly seen me and the volunteers look at me like this... “uh huh...a clown...” I’m a celebrity among these kids, they see my picture around, they all either own one of my DVDs or have easy access to it. In the Family House world, I’m Robin Williams. It’s pretty cool but a lot to live up to. And then there are kids like Lana, Hannah (who I called Hanukah), Max and Rubin, neither of whom could speak. These kids laughed and laughed hard. These kids are in my life forever, with their laughter.
           Kids need laughter like they need dessert. A child can live without both but that’s not a life you want for a child. It’s fun to see kids eat birthday cake and it’s just a kick to see children laugh. Each year I get the kids (and crowds) laughing harder and harder. I guess that’s what I get nervous about; can I top what I did the year before? Will the kids respond? I don’t know. Performing is walking a tight rope, I get big rewards in laughs and hugs but it’s a bit scary climbing to the wire.
           Hopefully I can keep coming back year after year. This is the show that makes me nervous, it’s also the show with the most reward."

-Boswick



        All of us at Family House really appreciate the smiles and laughs that Boswick brings us. A father staying at one of our houses sumed it up pretty well; "It's a beautiful sound when you hear any person, but in particular a little child, laugh so hard they can't control themselves. Those kids and (ahem) some of the adults, were "taken away" for awhile. Very therapeutic, very fun."

     So we thank you Boswick, so much, for entertaining us and for keeping our families laughing! Please visit Boswick's website for more informations: http://www.boswick.net/index.php?gclid=CPT5yfGuy6wCFacaQgodpChMJw 

Volunteer Spotlight: Danielle Sly

Danielle Sly first heard about Family House through a flyer posted at a local children’s shop, Chloe’s Closet, that donates children’s clothes to Family House. Danielle lives in the neighborhood and wanted to give back to a local organization after leaving the corporate world to raise 3 kids of her own.  She says about the community, “We are Inner Sunset residents and have a fondness for UCSF, as all of our children were born there. Our closest family member in the city is a nurse there. We plan on making this our home for the long term and helping an organization with such a wonderful mission would be mutually beneficial.”

Danielle’s help in the business office is invaluable – taking care of data cleanup tasks for our end-of-year mailings, silent Auction items for events, and even helping with our Capital Campaign. She has had many different volunteer experiences, from volunteering at United Cerebral Palsy, to helping teachers while in high school, to working in a Women’s Soup Kitchen in Boston during her college years. She has also read to students at low income schools during their lunch hour, and volunteers once per month at the SF Food Bank with her 6 year old son.  

When Danielle has free time she likes to  run, hike, bike and explore San Francisco with her kids and husband.

Thank you Danielle for all of your help at Family House!

To learn more about volunteering at Family House, visit http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Saint Veronica Student Council Serves Sensational Family House

by Diego M., Kyle McA., Tory P., Alex M., and Maya McG

On Friday, November 15, St. Veronica Student Council visited Family House in San Francisco. Family House acts as a “home away from home” for families with children that have terminal illnesses. Family House provides a place where they can take a break and live their normal life in a less hectic way. These families’ original homes are at least 50 miles away from UCSF Children’s Hospital. Being that far away from the hospital and having to drive back and forth everyday can exhaust the families. Staying at Family House brings them much closer to the hospital, and it models their lives back at home.

Once we arrived at Family House, we were taken aback at how much this organization does to support the families in need, and we were excited to work as its partner. At Family House, Student Council members were split up into three teams to stock the food pantries with donations we bought with money from our Haunted House and with food we received from our Bake Sale. Each group put the donations we collected as a school on the shelves for the families to take and eat. The groups wiped down the food packages to keep bacteria away and organized the pantries so that in the future, families can find food quickly and easily. Each floor also received new pillows and towels (donated by S.V.) that Student Council helped to put away. We did this because after a long day, some of the families just want to eat dinner and prepare for the next day of treatment. Family House is clean and organized so the families’ lifestyles won’t be chaotic.

Our experience at Family House changed our perspective on exactly how an entire family is affected when one member is sick. We take our health and our homes for granted, while these families wish they were at home in good health. In the future, we would love to help Family House even more.

Thank you Family House for our great experience!

From all of us at Family House, thank you, St. Veronica students, for being outstanding volunteers and giving back to your community!

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

University of San Francisco Volunteers

Love this new University of San Francisco video featuring Family House CEO (and USF Alum) Alexandra Morgan:

Read the full article here: http://www.usfca.edu/Newsroom/Equipped_to_Lead_and_Succeed/Alumna_is_Chief_Executive_in_the_Fight_Against_Cancer/

Triage Consulting Group: Rockstar Family House Volunteers

If you've been to a Family House fundraising event in the last few years, Triage Consulting Group volunteers have been there, helping with everything from set-up to check-in to selling raffle tickets and more.  If you've been to Family House as a guest or visitor or volunteer, there's a good chance you've been there with volunteers from Triage, there throwing a party for the kids, reorganizing the garage, painting a stairwell, making a meal…

Triage Consulting Group addresses the financial needs of health care providers in the Bay Area and beyond. The company offers its 450 employees in San Francisco and Atlanta Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to each employee, and everyone is encouraged to take time to help out in their community. This culminates in a special "Founder's Day" project - Family House has been a fortunate recipient of Triage's partnership for several years now. On "Founder's Day," Triage volunteers do a complete overhaul of a Family House bedroom - repainting, adding brand new closet organizers and decorations to the room - really sprucing it up to make it something special for families staying there.

James Zackler has been working at Triage since 2010, and has become an enthusiastic champion for Family House - joining the Family House Young Professionals Advisory Council, and now becoming YPAC Chair. Here's what he had to say about Triage, Family House, and YPAC:

"Throughout the year, Triage typically brings anywhere from 25-35 people to Family House for a party, like the Halloween party: pumpkin decorating, t-shirt/costume making, mask decorating, face painting, and trick-or-treat bag decorating. Triagers also put up Halloween decorations inside and outside of the house. While we run these activities, other Triage volunteers are cooking meals for families: lasagna, individual chicken pot pies, rice krispy treats, and pumpkin pie bars. We do something similar in December: we decorate the house with lights, stockings, trees, etc., and cook a big meal for everyone to enjoy.

"Triage has a lot of young, fun employees, which creates a very enjoyable work environment where many create lasting friendships outside of the office. Outside of work hours, we organize volunteers for Family House fundraising events such as Cabernet for Connoisseurs, San Francisco Magazine's Best of the Bay, the Annual Spring Gala, and Bubbles & Bling.

"I got involved in YPAC out of an interest in being more involved in Family House. I had spent many hours working at Family House events through Triage and was looking for an outlet to give back in my personal life as well. I was blessed to be born to a family whose values dictated that in exchange for food security, a good education, and a loving atmosphere, it was my duty to help others who were not as fortunate. Family House has provided me an ability to give back in many ways.  Plus working with Amy, Karen, Greg, and the others is always fun. We are looking to come up with new initiatives (e.g. kickstarter campaign, more networking events/newsletters) and to improve on our previous successes (Shipwrecked, young professional outreach). 

"I feel like Triage will never stop trying to help Family House. As our firm continues to grow in size, this means more VTOs, while exploring original ways to help further Family House’s mission. With Family House's new Mission Bay location, I am sure there will be fresh opportunities for Triage to provide support as well.

"I can genuinely say that the volunteer work Triagers do – while providing benefit to Family House – is a great benefit to Triagers and their future communities. Providing new Triagers the opportunity to visit Family House and help at Cabernet for Connoisseurs & Best of the Bay instills personal philanthropy in many of them. Each year, there is a new group of Triagers that makes the transition from the mindset of a college student that has little money and skill to offer the community to a young professional that has more of both. So – thank you Family House and thank you Triage for providing opportunity to discover the personal benefits of community service. "

Family House could not exist without volunteers like those from Triage. We love you so much and thank you for everything you do for our families! http://triageconsulting.com/

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Tricia Redor

Tricia Redor first heard about Family House through the Psychology Practicum class at the University of San Francisco, as do many of our USF volunteers. She was moved to help families and their children going through serious illness.

Tricia started helping Family House through managing group projects for the Volunteer Program, such as showing new volunteers where all the supplies are kept, and training them on setting up donations during our monthly give-away days. She has been instrumental in helping the Operations staff with house projects that include laundry, painting, cleaning carpets in bedrooms, and other necessary tasks to make sure the house is a clean and safe environment for immune-compromised children and their families.

Tricia has also given her time to working as a tutor, mentor, kitchen helper, office aide, and research assistant. She has experience working with children and homeless populations: she has volunteered at Glide and Project Open Hand, where she helped prepare and serve meals to those in need.

She spends her free time drawing, painting, running outdoors, listening to music, and going on adventures with her family and friends.

Thank you Tricia for caring for the families of Family House all semester!

Learn more about volunteering at Family House at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Giving Comfort

Family House is a proud distribution partner of Giving Comfort, a program that provides free "comfort kits" to cancer patients nationwide. These wonderful kits are tailored to the needs of cancer patients, with goodies like a warm blanket, a stuffed animal, games, crayons, and animal crackers - items designed to help the physical and emotional comfort of patients while they go through the unpleasantness (and boredom) of cancer treatment. Thank you, Giving Comfort, for sharing love and coziness to kids in need!


Sign up to learn more about Giving Comfort at: http://www.givingcomfort.org/

Family House Partners with Coach Art

Family House is very excited with our new partnership with Coach Art - this program is great in so many ways - it offers an ongoing experience for talented volunteers who want to help sick kids and their siblings in recreational activities. This is an opportunity to work with a child over a long period of time, rather than a one-time volunteer experience.

Coach Art gives volunteer teachers an opportunity to see their students grow and thrive, and to see how they are really impacting the students' lives. On the flip side, it gives students a regular opportunity to do something creative that interests them; it's dedicated attention, and something to look forward to each week.

We love that Coach Art includes siblings, too, since the whole family is affected by one child's illnesses.  For longer stays at Family House, families are away from home for months at a time. Kids are pulled away from their regular community of school and friends (and teams and art and music classes), and may not have this kind of outlet available to them through Child Life Services at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.  Child Life provides a wonderful complement of services to patient families, but they simply can't recreate all the comforts of home.

Thank you, Coach Art Mentors for helping to bring a bit of home to Family House kids!

http://www.coachart.org

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Violet Banta

The Family House staff knows a friendly voice when they pick up the phone and a cheerful voice says, "Hello, Darling!" This is none other than the self-titled "Queen of Irving Street," Violet Banta. Violet is 86 years old and has lived in the Inner Sunset District for 52 years. She is a true volunteer all-star as far as Family House is concerned!

Violet has committed to soliciting donations from neighbors and businesses near and far on behalf of Family House. She has collected donations of food, clothing, and toys for families; auction items for fundraising events; and monetary donations, too. Local businesses that Violet has brought on to "team Family House" include Park Chow, Social Brewery, Andronico's, Nopalito, Walgreens, Chloe's Closet, and many more! Chloe's Closet are her downstairs neighbor's, so she often brings bags of clothes for babies and children that Chloe's cannot use. Violet first found out about Family House through Bobby "The Bunny" Thomas, who hosts an annual Easter party at Family House.

When Violet is not fundraising on behalf of Family House, she loves to tap dance, eat Filipino food, and volunteers with a veterans charity. Thank you, Violet, for all of your hard work! We love you, and Family House wouldn't be the same without you!

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html 

Update! How I Got Involved with Family House by Erika Shue

What sorts of Family House activities have you been involved with since you started volunteering here?
When I first started volunteering at Family House in November 2011, I had a weekly volunteer shift on Friday mornings.  I did a lot of checklists - making sure the families on every floor had what they need (toilet paper, laundry detergent, food label stickers, etc.)  I joined the Family House Young Professionals Advisory Council when my schedule no longer allowed for a weekly volunteer shift.  As a YPAC member, I helped put together family activity nights.  The YPAC Family Activity Nights included snacks and a seasonal craft.

Are there any events/experiences that stand out for you?
One of my favorite experiences at Family House was making valentines at the February YPAC Family Activity Night.  This is a special memory for me because my friend, Steven, and his family joined us.  Steven is the reason why I started volunteering with Family House - while he was receiving treatment at UCSF, his family stayed at Family House.  It was wonderful to not only see my friend healthy, but also see him and his family providing peer support to the families.

What do you like best about being involved with YPAC?
The people - YPAC members, Family House staff, volunteers, and the families. I feel very lucky to be around such wonderful people.

What's coming up next for YPAC, and what is the long-term future of YPAC as you see it?
YPAC's 2nd Annual Shipwrecked on the Barbary Coast was a few weeks ago, on September 21st - what a great night!

I am so excited to see what the future holds for YPAC, especially once Family House moves to Mission Bay.  Shipwrecked is sure to continue to be one of YPAC's main events.  In addition, I hope to see YPAC have move direct involvement in the House.

Camp Okizu offers summer-camp experiences for kids with cancer and their families. Some Family House families have had life-changing experiences at Okizu.  How did you get involved with them?
There was a summer camp job fair in the Student Union at Sacramento State University.  Since I got out of class early and had a few extra minutes before meeting my friends, I thought, "Why not check it out?"  I was just about to leave when I met Grams and Mold (we have camp names at Okizu - mine is Pumpkin).  I can't remember exactly what they told me about camp, but I remember walking away thinking "I want to be a part of that!"  Okizu wasn't something I actively sought out.  I just happened to be at the right place, at the right time, and I am so thankful for that.

What was a favorite experience/memory at Camp Okizu?
Baseball lunch is my favorite camp event.  We eat hot dogs, dress up in our favorite baseball gear, and dance to music.  I usually like to dance, but one summer I skipped out on the dancing to sit with a couple of kids who didn't feel like dancing.  It was wonderful watching everyone dance.  They were all having so much fun; you would never know that they were affected by childhood cancer.

Have you ever met any Family House kids/families there?
This summer I met a camper who stayed at Family House.  Hearing how highly he spoke of Family House made me feel proud to be a Family House volunteer.

To learn more about volunteering with Family House, or about our Young Professionals Advisory Council, click here: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

To learn more about Camp Okizu, click here: http://www.okizu.org/

Volunteer Spotlight: Joey Jordan

Family House has a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the University of San Francisco. We have had a number of volunteers come to volunteer each semester through Service-Learning classes, as well as community clubs on campus.     For the first time, Family House has its own ACE student for the 2015-2015 school year. ACE stands for Advocates for Community Engagement, and is focused on “developing socially responsible, civically-engaged student leaders who facilitate quality service-learning experiences for all stakeholders and advocate for the common good of the community” per the USF ACE website. During the 2015-2013 school year, ACEs managed and led reflective activities for over 200 service-learning students.

Family House’s amazing ACE student, Joey Jordan, will be working with 14 USF students this semester, as well as providing his own service hours to help Family House at events, manage volunteers, and even TEACH Zumba lessons to the families. Joey is very inspired by Family House and is excited to support in any way he can.

He was drawn to Family House as he can understand how hard it is for a family going through treatments when they are so far from their own families.
       
When Joey is not volunteering or working on school work, he enjoys running in Golden Gate Park, spending time admiring the scenery, as well as volunteering at various non-profits including Project Open Hand, St. Vincent de Paul, and Raphael House.

Thank you Joey for all of your help this year at Family House!

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival Recap - September 14th and 15th

The sun was shining, the chocolate was flowing… well, it was a little melty, anyway (see the previous comment about the sun), but that didn't stop anybody from having an amazing time at the 18th Annual Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival on Beach street.

With the America's Cup racing boats behind us on the water, the foot traffic was better than usual this year. We talked with hundreds of chocolate fans - Bay Area natives, chocolate enthusiasts from across the country, and even visitors from as far away as Canada and Europe! (Now, these folks are REALLY dedicated to their chocolate addiction!)
 

Family House volunteers and staff were invited by our friends at Personality Hotels to share their booth on Sunday. The event's proceeds benefit Project Open Hand, a San Francisco nonprofit that is dedicated to feeding people with life-threatening illnesses; and so we were excited to have an opportunity to tell event attendees about the Family House mission - providing free, temporary housing to families of children with life-threatening illnesses. It was a great way to tell LOTS of people about Family House, and make new friends.

We talked with everyone who came by about Family House, and about Personality Hotels' new "Save Me, San Francisco" hotel package.  Personality Hotels came up with this great idea to help support Family House. When you stay at one of their fantastic boutique San Francisco hotels, you can add on the "Save Me, San Francisco" package, which includes a bottle of Train's award-winning Soul Sister Pinot Noir, two wine-pairing bars of Ghirardelli/Save Me, San Francisco Chocolate, late checkout (after your night on the town!), and a direct cash donation to Family House.

 This package brings together support and love from Personality Hotels and from the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Company - what could be better?  Chocolate Festival VIPs had a chance to taste some Save Me, San Francisco Wine in the Cadillac Wine and Chocolate Pavilion - and event volunteers there were able to tell the story about how rock band Train found Family House and how they've been incredible supporters ever since!  If chocolate equals love, man, this day was one serious love fest!

Big shout outs to Personality Hotels, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Train, and the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Company, and to all our friends that we saw at the chocolate festival - Three Twins Ice Cream, the San Francisco Bulls, and of course, Project Open Hand and all our new friends that we made that day!

Ready to book your stay at a Personality Hotel? Click here to add a Save Me, San Francisco package! http://info.personalityhotels.com/blog/bid/187364/Save-Me-San-Francisco

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Lauren Kahn

Lauren Kahn has been an invaluable asset to the Family House business office this semester. As a Volunteer Lead, she has been spending 8 hours a week helping the business office with event planning, processing donations, and writing thank you letters to our donors. Lauren has been experiencing the behind-the-scenes action of how a non-profit runs. She was also instrumental in coordinating volunteers at our annual Cabernet for Connoisseurs event in February.

Lauren, however, is no stranger to working with children, as she has volunteered at Children's Hospital of Orange County, volunteered in the ER of Garden Grove Hospital, and will volunteer at St. Mary's Hospital in the skilled nurse department. She hopes to go into a career involving children and medicine.

In her spare time, she loves baking, cooking, yoga, and zumba. Lauren has taken the role of being the bright, shining face in the office, welcoming families and helping them navigate the city, or answer questions about the house. Lauren, we love your dedication to our families and the work you do at Family House! Thank you, we wouldn't be the same without you!

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Marco Rodriguez

Marco Rodriquez first heard about Family House through the Psychology Practicum class at the University of San Francisco. He joined Family House as the an Operations Volunteer Leader at 10th Ave and worked to maintain the garden areas to provide a peaceful and well kept areas for the families.

He was drawn to Family House as he had helped at UCSF by volunteering to pass out books and magazines to critically ill patients. Marco has also volunteered in the St. Anthony’s soup kitchen preparing fresh meals for clients needing their services.

Marco was successful at completing his summer project at Family House which was to restructure the irrigation system to ensure the flowers and plants received the correct amount of water all year long.  On a day-to-day basis Marco also helped our Operations team with house projects, manage volunteer groups and even has been able to utilize his Spanish speaking skills at Family House.

When Marco isn’t volunteering or working on school work he enjoys spending time reading at home, cooking delicious meals and swimming. Thank you Marco for all of your help this summer at Family House!

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

More Than a Hat, an interview with Brenda Orr

How did you first hear of Family House, and why did you decide to get involved?

I first heard about Family House when one of the teachers at Toro Park School (in Salinas, California) asked the staff if they could donate caps in the month of December to give to Family House.  When I went shopping, I could only afford 1-2 caps; [but I realized] I could pick out a pattern and sew caps a lot cheaper.  That was the start of my fleece cap campaign.  I’ve been making them ever since.

Fleece hats are your signature, how do you come up with the patterns and designs?

The pattern is from a pattern book.  There are only 2 pattern pieces.  They’re easy to cut out and easy to sew.  I buy fabric from a store in Morgan Hill that gives me discounts.  I buy fabric about once a month.  I love the old town Morgan Hill, so I treat myself to a trip downtown and visit my favorite shops.

When I make my caps, I usually make 20-30 or more.  I try to make an equal number of boys and girls caps.  I also make various sizes.

What do you do when you’re not making hats for Family House?

I am currently trying to get involved with the “Look Good, Feel Better” program through the American Cancer Society.  I like to make hats for ladies.  I have 3 different styles that I sew.

I am newly retired from teaching.  I am able to sew, swim, hike, read, take small trips, volunteer, and update my condo.

Last thoughts?

I’m real impressed with Family House.  The way they treat their patients and families is wonderful.  They’re organized and inspired.  Keep up the good work!

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html