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If you are looking for something a little more relaxed, tonight is also CHEVY'S Dinner Night! BE SURE TO TAKE THIS FLIER WITH YOU! They will not donate to SOS with out it!!!Picks & Pecks Editorial: Give now or hold your peace
Published by The Reporter
Posted: 05/22/2010 01:01:56 AM PDT
It's time for Vacaville residents who say they care about having a decent school system to put their money where their mouth is. Next week is the final fund-raising push for the Support Our Students campaign. It's goal is to collect $1 million for the Vacaville Unified School District, which is having to make $8 million worth of budget cuts next school year -- on top of $17 million worth of reductions it's already undergone. So far, only $30,000 has been raised, but organizers are still hopeful, since a slew of fund-raisers are being held in coming days. And remember, anyone who can't make it to one of the events can always text in a $10 donation via their cell phone by calling 25383. A pick.
“I met with our Student Council group today and they were pretty excited about it. I think they’ll take the events and facebook them everywhere. I gave them compliments that we were too old to get it out there correctly.”
Introduction
By Dove of Oneness. Excerpt from her Dove Report of January 17, 2004.
Hello Dear Friends and White Knights,
(...)
As inspiration for all of us to realize that EACH of us can do things to help improve our world, I’m sharing stories that prove ONE PERSON can make important differences. I’ve read that the current history books given to students have purposely been revised to talk about “movements” but leave out the names of the individual people whose actions began the “movements”. For example, Gandhi made peaceful protest and peaceful civil disobedience a valuable process of peaceful change. Susan B. Anthony rose to the challenge as a famous leader of the battle to obtain women’s right to vote in the U.S. The Illuminati owners of text book publishers do not want students to realize that important improvements can begin with ONE PERSON; this is why the text books have been rewritten to discuss movements and not individuals.
....
Each of us has within us the ability to make an important difference! If you doubt you can do it, just read the story HERE and remember that one librarian led the charge to defeat a powerful and wrong-thinking media conglomerate.
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale
Today is SOS Thursday and a great day to share our message about SOS. Be sure to wear your shirts and tell atleast 10 people about what we are accomplishing in our little town! We need to ensure a future generation of givers, it is never too early for families and society to cultivate children's generous and charitable impulses.
Benefits of Giving:
1. Put it on your resume - it can be very beneficial to indicate any charity work or giving that you do in your life because it will give your future employer a better picture of who you are. Being a generous, giving person are traits that many employers are looking for.
2. Improve your health - research done on the "Helpers High" indicates that it can improve our immune system, assist us to live longer and act as an antidote to chronic pain and even insomnia.
3. Develop relationships - when you get out and become involved in a local charity or organization you meet other people who are of like mind. This can create new friendships in your life which are beneficial in many ways.
Life is not about you, but what you can do with your life.
4. Have fun - I will always remember the fun I have had being involved in the United Way campaigns or dog-walking for our local SPCA. Building the team, participating in the activities and assisting other in realizing the benefits of giving are very powerful.
5. Develop new skills - no matter what type of activities you choose, whether it be helping out at your local food bank, soup kitchen or SPCA, chances are that new skills are there for you to learn.
6. Reduce your stress - release of endorphins, more commonly known as the "feel good' chemicals that help combat stress.
We don't judge; giving is giving, and the people to whom you donate will always be appreciative, regardless of your motives. More good news: you don't just have to donate money - you can donate food, clothes, pet supplies, blood, or time.
Giving is giving! Please GIVE today and either TEXT SOS to 25383 or go to the link at the top of this blog or mail a check to the Vacaville Unified School District SOS CRISIS FUND! You will make a difference for 13,611 children.
Facing deep cuts, more schools make fiscal 'watch list'
"Massive state budget cuts are crippling our public school system's ability to operate," O'Connell said. "Public education in California received $17 billion less in state funding than anticipated over the last two budget years. School districts already have made draconian cuts to programs and services, eliminated summer school, increased class sizes, and cut art, music, libraries, school nurses, and sports. The Governor has proposed cutting another $2.4 billion this year. Districts now are forced to lay off even more teachers and make deep cuts to educational programs to address projected budget shortfalls or face possible bankruptcy and state receivership. In the first interim status report of the 2009-10 fiscal year, 126 local educational agencies are now on the watch list, which is up an alarming 17 percent from the 108 school districts on the watch list we reported last June.
"I urge the Governor to reconsider the cuts proposed for public schools, and I also continue to call on the Governor and the Legislature to approve SCA 6 so that local communities can have more control over the financial destiny of their school districts."
“The importance of building exceptional public schools cannot be understated. As a CEO recruiting professional talent to Enid, I frequently see the significance of a strong school system in attracting and retaining talented people for our community."
This was posted by PTO Today on their Facebook page.Fighting School Budget Cuts with Creativity
Californians know: Cuts to education are not the answer!
Are you taking action to speak up for California's more than 9 million children? A California Field Poll, released on March 24, shows that an overwhelming 79 percent of Californians oppose budget cuts to public schools. Similarly, those surveyed also strongly opposed cuts to health care programs, higher education, mental health programs, child care and public assistance for low income families.
We must let our legislators know that ongoing cuts to education and critical children and family services are not the solution to the budget crisis that we, as their constituents, want to see. For more information on how the Governor's proposed budget cuts would affect your school district or county, go to the California Budget Project (CBP) analyses at www.cbp.org.
Send a letter to the Governor and your legislators today to let them know that public education and critical children's services must be protected from further budget cuts. Use one of the sample letters below or write your own letter drawing on your personal views and experiences.
* Letter to Governor (state & local impact) from parents (English) (en español)
* Letter to Governor (state impact only) from parents (English) (en español)
* Letter to legislator (state & local impact) from parents (English)
* Letter to legislator (state impact only) from parents (English)
Another way to take action is to volunteer to help your PTA unit, council or district to organize a letter writing campaign. Here are some ideas to help you get started.
Letter campaign ideas
Thank you for all you do to speak up for California's 9 million children!
Let us know how you and your fellow PTA members are taking action, send your stories and photos to legislation@capta.org and communications@capta.org.
Kimme: School funds: Do the math
By Ernest Kimme
Posted: 04/06/2010 02:02:15 AM PDT
My apologies in advance: There are a lot of numbers in this column.
It is not that, as a former math teacher, I feel the need to torture people. It is that, when we are talking about raising money for our schools, a little math has to creep in somewhere.
First, the elephant in the room: $8 million.
That is the amount the Vacaville Unified School District is guessing that we will have to cut from the budget. If everything in Sacramento went right, and bi-partisan fairy princesses dusted the Legislature, we might have to cut only half of that.
The problem is that our school district has already done a lot of cutting. Just a couple of years ago, our district had a budget approaching $100 million. At $80 million today, we are past the fat and down to muscle and bone: whole programs will have to go. Elementary music. School libraries. After-school sports.
Or we might raise revenue. In Vacaville, a bunch of dedicated parents found a new way to raise money for our district.
You should be seeing the signs around town soon. On your cell phone, text the letters "SOS" to 25383, and you will be donating $10 to the Vacaville School District. The charge shows up on the phone bill. Easy and convenient!
So let's run some numbers. There are about 13,000 students in Vacaville schools. To keep it simple, let's say there are 10,000 families with students in schools, that every family calls 25383 and donates $10. That would total $100,000.
Remember, we are planning on cutting $8 million from our budget.
Did you notice all the emphasis on "our" school district and "our" budget? That's because it is "our" problem. Even those who do not have students in school benefit from good schools. At the very least, a good education will keep people out of expensive jails. But the biggest benefit is that education creates better jobs and a better economy. A rising tide raises all ships, that sort of thing.
There are approximately 30,000 households in Vacaville. If every household called 25383 five times, our school district would get approximately $1.5 million in donations.
The lesson is clear: Everybody needs to be involved, and once is not enough. Talk to your neighbors and co-workers. We are not going to prevent all of the cuts, but we can save some programs.
And if you don't like texting, visit www.vusdsos.blogspot.com. There you will be able to donate any amount you want.
And if you hate computers and texting, the Vacaville Public Education Foundation (3442 Browns Valley Parkway, Vacaville 95688) will be happy to take a check.
The numbers don't lie; everybody will have to be involved to make a difference.
- - -
The author is a Vacaville resident and member of The Reporter editorial board. E-mail: egk3@mac.com.
think about this.....We have had 1000 people look at our blog, IF each one of those people donated $10 think about how much money we would have? If each of those people got 10 family members to donate $10 too....hmmmmm....well the possiblilities are impressive. TEXT SOS to 25383 and make a difference!
