Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is one of our preferred charities. Lets face it, there were people…read morealready hurting before COVID hit and now that's all the more exacerbated. When it comes to food security or a lack thereof, you need a charity that literally helps put food on peoples table. They provide food for those that would otherwise have to do without. They also take fruits and vegetables (You must call ahead and set it up) along with the more typical donations. In addition you can also volunteer to help sort and setup. They have a website to help direct you. However, it is very popular and sometimes days are already filled up. As with all charities they need our help. How can you help? 1) Food donations. Every bit helps 2) Volunteer to help out 3) Cash is king. Consider a cash donation so they can pay for operations and buy essential items that they don't get donated. I mean how many cans of pumpkin filling can you make someone eat right?

I have incurable cancer. I have been through chemo and have lingering serious side effects so…read moregetting to a food pantry is hard not to mention. I don't have a car. I found Second Harvest Food Bank delivers food to the door. So I applied and they have been delivering to my door when they don't send lazy delivery drivers that leave my food outside my apartment building for everyone to get, or in the lobby or in the mail room to leave my food to rot. Even if I could go to the lobby or mail room, I can't lift my box and bring it up five floors. Not to mention, I don't get notification that the food box has even been delivered so I don't know if it's been delivered to the lobby, mail room, or left outside. I have called several times explaining I am not getting my food boxes, even though they send out another food box 5 days later, I shouldn't have to wait five extra days for food. Not to mention 7 out of 10 times I get my box it's loaded with rotten fruit and vegetables full of mold. To which by the way I am highly allergic to food mold. I have called. I have spoke to supervisors. I have spoken to several different people at Second Harvest Food Bank. They apologize. Which I appreciate, but that doesn't help me with my food. They said if you don't want to receive moldy fruit and vegetables come and pick up the box yourself. Nice I would if I could. I'm sure others with my health issues and my age would attest to the fact that we would do a lot of things if we were physically capable of doing it. So apologies fall on deaf ears because I still don't receive my food boxes when I should and like I said half the time the food is rotten full of mold. Shaking my head because I see the commercials and I see people donating to which I appreciate. I see people in their cars in line getting all this beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables not to mention holiday boxes to which I don't receive a holiday box I don't get anything to celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving no turkey, no Christmas box just beans and rice is what people who get their food delivered get along with moldy fruit and vegetables. I guess that is Second Harvest Food Bank's way of saying happy holidays. You don't get a holiday box you don't need to celebrate a holiday.

Over a long span, my family & I have adopted 3 cats from 9 lives and enjoyed them all ; ) One is…read morestill with us. I was at the new location recently after my oldest passed. It's very nice and so was the volunteer that helped me. I explained I had an older cat and got advice. I adopted a male cat that just didn't work out sadly w/ my other cat ~ I had to bring him back sadly and there was no judgment at all. I appreciated that, as I already was super sad about it. I will continue to donate to this org.

I brought in a tom stray cat. He is super sweet. We finally caught him. I had an appointment to get…read morethe neutering done and all his shots up to date. They put some ointment on his face to heal looks like he got into a fight with some other animal. His face looks like it is healing nicely. The staff were very friendly. Found out he was around 10 years old. Very accommodating.

Fun place to shop--great prices, great merchandise, great group of volunteers. All proceeds go…read morebenefit Peninsula Family Services.

Clean and bright and free of junk. Prices are great. I've found lots of nice things here over the…read moreyears.

The Most American Small Business Book Store I've ever been to…read more Owner/Operators and employees are educated, knowledgeable, honest and sincere.

Reach and Teach is truly a local gem and one of the most inspiring shops on the Peninsula. They…read moreoffer a carefully curated mix of progressive books, educational toys and games, eco‑friendly products, and other high‑quality gifts you won't find in big box stores. Every visit feels like a treasure hunt--you'll discover something meaningful, fun, and thoughtful. The two owners are not only super friendly but also deeply civic‑minded, always ready to share knowledge and support community causes. Their passion for education, sustainability, and social justice shines through in everything they do. If you're looking for a place that combines heart, purpose, and great finds, Reach and Teach is a must‑visit.

I have been on several volunteering trips together with 20-25 other volunteers from the Bay Area to…read morehelp with tech-related and light construction projects in Santa Barbara, Honduras where footsteps run most of the programs to benefit economic orphans (adding some pictures below). All of the trips were great, and I have very good memories. This non-profit is rather small and thrives on volunteering groups helping as they have a lot of needs. The work you do depends on the skills of each volunteer. I am a techie, so I helped to install network equipment, and fix old computers, other people did painting or helped with kid-related activities. I took my then 10-year-old son on my second trip, and he really enjoyed it as this is a family-friendly type of volunteering (on that trip we had 13 adults and 12 kids), it also was eye-opening for him to see how people who are less fortunate live as we had the opportunity to walk some of the kids home, and see they live in little shacks with no electricity, running water or sewer (adding a picture of one of the nicer homes where one of the families lives that invited us to take a look inside). The trip was very well organized, and we felt safe and welcomed by the locals. We stayed in a hotel that had air conditioning and ate very good meals (portions are smaller than in the US but way more healthy as they cook everything from scratch). The work was not really hard, but we felt we were making an impact. There is free time after dinner, and we got to know the other volunteers (we played a lot of board and card games at night, and shared stories). Overall I would describe it as a vacation with a purpose. Would definitely go again in the future if the opportunity comes...

From the owner: Footsteps Missions is a nonprofit organization that connects people around the world with partners…read morein developing countries who can use their help, training, and administration to help create meaningful short-term mission trips that will both meet the "real" needs of those being served and empower the lives of those serving. Here are some of the programs we are currently running: *Discovery Trips *Garden Of Love And Hope Centers *Girl's Residential Home *Job Skills Training Center *Dental/Medical Clinic *Farming Co-Op *English As A Second Language Camps Please check our Website for more information

Every member is voluntary only and no one is paid for their service. They provide medical as well…read moreas spay/ neuter for homeless cats. They also provide food for volunteers to feed the homeless cats. If cats appear sociable, they continue to socialize the cats and find forever home for them.

You know i really hate to give a one star on a cat rescue but I've been reading some other reviews…read moreand whoever's answering the messages from people they seem not to care or they're very rude I've called a few times i even had someone in the cat rescue from another state send a special email requesting for me to be a foster, but they still decline me WTF why would you decline someone just because they're disabled and they don't drive or they're low income?! you are discriminating towards someone who was a disability and you know that's against the law and it saying you're in San Francisco? but when i called you, you said you moved to Oakland because of covid,and you're only looking for people who can drive or support you in buying the supplies. That's not what it's about. Show more love and compassion that you state that you have for animals change your ways and if the owner is the one that's discriminating towards me and other people shame on you and if not? then you contact me back, and let's see if you can have me Foster? because, as they say, you snooze and lose out on an amazing person who can help you out. Thanks for reading my review. ~Lizzie~

I highly recommend Building Kidz for your children. My twin boys started BK at 18 months and…read morecontinued there until they started TK. We loved it. The owner, director and all teachers would interact with every kid on a first name basis and created a warm, nurturing environment for the kids to thrive. I saw my kids turn from shy, quiet infants to confident, chatty 4y olds who love singing, dancing and playing. The teachers at every class level were professional, and took such great care of my kids. I was especially impressed with how well they took care of my son with medical needs; definitely going above and beyond of what was expected of them. Handing off your kids to someone else for 8-9h a day can be stressful for parents. But knowing that my kids were well taken care of at BK was reassuring. The teachers helped us with our kids' learning milestones- talking, potty training, wearing their jackets/shoes independently, writing etc. Not only is their academic curriculum amazing, but they also emphasize on overall development with arts, science, and social interactions. Their semi-annual performing arts showcases are really impressive too. We are truly sad to leave BK and would definitely recommend it for your little ones.

We're now a returning family, which probably says more than anything else about how much we trust…read moreand appreciate this daycare. Our daughter had such a wonderful experience here that when it was time for our 18-month-old son to start daycare, we felt very comfortable bringing him here as well. The teachers are incredibly kind, caring, and genuinely loving toward the kids. They've made our son feel so welcomed and loved, which made his transition into daycare much easier for us as parents too. I also really appreciate how receptive the teachers are to parent input - they listen to our preferences, take our feedback into account, and work with us to make sure he's comfortable and happy. It's a wonderful feeling to drop your child off knowing they're surrounded by people who truly care about them. We're very happy to be back and grateful that our second child gets to have the same warm and nurturing experience!

I love being a BUILD mentor. Once a week, you and two other mentors meet with a group of 4-5 high…read moreschool students and help them develop a business idea. They create a PowerPoint presentation, participate in 3 showcases and submit a written business plan based on their product. This culminates into a business plan competition where they compete against other BUILD teams from nearby high schools. It's held at Stanford's GSB and is a huge accomplishment for the kiddos. My team Star Mentality came in 2nd place and it was amazing to see them present their product with poise, maturity, and humor. The memorable moments include taking them out on a Saturday looking for outfits to wear at the competition or eating dinner with them at Chili's prepping for the showcases. The kids made this an amazing experience. I've volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters since high school and this is an equally awesome program. So awesome, I'm returning as an E2 mentor. I'm getting my team ready to meet a real venture capitalist in order to secure funding to start their business. If you can't commit to mentoring, volunteer to be a tutor. You'll love it!

BUILD is one of the most well funded, connected and professionally run non-profits I've…read moreencountered. I found them through the Cisco Volunteer Fair and what stood out compared to the other after-school program is their huge college acceptance rate and their approach using entrepreneurship to incentivize students that are just bouncing at school. They have branches in the East Bay and Peninsula and I know people who are very dedicated to the cause. Their Peninsula office looks like a tech startup. I signed up to be a mentor. To be a mentor is like applying to school and job all over again. You have a phone interview, need to provide references, and write essays on why you want to be a part of BUILD. They do a background check on you because you're working with children. I volunteered on the Peninsula E1 with Woodside High School paired with a co-mentor with 5 students. Jacyln, the BUILD rep, was there every day and a great resource for us and Mr Moses, the teacher was a great person to reign in the kids. Being a mentor is an exercise time, patience, frustration and exuberance while you're crafting a product, business plan and presentation with them. At the end their hard work is presented at the BPC at Stanford School of Education in a huge hurrah! For Peninsula, if you want a more established system, go to the Sequoia High. But if you want to work with underdogs and be more unscripted then go to Woodside or Carlmont High. The other mentors are very talented and dedicated to the cause. We drive an hour and a half across the bridge from work each Thursday in order to be here. We spend more time on the road we do with our mentees but it's definitely worth it. If we could do this next year we will definitely do the E2-E4 class at their main office which is closer to the 101 Freeway.

After two plus years at TCP, I can honestly say we are still thrilled with the experience, the…read morestaff and new yard! Last year all the classrooms received new furniture, paint and curtains. The school finally completed their yard remodel. The final result is fabulous. We are so happy with the experience and education my daughter is receiving, and the community we found within TCP.

Our girls loved going to school at TCP. The app they use to communicate with parents and for…read morecheck/in out made it easy as the parent and grandparent for pickup. TCP is also affordable compared to other full day preschools in the area.