The largest regional food bank in Sacramento. This organization has been serving the community…read moresince 1976 and will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary: check out my photos for the QR code and anniversary details! I came here to volunteer, and to my surprise, there were even younger kids participating. I learned that the minimum volunteer age is 10 years old. Some students were volunteering for school service hours, while others came through different companies and organizations. We joined the second shift from 1pm-4pm. The session started shortly after 1pm with a briefing and task assignments from the group leader. All tasks were explained clearly. The leaders checked on us throughout the shift to make sure we were doing okay and to see if anyone had concerns. Halfway through the shift, we had a 15-minute break, and one of the leaders brought ice cream to celebrate a volunteer's birthday and shared it with everyone. I thought it was a meaningful way to celebrate a birthday while helping a good cause. We actually finished around 3:30pm, and our shift completed: - 5,451 lbs of food packed - 474 boxes prepared for the "No Student Goes Hungry" program supporting students from elementary school through college in Sacramento County. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating, and the facility was clean and organized. Restroom: clean, bright, and decent. If you are interested in volunteering, check out their website and register in advance.

Although not fun, there is one huge benefit to moving...being able to sort through a bunch of…read moremisplaced and forgotten stuff. Within all of this stuff, was a bunch of new and lightly used clothing. In the past I have donated clothing to my local Goodwill Express. However, I did some reflection and realized that all of the clothing that I donated was being sold for profit. Going forward, my intention was to donate to an organization that receives the donation(s) and distributes them to underprivileged individuals/families free of charge. Some research led me to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Upon calling to verify their hours (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10am-1pm and Wednesday, 4pm-7pm), I gathered all of the clothing and hit the road on a mission to make a difference. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a Sacramento Food Bank employee who eagerly began to load my clothing donations onto a cart. Since a lot of the clothing consisted of dress pants and dress slacks, he proceeded to inform me about a program called "Job Smart Clothing." Job Smart Clothing is a program within Sacramento Food Bank that provides career appropriate apparel for underprivileged individuals interviewing for employment or currently employed. How cool is that? I'm not a representative for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. However, I will say that they provide an awesome service to the community, and that a little donation goes a long way (individuals who benefit from their services often leave with 15-20 pieces of clothing per visit). Before you throw away that piece of clothing that you think is out of style or doesn't quite hug your curves the way that they used to, think about donating it to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services!

Adj: Still Somewhat Steep, but Swanky Store…read more Wow it's been almost 10 years since I last reviewed this Goodwill store! So much in the world has changed, but not this Goodwill. I continue to think of this one as a boutique store, or "Goodwill Reserve®" like Starbucks Reserve® lol.... anyways, so this is a higher-end more swanky, store that's great if you're more spendy in your thrifting. Most of the store is still clothing like at most other stores, but you won't find as many appliances, practical houseware, toys (things for kids in general as there aren't as many families downtown as in residential tract-home neighborhoods), or books, there's no furniture on sale here. What they do have is there's a lot of nicer, better quality, and name-brand clothes sold here, as another reviewer said, apparently this Goodwill shops from the cream of the crop that comes into the other Goodwill stores' donations and then it's priced higher and put on sale here. That totally makes sense. Anyhow, on this day, I did some browsing and saw nicer purses and shoes, and lots of fine china and nicer kitchenware here in addition to the better clothes on sale. There was also a decent size CDs and DVDs section closer to the front of the store right by the cashiers. We got a few DVDs for our kids and the cashier was friendly, helpful, and quick. Overall, this store continues to be somewhat steep, but for a more spendy shopping trip, you're rewarded with a swanky experience. Please check out my pics! =)

I had a few good finds today. A pair of 2 Petite beige name brand pants that fit perfect. The…read moreswimsuit didn't fit so well a little too small. I'll return it tomorrow at Lunch time. This time I hope not to loose the credit slip. I lost the last one and that was $14.99. OPPs, they are so easy to lose. I think I'll just buy something else while I'm there tomorrow. There were 2 other pairs of pants that caught my eye. I love having some retail therapy at lunch time after a trying day at work. It's so much cheaper than psycho therapy. The down side is they don't have a changing room so it's iffy if something will fit and look good. Last time I took the pants back to work and tried them on in our bathroom and then had to return 1 pair of shorts and that's the credit receipt that I lost. I need a better system. Bathroom. They have one, but I'm not sure if it's open to the public. This is a really convenient store for me as I can walk there at lunch. Waking is the way to go. Parking is quite tough in this downtown location. Parking is mostly all metered, but here is a parking lot on the street too, but that is also paid. I'm sorry, but I don't know the price. Parking on the weekend can be better as you aren't competing with the workers that are parking on the street. I don't believe you can park free on Sundays like you used to be able too. If you like thrifting, but have limited time and more resources you may find this goodwill just the goodwill for you. This isn't your cheap thrift store, it can be kind of pricy. Tops start at $9.99 and go up to $15.99. Bathing suits are also from $9.99 to $15.99. They do have lots of cute swimsuits. They shop the other goodwills and hand pick the newest and most fashionable clothing. Most of it is kind of dressy and perfect for work. There isn't a lot of ultra casual wear such as Tshirts and loungewear. I go mostly for tops to wear to work. I used to find a lot of dresses here, but without being able to try them on it's not worth it. It's too much of a hit and miss. Tops are much easier to guess my size and style. If you're like me and love some retail therapy on your lunch break then this is the place for you.

this is where I've been giving Bible studies over two years and they continue to give the community…read moreall the love and support

Welcoming staff. Good food. So many fun activities to engage in. From what I experienced the…read morecounselors are amazing. Helped me so much, I'm very appreciative to this center and all its staff

I've recently been riding a bike that was passed down to me. It's an 80's road bike. Its my first…read moretime riding a bike since my old BMX bike from my middle school days. I'm in my 20s now and know absolutely zilch about bikes. My chain snapped and I brought it into the bike kitchen. I paid $10 cash for the shop fee and immediately a volunteer helped me mount up my bike and get to work. He was so welcoming and fun to work with. We evaluated whether or not my chain was salvageable, and decided we should take a few links from a chain in the back, and add it to mine. It was only $3, and from there he taught me everything about repairing a chain. He was so nice and helpful, I used the tools and he kept watch to make sure I was doing it right. Sometimes that can be stressful, but he made sure it was a fun environment and we laughed almost the whole time. I could not recommend this place more. For them, its really just about the bikes. It felt amazing to fix it myself, and learn something about my bicycle. The volunteer also helped inspect my bike to make sure nothing else needed fixing. He explained it like, "you already paid the shop fee, lets see what else we can do". I hope I learn enough to volunteer here one day. Truly a 10/10 experience.

Really cool nonprofit organization supporting the Sacramento community through cycling!…read more They'll help fix your bike and teach you how to do it yourself for only $10. For kids up to 17 years old, bikes are free. A lot of low income or immigrants families benefit from this offering. Every second Saturday of the month, they host open bar nights with live music: check out their website for the artist lineup! One of their workshops was even a Bike Jewelry Workshop where people made jewelry from bike parts. SBK is focused on making cycling affordable and accessible while teaching bike maintenance and safety classes to help people become more independent riders. Besides the bike shop, they also do community outreach projects and are always looking for volunteers if you're interested in helping out!

I want to take a minute to both thank and congratulate, Dave Gaines. Dave and the staff of SASSNA…read moreare doing some fantastic work with our youth (and their parents). This organization provides social services and supplies necessary outreach to both educate and advocate in the defense of our youth. Being non-profit, they work on your pre-agreed upon donations. Basically, what you can afford. My daughter tells me the whole staff from social workers to clerical are professional, helpful people. Since their time here, I can see huge changes within our entire family. Thanks to SASSNA, my grandchildren will have a better life growing up with this disability than I did. Thank you, again! 01/25

My family and I have consulted with Dave regarding school based and early intervention services. He…read morehas always had factual, supporting and helpful information to assist in advocating for our child's best interests. I would and do refer Dave to anyone who needs help.

I can't thank RedRover enough for how they helped our family. We had 2 dogs already when my…read moredaughter saved a stray from getting hit by a car. She brought her home and she was in bad condition. All matted, had ticks, hungry etc. In the process of looking for her owners we took her to the vet to get shots, flea and tick prevention and a well check so she could be around our other dogs. No one came forward as her owner and we loved her so much already that she became part of our family. We named her Baker :). Baker had a hernia that needed to be fixed. Recently, I unexpectedly got laid off. Needless to say, money was tight. I reached out to Red Rover and they immediately replied and thankfully they were able to help assist with the costs of Bakers surgery. We are so very appreciative, and words alone cannot express our gratitude. This is a wonderful organization and our family feels so blessed that they were able to make Baker's surgery possible. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you RedRover!

My husband and I been yelping and searching for a animal shelter, pet rescue, and any available…read moreplaces that accepts cat donation. But, majority of the places were closed and we were desperate to find a good place with a kind and loving person or people who has knowledge of taking care of baby kitten (feral cat). Our story started on this day. Saturday morning we saw a orange white stripe baby kitten. Crying and alone. It couldn't walk and it was shivering. We wrapped it in a new clean towel. Hoping the mom will come back for it. After half a day she didn't come for her kitten. We took it to Petsmart with a small box with blankets and see if we can get help on what to feed it. I also did research and try to figure out what cat it is and how to feed it. Petsmart isn't that smart with pets. We didn't get the help that we needed. End up getting kitten formula (GNC) and newborn nursing kit (GNC) and kitten wipes (Whisky) It had some milk but, it took only 2ML. Then 3-4 hours another 2ML. I was worried it wasn't getting enough milk. I watched for signs of it was full. It turned is head away and mouth closed shut. Even though I think it's not drinking enough but, I didn't want to force it either because I was scared it might get a tummy ache. Saturday night we left it in a blanket in a box and folded the blanket in the corners to keep it warm and a flat blanket in the center. Another tiny blanket wrapped around it. Sunday afternoon finally the mom took it and we watched through the surveillance camera. I was upset that the mom was not feeding her baby. But, maybe she wanted her kitten to go to her. After half day she finally took her kitten. But, she had 3 more! So now she abandon 1 more which is a ash gray kitten which is a little more chubbier and bigger than the orange white striped one. We waited for the parents to grab them. Since they took the other two away. Sunday night got really windy and cold. The poor kitten was probably crying because there were no more sounds coming out of them. They were cold. So, I move them to a box to prevent the wind blowing at them and also the blanket blowing away. They finally stopped shivering and crying. Monday morning the mother or father never came back. I tried giving them warm kitten milk as instructed from the container. I did not microwave the milk. I just warm the milk in a tiny small bowl with a another bowl with hot water. Let it sit for a minute and then uses a syringe to feed it. But, also test the milk on my wrist to make sure it's safe to feed it. It only took 1 ML for the orange kitten. The ash gray didn't take anything at all. I've notice the orange look very weak and it look like it has an eye infection. Again, we know nothing about caring for a kitten nor are we a expert. We rather take the kittens to someone who is an expert and more knowledgeable. If we can, we would do everything to care for it but, our mom wouldn't let us keep it. Thank you so much for all the beautiful ladies with big hearts! For being so kind and helpful. We wouldn't know what to do if we haven't gone over to Redrover. We apologize for dropping by of not knowing that this is not a rescue animal or a animal shelter. Just that all the other 6 places we looked into were all closed on Mondays. We were desperate to saving the kittens' lives because we knew that the orange white striped kitten looked malnutrition and it is starving. We wouldn't know how we can help it. (We feel really sad and guilty at the same time) the ash gray is starting to look weak too! Thank you for the kind hearted lady with short hair who whole heartily took the two kittens to care for. I feel relieved because I know the kittens will be safe and out of danger because we feel she knows a lot about caring for the kittens VS my husband and I who knows nothing about caring for the kittens. Even though we tried feeding it and keeping it warm. But, we wouldn't know how to properly care for it and instead do more harm to it even when we give it our all to care for it. Thank you again to all the ladies and thank you a gazillion for the kind hearted lady with short hair who took them in. I know it won't be easy to care for the kittens because one look very frail, malnourished and might have an eye infection because one side look smaller than the other. While the other kitten didn't have anything to drink all day because it didn't want the kitten formula.

First of all, they ain't foolin nobody with that upside down W in YMCA. We know it's the young…read morewhite christians association with that cheap ass rebrand. it's been like that since the 80's when they let my 9 year old ass sleep outside on the ground in a sleeping bag at their summer camp with NO BUG SPRAY (I woke up with hundred mosquito bites on my face) and it's still like that now when I email about the teacher discount that they advertise on the website but manager Karen (who can't ever find her inbox, said in a phone conversation a week and 2 unread emails later that they'd honor the discount since it's on their page) reverses course after she apparently sees my photo. A photo of my id she asked me to forward in another email that she also didn't respond to lol. no I found out my money was no good there when I visited today on my day off. She was at the "new" capitol gym. I waited a little bit for her to get off the phone so she could come and give me a whole song and dance about how she now couldn't set me up with the 10% discount. She said it was only for "first responders". Not her pullin out a laminated copy of the policy to show me teachers not on there lol when I reminded her of her words that since it was on the website, she would honor it. She did the backslide. "I was in the car." "I was confused." "I was picking up my daughter." But she was answering a work phone call lol She tried to blame the website offer on a rogue phantom front desk employee lol yall listen, the way this conversation turned unserious. Unless these front desk people can control the whole YMCA page from their phone. I know she was scrambling because I ain't never even seen half of these kids look up from they device when a member comes to check in (I took my kids there for a couple years doing swim lessons). You mean to tell me they on their iPhone writin code this whole time? Get out lol Needless to say we're just gonna have to find somewhere else to swim. It's not even the 10% that bothers me as much as it's the lack of effort. I feel sorry for the front desk dude who sat there quietly while she blamed him and his coworkers for the deal. I'm sure nobody there is gettin paid enough for that. YWCA need to spend some money on people who want to work because it doesn't look promising. But anyway, that's not my business. Steer clear of that place until they get themselves together.

This is a small-ish YMCA located in Midtown Sac. I have been here twice now for the pool, which is…read moregood sized but also is kept way too warm for lap swimming (85 degrees!!!). The weight room and cardio/machine room are also pretty small, but the equipment is mostly good, with squat racks, barbells, etc. There's a large gymnasium with basketball. I am a bit dismayed by some of the other clients, who act somewhat rude and entitled. I also had an encounter with one rude staff member, but the others have all been nice. All in all, this place is o.k., but I could see myself getting tired of dealing with the other members too, and the pool temp really needs to be brought down.

Since 1999, this nonprofit organization has been committed to eliminating animal overpopulation in…read morethe greater Sacramento area. And my daughter who's brilliant boyfriend bought her a pug (neither daughter or boyfriend has a job) was getting ready to overpopulate. After reading about the low cost Spay Day in the newspaper (I thought awesome, daughter has no job remember), so we called this wonderful organization and they offered vouchers for spaying/neutering. After answering some questions and providing proof of unemployment; they sent the voucher by mail the very next day. Along with a list of vets. I highly recommend this organization, they also have a feral cat program. If you don't have a need for their services; how about a donation, I'll be sending them mine.

I, along with the rest of the country residents on our street watch over a feral cat colony. This…read morewonderful organization, SAAC, has helped us out with vouchers many times in the past. I donate to them whenever I can and can trust that my donation is going to a very good and humane cause. Thank you Sacramento Area Animal Coalition!

This is a incredible place in Sacramento. I was in the market for some art supplies and got this…read morerecommendation for supplies that I could use. I went ahead and booked an appointment (not sure if you can go in without one). When I arrived it was a super easy process 1. ring door bell 2. tell them your name 3. grab a bag & "shop" I tried to be mindful of course and only take what I needed but I was so amazed by all the crafts they had and the condition they were in. You can only book once a month according to the website which is nice in my opinion that way you have a opportunity to get some good things. This is also a art studio so you can see the spaces artist have in the back as well. I also love that you can bring any supplies for the most part and donated some unique things were glass jars , cups, storage containers. I went around Christmas so there was a section of holiday supplies and decor. I scored some amazing things and would recommend folks to go if they have donations, picking up a new hobby or cant afford art supplies right now and still want to create. Lastly - they have so many community workshops & events too. Check them out!

My fav place with some of the most kind and helpful people. I love broad room so much, i feel like…read morea kid in a candy store. Take only what you need and come donate any art supplies you have as well. The collectives cats are my favs as well. Yarn is so expensive these days and you can always find yarn to use when here and other fun artsy materials. Appts only for the art closet! They hold amazing workshops too so if you're wanting to learn a new skill check em out and their super affordable and accessible to the community which is amazing