We’re excited to announce that Project 680 is being featured as part of the package for Rancho Cordova’s selection as a finalist for the All-America City Award. If you did not see the press release this past week from the Cordova Community Council, give it a read below to get more information. Cool stuff, huh?
The National Civic League this week named Rancho Cordova among the finalists for the 2010 All-America City Award, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious civic recognition award.
The finalist status sets in motion an eight-week sprint to pull together a delegation and presentation and raise funds for a trip during which Rancho Cordova will make its case to be awarded what has been described as the “Nobel Prize” of civic accomplishment. The competition will be held in Kansas City June 16-18. “These are some of the most innovative communities in the country,” said National Civic League President Gloria Rubio-Cortez of the finalists. “They give us hope and inspiration and teach us important lessons about leveraging the civic energy of ordinary people to address difficult challenges during some tough economic times.” To become a finalist, each participant completed an application documenting three community projects that address their most pressing challenges. Each finalist will send a delegation to Kansas City to tell their stories of positive community change to a jury of civic experts. The 10 All-America Cities will be announced on June 18. The Rancho Cordova application was crafted by the Cordova Community Council and features three signature projects which will be examined by a national panel of judges. One of the projects must focus on youth. Rancho Cordova’s application includes:
- Project 680, the grassroots effort led by Cordova Towne neighborhood activist Ryan Lundquist, which collects everyday items such as socks, underwear and shoes to benefit homeless children in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. The project draws its name from the 680 children who have been identified as homeless in the FCUSD.(Project 680 is a 2010 Cordova Community Council Volunteer Awards winner. Read all about it at www.cordovacouncil.org.)
- Rancho Cordova Cultural Heritage (Saturday) Schools, a collaborative effort of immigrant parents and the Folsom Cordova Unified School District to preserve and honor arts and culture of mother countries. The project builds bridges between immigrant groups and the community at-large, has improved academic performance among immigrant children and has provided for cultural enrichment for the entire population of the city.(Learn more about iFest at www.cordovacouncil.org)
- The Rancho Cordova City Hall project, which is providing a “civic heart” for the new city, incubating business and community engagement, as well as serving as a home for municipal services. The City Hall project has fostered important civic links as the community matures as an incorporated city and is a symbol of change and progress in a city striving to change its image.
“We are proud of our application and think that it reflects what we are all about at this point in our civic history,” said Shelly Blanchard, executive director of the Cordova Community Council. “It showcases how people work with business, work with government and work together across many sectors to improve our community. It is about our collaborative, unfaltering belief in our bright future.” This is the second bite at the apple for Rancho Cordova, which was named a 2009 All America City finalist, and was the youngest city in the competition last year.
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This money, along with all other donations before and during the bike ride, will be directed to a discretionary fund so that the District Liaison for Homeless Services can meet the needs of students in her caseload when they come to her. Our main goal in the sock drive is to build up a storehouse of socks to be used over the next year or more, but also to create a discretionary fund to meet the needs of homeless students on an “as needed” basis for very practical things they might need like shoes, clothing, deodorant…..
A local real estate broker, 
We are elated to have The Golden 1 Credit Union on board as a partner in the 
