project680.org

Aon does a great thing for FCUSD kids!!!

680 Admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:36:48 +0000

Aon is an international company and they have an office located in Sacramento. They approched Project 680 a couple of months ago to discuss partnering with us for their “United Day” where they do outreach in the community. This morning they invited us out for breakfast and to pick up some fantastic health kit bags for local homeless students. These bags will be directed to families within the Folsom Cordova School District through partnership with the District Liaison for Homeless Services. These hygiene / health kits are very relevant and they will promote health among local families in need.

Thank you Aon and Marie & Bonnie for their hard work putting this effort together. See Aon’s website at www.aon.com for details on their company. Aon employees have been a remarkable example of doing something very practical to meet some basic needs among local homeless students. Bravo!!!

Great work everyone!!!

Rancho Cordova is now an “All-America City”

680 Admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:02:35 +0000

You’ve probably heard the great news by now that the city of Rancho Cordova was designated last Friday as an “All-America City” by the National Civic League. Project 680 was a part of the delegation from Rancho Cordova to make the trek to Kansas City and we are very proud to have played a role in Rancho Cordova’s selection as an “All-America City”.

Below is a video of Charlene Hunt in Kansas City. You can watch six other videos here too. Thank you everyone for your support. This award is the result of a profound community effort. Thank YOU for making a difference.

You can see our team’s presentation here, some of Andy Gee’s photos here, several videos I shot here, and follow the #allamericacity twitter stream too.

NOTE: Project 680 supports homeless students in both Rancho Cordova and Folsom. We advocate for kids throughout the FCUSD.

Videos & Tweets from Kansas City during the All-America City Awards: Follow me!!!

680 Admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:54:25 +0000

From Ryan: As you may know, I’ll be heading to Kansas City next week as a part of delegation from the city of Rancho Cordova for the All-America City Awards. I wanted to invite you to follow this exciting journey next Wednesday through Friday through videos, Facebook & Twitter. Technology is going to help us connect!!! It should be great fun. Watch the video below or here.

I’ll be posting from Kansas City mainly from my Twitter account @SacAppraiser and I’ll be getting some videos up at www.facebook.com/Project680 (directly on my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/lundquistco). The official hash-tag on Twitter is #AllAmericaCity (note it is not “American”, but “America”). I’d love to hear from you during my stint in Kansas City. Your support will be a huge encouragement.

We are a team in Project 680, and it’s a real honor to represent the team in Kansas City next week. Go Rancho Cordova!!!!

Project 680 and California’s Department of Education

680 Admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:54:32 +0000

Article by Debbie Lewis (photo by Melissa Corker)

One of the things I love about working at the California Department of Education is the desire and opportunity of the staff to collectively make a difference in the world around us. I want to thank everyone for their participation in the April sock drive. CDE raised 512 pairs of socks contributing to the Project680 grand total of 2,725 pairs of socks. I also wanted to share with you a snapshot of a conversation I recently had with Charlene Hunt, Resource Teacher and Homeless Liaison, Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD).

Charlene told me a story about one rainy day in the 2003/04 school year when a kid came in and asked for another pair of socks to keep his feet warm. From the top, his shoes looked to be in good condition, from the bottom however, there were holes in his overly worn soles. This too familiar exchange inspired the first community shoe event which consisted of asking friends, family, and local community groups to donate gift cards for shoes.

Subsequent drives for shoes, socks or underwear have been held yearly. “The need for basic essentials is great among these kids. Physical Education teachers have reported that kids will choose poorer grades over the embarrassment of changing clothes revealing their often ill fitted or ragged undergarments. Items donated keep the kids warm and protected so they can focus on academics rather than discomfort and shame. For kids, receiving essentials like socks, underwear and shoes let’s them know that they are cared for, not just equipped with the basics of education.”

The most encouraging part of our discussion was when she shared how liaisons watch over these kids throughout their educational years. In the course of the last 11 years, the academic performances and attentive engagement of hundreds of students have increased. And each year since the program started every single senior with the exception of 2 kids has graduated high school. Our district liaisons stay connected with the kids until they get to college or a vocational school. Clearly intervention makes a difference to help these impoverished yet gifted and talented kids finish school.

When asked for a quote about project680, the catalyst for our CDE sock drive, Charlene spoke of the founder Ryan Lundquist. “He observed the need, listened with his heart and shared the need with friends who listened with their hearts. They simply spread the word and put it out there.” Thank you for listening with your heart CDE.

The Grand Total from the Sock Drive

680 Admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:12:38 +0000

Can we get a drum roll please? The final tally for the Project 680 Sock Drive is 2,725 pairs of socks!!! Additionally, we raised $1,838. Thank you everyone for taking a stand for local homeless students in the FCUSD. There will be more specific thank yous coming soon. This has really been a grassroots team effort. Way to go!!! Please spread the news to anyone you know that was involved. Thank you again for all your efforts!!!

A Brief Clip of Project 680 Bike Riders

680 Admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:19:26 +0000

Here is a VERY brief clip of our valiant riders on Saturday’s community bike ride. Thank you everyone!! By the way, this video was uploaded to our Facebook page and then embedded here. We’ve always used YouTube, so this is a bit of a first. If it ends up loading or playing very slowly for you, let us know.

Successful Bike Ride / KCRA Story

680 Admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:26:06 +0000

The community bike ride on Saturday went very well. Thank you everyone for coming out to enjoy a ride together and for your obvious generosity and support to make this sock drive a big success. There are many specific thank yous to give and those will trickle in very soon. For now, enjoy a clip of us on Saturday compliments of the KCRA news crew coming out. Great job team!!!

The Last Few Days of the Sock Drive

680 Admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:24:22 +0000

It’s come down to the last few days of the sock drive and we’re getting ready to celebrate in style as we do a community bike ride THIS Saturday (May 8, 2010). Thank you everyone for your support thus far. We sincerely appreciate involvement from local residents, churches, businesses, City Hall in Rancho Cordova, and organizations.

If you are available for last-minute involvement, let us know right away. We could use a few people to wrap up some loose ends for Saturday’s bike ride, and we could use many people to get last-minute word out to friends, co-workers, family, church members, etc… If you are looking for links to share, you might consider our website page (sock drive page), Facebook event sign-up for bike ride, or our Facebook Fan Page.

Thank so much for your support. Together we ARE making a difference. Nobody is getting paid here. We are all volunteers. We are all advocates for local homeless students. Isn’t it awesome to respond as a community to some of the felt needs of local kids?

Project 680 “Search Story” on YouTube

680 Admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:06:40 +0000

Google has a new feature called “search story” where you can create a story of a google search. I know, it sounds a bit geeky, but if’s free and interesting. Check out the one we did for Project 680 below (or HERE). What do you think?

What does $1,000 and Sims Metal have in common?

680 Admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:43:31 +0000

We are elated to announce that Sims Metal Management in Rancho Cordova has generously donated $1,000 toward the Project 680 Sock Drive. Isn’t that amazing? Thank you Sims Metal!!!

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…..

Sims Metal Management recycles scrap metal locally and around the world. While on the phone with their office in Rancho Cordova, they shared that one of their core values is to give back to the community. We get that.

Thank you to Sims Metal Management and Dave Rogers specifically.