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 Want to do some good and have a good time while you’re at it? The Friends of Prado Day Center is holding the 2nd annual Culinary Carnival on Friday, February 5 at Embassy Suites featuring local chefs preparing exciting dishes, local wineries pouring delicious wines and a silent auction of terrific products and services. The cost? Only $40 per person. The two-hour, after-work event directly benefits the Prado Day Center which provides shelter, meals and services to the homeless in our community.
The Downtown Association has been an ongoing partner in the center’s operation since its inception and urges members to help support the project—and Downtown—by attending this fun—and fundraising—event. Vist www.SloCulinaryCarnival.com to order tickets.
Hope for the Holidays & Holiday in the Plaza Raises Funds for the Homeless
The Hope for the Holidays & Holiday in the Plaza fundraisers not only met, but exceeded the $10,000 goal and will help make 2009 brighter for the homeless served at Prado Day Center.
Nineteen Christmas trees scrumptiously decorated by sponsor teams and tables laden with gift basket items were auctioned at the inaugural Hope for the Holidays event at the Mission Parish Hall on Saturday, December 6. Handcrafted holiday ornaments, greeting cards, and lavender sachets made at Prado Day Center with help from Cal Poly volunteers were sold at a Holiday in the Plaza booth shared with Growing Grounds Downtown on December 6th and 7th.
Our sincere gratitude to the more than 150 community members, businesses, and organizations that made this success possible. Please see the special page we’ve created to see a listing of all the wonderful people who were so supportive and helpful with their generous contributions to these events.
Glue guns were flying in November when volunteers from Cal Poly’s AMB/NAMA, Sigma Alpha, and NSCS organizations helped craft items for the December 6 & 7 Holiday in the Plaza booth to raise funds for Prado Day Center.
Our thanks to everyone who helped with the Hope for the Holidays Christmas tree silent auction!
Phil and Pam of Growing Grounds Downtown helped sell greeting cards, holiday ornaments, and lavender sachets made at Prado Day Center during Holiday in the Plaza.
Cal Poly Students Deserve an A+ for Collecting Donations
 
Photo Captions:
Cal Poly Group Dynamics class member Adriana Ramirez (l) presents Friends of Prado Day Center Board President Dave Smiley (r) with cash donations collected by the student team. Also, Cal Poly class team delivers 2,411 donated items to Prado Day Center.
In just a few weeks, a team of six Cal Poly psychology students organized and executed a multi-phase community service project to benefit Friends of Prado Day Center and greatly surpassed their goals! It took three vehicles to transport the bounty collected by team members Laura Escobar, Staci Fabulich, Angela Forney, Marie Hughes, Adriana Ramirez and Ashley Shoals to Prado Day Center in early June. In addition to cash donations totaling just over $1,000, the six-member team delivered 2,411 items collected on campus and throughout San Luis Obispo County. Items ranged from food, school supplies, and backpacks to toiletries and laundry detergent. These generous donations from the community will provide nutrition and assistance to the homeless and working poor who come to Prado Day Center each day for aid. These six students not only engaged many sectors of the community, but were also articulate and enthusiastic ambassadors for Friends of Prado Day Center and successfully increased awareness of homeless issues throughout the county and on campus. Support from the community for this project was terrific. Hundreds of community members contributed from their cupboards or shopped from the “wish list” the student team handed out at various locations. Trader Joe’s donated 300 shopping bags to hold items collected; Wal-Mart let the girls set up a table outside the Arroyo Grande store location; and Cal Poly Bookstore donated new backpacks. We’d also like to thank Cal Poly students who traditionally are down to their last dime this time of year. They contributed about half of the cash collected! The team project was a final assignment for students of the PSY 351 Group Dynamics class taught by Shawn Burn, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Child Development at Cal Poly and we applaud this collaboration of classroom and community.
Sisters of Saint Francis Donate $5,000
The Solidarity Committee for the Magdalen Damen Fund of the Redwood City based Sisters of St. Francis recently selected Friends of Prado Day Center to receive a $5,000 grant. We greatly appreciate this generous gift. The funding will be utilized to continue outreach and services to struggling homeless people and the working poor who are welcomed daily at Prado Day Center. Local and regional members of the Redwood City based Sisters of St. Francis Christian Charity support programs that increase the quality of life and provide care with compassion and respect.
 
Prado Day Center Site Director, Dee Torres was honored by local dignitaries as a 2008 Woman of Distinction during the 34th Annual Cuesta College Community Programs Awards Program on April 24th. The room was filled with tables of cheering supporters as she accepted the award in the Community and Public Service - Professional Award category. Dee was honored for her dedication to improving the lives of neighbors in need and advocating for the homeless with boundless energy. In addition to serving at the helm of Prado Day Center since it opened in 1997, Dee serves on the French Hospital Foundation Board, is taking a full class load at Cal Poly to earn her degree in Political Science...and runs a 5-person household. With her busy schedule, we think she also deserves an award for extraordinary time management! The Friends of Prado Day Center Board of Directors and community well wishers all extend heartfelt "congratulations" to Dee! Speakers Bureau Presentations Underway How many meals a day are served at Prado Day Center to the homeless? How many loads of laundry were done in March? How many children were welcomed this month? What’s new at the Center?A member of our Speakers Bureau would be happy to make a brief presentation to your organization, club, school, church, or business. To make arrangements, please call Marilyn at 805-541-7963.
Donations of NoteIn lieu of their annual luncheon to celebrate Doctor’s Week, physicians at French Hospital Medical Center pledged $500 to the Breakfast Buddies program at Prado Day Center. Thanks to this generous gift, smiling community volunteers will be serving Prado clients – children and adults – a nutritious breakfast for a full month. Thank you! Dick Warren, a member of the Friends of Prado Day Center Speakers Bureau, was invited to make a presentation at a recent SLO Downtown Association meeting … and left with a surprise present. At the end of his presentation, DT Association Executive Director Deborah Cash passed a jug around the room and more than $450 was collected. But the generosity didn’t end there. A member of the DT Association kept on collecting donations and a few days later presented Friends of Prado with another $300. Wow!
Quota International of Morro Bay is a great group led by President Patricia Sandt and they have a long history of charitable outreach in San Luis Obispo County. Quota members recently learned about Prado’s past, present, and future during a presentation by Friends of Prado Day Center Board President Dave Smiley. This Quota chapter has pledged future support for Prado Day Center … and began with a wonderful donation of $500. Thank you! Q: What’s better than clean socks? A: Dry, clean socks! When one of the dryers in the laundry room at Prado Day Center died, a replacement was sorely needed. A number of terrific PG&E employees and People’s Kitchen volunteers got the ball rolling and made donations for this unexpected expense. Several Friends of Prado Board members chipped in to raise the balance needed and Chuck Crotser spent many hours/days shopping. We also thank Idler’s Appliance for offering us a great price and service contract for a heavy duty, large capacity dryer. It’s now installed and churning like a charm!You are invited to make the Holiday Season and 2009 brighter for the homeless by attending two fun fundraisers! For more information on any of these events, please call Marilyn at 541-7963.
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