“Give Back” to Your Favorite Charity—Vote!

With over 6,000 nominations, Bay Area readers have collectively chosen the top 49 non-profits in the region. This “Favorite Charities” contest was created in partnership with the Pacific Gas and Electric company, offering $2,000 grants to each of the top six winners—and the top winner will receive a $10,000 grant.

So vote for your favorite charities over at San Francisco 7x7. Voting for the Top 49 will continue through 5 p.m. on November 12; voting for the Top 7 begins on November 13.

Here are just some of the nominees for this year’s Favorite Charity Awards:

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International that partners with hardworking families, community volunteers and donors, to build affordable ownership homes in Marin, San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Through the Habitat for Humanity program, families working in service, manufacturing, retail and other sectors are able to live near their jobs in decent, safe, permanent homes.

Homeless Youth Alliance
HYA exists to meet homeless youth where they are, and to help them build healthier lives. They believe that reducing harm is possible through the provision of accessible, non-judgmental drop-in and outreach sessions, one-on-one counseling, and medical and mental health care, as well as creative and educational workshops, needle exchange, and accurate up-to-date referrals and information. HYA strives to empower homeless youth to protect themselves, educate each other, reduce harm within the community, and transition off the streets.


United Way of the Bay Area

United Way is a Bay Area nonprofit whose mission is to be the catalyst that enables people to strengthen our communities by investing in one another. One in five Bay Area residents lives in poverty. Our goal is to cut that number in half by 2020 by harnessing creativity, expertise, and philanthropy.

Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is a nonprofit small business development organization dedicated to helping women and men who traditionally lack access to resources and information to achieve financial self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship. They provide training, support services, resources, and networks for business owners at every stage of business development.

Northern California Family Dog Rescue
Family Dog Rescue was started in January of 2010 by a group of dedicated animal rescuers with years of experience in a variety of animal welfare organizations. They are dedicated to the proper care and socialization of our rescued animals and to making a great connection between dogs and humans.

Click here to cast your votes!

Eating for the Greater Good: October 26 at Civic Center Plaza

The Bay Area has long been at the epicenter of the natural food movement—in fact, Star Route Farms in Marin County was the first organic farm in the Bay Area and the region is flooded with farmers markets throughout the year.

Northern California is a center for innovative approaches to virtually everything, including food. A new book is even out, called Inside the California Food Revolution, by Joyce Goldstein, about how the California food revolution transformed culinary philosophy nationwide.

Tomorrow, you can even meet and get to know the people who make the Bay Area’s thriving food scene possible: local retailers, farmers, and industry leaders will all be on hand at the first ever Greater Good Food Fair, at the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco.

This inaugural event is sponsored by a range of local organizations, including Vital Systems, Slow Food San Francisco, Rainbow Grocery, and Bi-Rite. You can register for the event through its Facebook event or through Eventbrite.

Here’s the official release, from the fair’s website:

This October 26 in Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco will host the first ever Greater Good Food Fair to celebrate real food, free of genetic modification.  Organized by Label GMOs SF, Slow Food, Vital Systems, Rainbow Grocery, and Bi-Rite, the Greater Good Food Fair will celebrate the leaders, retailers, and organic farmers who are cultivating social responsibility with their work and practices. The Fair will be free and open to the public, and will feature speakers, live art, organic and regionally-produced foods from local businesses, workshops and cooking demonstrations, and a farmers’ market. Participants will cultivate an understanding of the impact of their daily food choices and learn what they can do to support organic and non-GMO producers and organizations. The Fair will take place in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, which is in front of City Hall and bounded by Polk, McAllister, Hyde, and Grove Streets.  

Visit GGFood.org to learn more about this first-time event and the organizations supporting it.

“Small by Design”—Just Like Marin: America’s Innovation Showcase

What’s great about living in Marin County? Not only do we have easy access to one of the biggest centers for innovation in the world, but we also get the benfit of a small, community atmosphere.

If you’re a fan of this big city-community dynamic, and you’re a entrepreneur (or if you just want to be), definitely check out this year’s America’s Innovation Showcase, on October 16 at the Folson Street Factory in San Franscisco.

The event aims to facilitate relationships and conversations between professionals, relying on one-on-one interaction. This “community” vibe will be tied together with a series of speakers who will talk about topics relating to innovation and entrepreneurship.

According to AmericasInnovationShowcase.com, the top-billed speakers include:

Bill O’Connor is the founder of the Innovation Genome Project at Autodesk and will explore the nature of real innovation via the lens of Autodesk’s groundbreaking and practical genome toolkit. This project is studying the world’s greatest 1,000 innovations over the past 2.6 millions years, which yielded two powerful techniques: The Seven Essential Innovation Questions (SEIQ) and the Impact/Imagination Innovation Prioritization Matrix. We’ll enjoy Bill’s take as he makes fun of the rest of the innovation field, talks about cavewoman, occasionally curses as the spirit moves him, and generally tries to help everyone make their work more better. 

 Jason Johnson is the CEO and co-founder of August, which is trying to crack the code of the connected home. August will soon launch the Yves Behar-designed August Smart Lock door lock, which allows you to send and manage virtual keys from your smartphone to any other smartphone. As founder and chairman of the Internet of Things Consortium. Jason will give us the back story on where design, technology and innovation intersect. 

 Monique Woodard is an Innovation Fellow with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation. Monique works on projects at the intersection of technology policy and technology product and will kick-off America’s Innovation Showcase.

Tickets for the event are $35—you can reserve your ticket by clicking here.

Discovering Local Science (Without Getting Wet)

The Bay Area is one of the nation’s epicenters for science and innovation, packed with museums, universities, and innovative companies making advancements in their respective fields.

If you’ve never been to San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to do so. The Romberg Tiburon Center is a 36-acre parcel located just outside of Tiburon, California, dedicated to researching natural phenomena in the open ocean.

Although the facility is typically closed to the public, this Sunday, October 12, is the Romberg Center’s Rosenberg Institute Discovery Day. For no cost at all, visitors can experience a vast array of exhibits, talks, and even touch live animals, and see what this great facility is all about.

While the event is free, registration is required:

Discovery Day is Romberg Tiburon Center's annual open house, the one day of the year when the public can visit the marine lab and spend the day behind the scenes, meet our scientists and learn about their research in San Francisco Bay and beyond. 

 

• Listen to engaging talks on current research in the "Bay Science Cafe"! 

• Go on a research "cruise" to collect plankton and view it on a microscope in the lab! 

• Science activities for adults and kids alike! 

• Touch live marine organisms! 

• Listen to underwater sounds off our seawall! 

• Try your hand at "Plankton Races"!

• Art activities for all ages!

• Create with clay with SF State Ceramics students!

• Purchase* a limited-edition Discovery Day t-shirt or other merchandise to support RTC students!

• Food and beverages are available for purchase

• Visitors are welcome to bring picnic lunches to enjoy outside

• Admission and parking for bikes and cars are free!

For more information on the Romberg Center Discovery Day, click here.

Get Hooked On Marin

Here at the 33 North Apartment Homes, there’s no telling who your neighbors are—whether it’s down the hall or throughout the region, Marin County is known for its entrepreneurs and business professionals who are always eager to share their secrets to success and enrich and educate the community as well.

Over the next few months, the Hooked on Marin speaker series will feature Marin county public service representatives and educational districts, with four moderator-led events. Below is the schedule, courtesy of HookedOnMarin.com and the College of Marin: 

Discovering California Native Peopleswith The Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM) 7pm, Wednesday, Oct 23 Drake Little Theater, Tamalpais Union School District  

 Inside the Star Wars Model Shop 7pm, Wednesday, Nov 20 Drake Little Theater, Tamalpais Union School District 

 Trains in Marin: Past and Future 7pm, Wednesday, Dec 4 Corte Madera Community Center 

 Marin County Rock ‘n’ Roll Music History with Richie Unterberger7pm, Wednesday, Jan 15 Corte Madera Community Center

To reserve your tickets for any of these events, click here.