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Our Mission:
InnVision is a primary gateway for homeless families and individuals seeking shelter and resources that lead to self-sufficiency. Our comprehensive system of care promotes self-worth and dignity at multiple facilities throughout Silicon Valley, including shelters, longer-term housing options and service centers, each equipped to meet emergency and transitional needs of diverse, at-risk people.
InnVision is...the Way Home!
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Greetings! A client recently sent me one of the most meaningful messages I have ever received. I'd like to share it with you. ************ Dear Christine, I have been a resident of InnVision's Permanent Housing program in Redwood City for over a year now. I just want to thank you and InnVision for this tremendous blessing on my life. I became homeless in 2004 after multiple back injuries that brought on a separation with my wife and eventually divorce. I was too proud to file for disability, and I was no kind of lawyer to take on the divorce lawyers and workers' comp lawyers (at the same time). I became homeless not because of alcoholism, drugs, or dysfunction, but because I just could not overcome the circumstances of my life. I enrolled in and completed a 12-month vocational degree at Heald Business College, Fresno to get in, get out, and get ahead, but with my open workers' comp case, I couldn't get a job even with their lifetime job placement. I fell into shame and depression and slowly began secluding myself from the world until my second eviction in 2004. I had had so much bad news for so many years and tried so hard to overcome my circumstances by myself, but I was grasping for straws: divorced, bankrupt, disabled, unemployed, unemployable and hoping no one would notice. Over time the years of rejection and hopelessness had worn me down until in 2009 I started drinking (after 17 years of sobriety) and spiraled to the point of a suicide attempt on my birthday 2009. That's when I met InnVision. I was released form the psych ward of the hospital and placed in a mental health bed at the Clara-Mateo Shelter. The first night I was there, Lisa Douglas came to speak at the house meeting, offering to help people apply for their SSI. I worked with her starting in December 2009 and four months later my claim was approved! I got my first check in May 2010 and by the end of the year, Jill, Debra and Jeff from the Opportunity Center helped get me into this InnVision-supported apartment. I cannot tell you how grateful, thankful, and blessed I am or how emotional I get after I catch myself dwelling in my past and realize that part of my life has actually ended. Even after a year, my thoughts keep falling back into that cloud of despair, like my brain had been trained to think that way for the rest of my life. Now a year later I still wake up in the morning wondering where I am but realizing that I'm waking up in my home with my stuff and my own key. I can't even tell you how this jump starts my heart and my spirit each day. I am so jazzed with my new home that most days I don't even want to leave to go anywhere, I enjoy it so much.
Thank you for your dedication and devotion to all of us who need you so much. It could never be measured, it could never be named, and could never possibly be repaid. Today I am filled with a limitless aspiration, a life and spirit in me that was lost forever. Those bitter thoughts of failure and regret, "Who cares?", "Why does it matter?" fade more every day. While I am not the man that I was, I am on my way and I thank you from the bottom of my beaten heart.
Thank you all,
Dale *************  to make more stories like Dale's possible Warm regards,
Christine Burroughs, CEO
CBurroughs@InnVision.org |
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We're the Nonprofit of the Match on May 19!
 The San Jose Earthquakes are recognizing InnVision as the Nonprofit of the Match on Saturday, May 19th. Our local professional soccer team is taking on the Columbus Crew at 7:30 pm, and it's sure to be a great match!
For every ticket to the game sold through InnVision, 20% will be donated directly to programs for homeless and at-risk people in Silicon Valley. If a total of 125 tickets are purchased, InnVision will receive an extra $1,000! So gather a group of friends or family members and join us for a fun-filled evening.
This order form gives all the details. To purchase tickets, contact Matt Chan at 408-556-7711 or mchan@sjearthquakes.com and mention that you want to support InnVision!
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Palo Alto children host bake sale for InnVision
 In January, seven generous Palo Alto children did something special for homeless and very low-income kids their age. Gavin and Ethan Kitch, Dylan, Devin and Aliya Sidhu, Gracie Eldredge, and Izzy Del Alcazar (all between the ages of 3 and 8) hosted a bake sale and donated all of the proceeds to InnVision!
Every year Gavin and Ethan's family do a project for National Service Day (held on MLK Day). This year, they decided to create their own project with their parents and friends from school, and they thought it might be fun to host a bake sale to benefit the community. They initially decided to give money to a local food closet, but after researching more, they found out about the Kids Summer Adventures program at the Opportunity Center (OC). Kids Summer Adventures works to increase the academic and social skills of very low-income children living at the OC or in the neighboring community. Through field trips and enrichment activities, the children learn about themselves, their community, and the world around them. They visit museums, planetariums, state parks, zoos, and other places that they may not otherwise have a chance to see and experience, and professional staff and volunteers ensure that the children are prepared for the fall academic semester. Gavin, Ethan, Dylan, Devin, Aliya, Gracie, and Izzy unanimously decided to donate the $451 they earned from the bake sale to our Summer Adventures Program. They specifically wanted to ensure that the 15 kids who take part in our Summer Adventures Program at the OC take a trip to the California Academy of Sciences - a place they all love to go and where they learn a lot on each visit. What a great group of kids (and parents)! 
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Special Sunday mornings thanks to Jim
 For 21 years, Jim Rowan has volunteered with InnVision Food Services. On one Sunday each month, he arrives at 5:30am to cook breakfast for the clients at Julian Street Inn and nearby Montgomery Street Inn. Jim organizes his volunteer staff to provide and cook 500 meals at a time. Our clients know that when it's Jim's turn to cook, the meals will be hot, delicious, and ready on time!
Jim's leadership is evident in coordinating the Sunday morning teams to cook breakfast for the residents at our shelters. In addition to cooking once a month, he has recruited his friends and family members to come on other Sundays to prepare a fresh, warm breakfast. Sunday mornings throughout the year are a special time due to Jim's dedication.
More than that, it is a blessing to have Jim because he serves with his hands and his heart. Jim's warm and caring smile greets each resident on Sunday mornings, making everyone feel respected and cared for. His remarkable commitment and loyalty make him one of the longest serving volunteers at InnVision. Jim will be honored at the Junior League of San Jose's 2012 Volunteer Recognition Luncheon for his service to InnVision.
If you would like to begin serving meals at our shelters like Jim does, fill out an application online or contact our Volunteer Coordinator at ESutton@InnVision.org.
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Harker School Community Service Day
 On Thursday Feb 16th The Harker School, located in San Jose, held a service day at the InnVision Georgia Travis Center. The Harker students were on break for the week, but over fifty 10th graders students decided to spend one day of their break serving the clients at InnVision! The students helped with a variety of tasks from sorting clothing in the Donation Depot and Inn Shoppe, to cleaning the main hall, to reorganizing the art storage room and classroom, to cooking a delicious lunch! The lunch brought international flavor to InnVision as students and parent volunteers cooked a meal that included tri-tip, Indian curry with naan, chow mein, salad, fruit platters, and orange parfait for dessert. The clients commented on how wonderful it was to have a delicious, hearty, and creative meal!!
A big thanks goes out to parent Naren Nayak, who helped to organize the entire day! InnVision is so thankful for all the work that Harker did and excited that young people are committed to making a change for homeless and at-risk women and children in the South Bay!
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 Your Donation Can Go Further
Thanks to a challenge grant from the Sobrato Family Foundation, your gift can go further than ever. The foundation will match donations from any new or lapsed donor. So, if you have never given to InnVision or have not given since July 1, 2010, they will match your generosity dollar-for-dollar. In addition, if you increase your giving for the period July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, the Sobrato Family Foundation will match half. How about that for an easy way to have an impact? If you are not able to give now, please think about telling your friends how they can help the community by giving to InnVision the Way Home. Donate now. |
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Attention Yahoo! Employees
Do you or someone you know work at Yahoo!? InnVision is in the running for a large grant from the Yahoo! Employee Foundation, but we need your help and just a few minutes of your time. Please contact Julia at JGregory@InnVision.org or 408-380-8721 and you can make a huge difference for our organization! |
InnVision supporters have been using their S.H.A.R.E.S. cards at an increasing rate. You have now raised more than $3,000
to help feed homeless and at-risk families in Silicon Valley.
If you shop at
Lucky Supermarkets, Save Mart, FoodMaxx or S-Mart, you can help feed the hungry at no cost to you. When you use a S.H.A.R.E.S. card, 3% of each purchase will go to InnVision.
Request a card
here.
Read on for more details. |
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Travel as a Fundraiser
Wildland Adventures specializes in authentic Adventure Travel and Ecotourism worldwide. Or you can also choose from many other vacation packages. Your travel can make a difference! Book your hotel or vacation and we will receive a donation.
Click here to read more.
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Have you remembered InnVision in your will?
If you have included InnVision in your estate planning, please contact us so we can make sure we honor your wishes.
Christine Burroughs, CEO, 408-292-4286.
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