On Tuesday, August 2

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts
• Strengthen neigborhood spirit and police-community partnerships

Send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
From 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on August 2, residents in neighborhoods throughout Sunnyvale and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, tun on their outside lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police. Many neighborhoods throughout Sunnyvale will be hosting special events such as block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, contests and youth activities.

Neighborhood events can be registered with the Department of Public Safety by phoning the Crime Prevention Unit at 408-730-7140. Registered events will receive visits by Public Safety personnel (police, fire, K9 and motorcycles officers), council members and other city dignitaries.
                                                     

A Message from Polly and Rob Naber

We lost our daughter Jill to suicide during her freshman year at Los Gatos High School. Jill was a vibrant, talented young girl, just 15 years old. She was distraught when an embarrassing picture of herself was sent electronically and placed on an internet site. Cyber-bullying and other pressures intensified her feelings of despair, and on March 15, 2009, she took her own life.  

 

After Jill's death, a non-profit organization named CASSY, Counseling and Support Services for Youth, was embedded in Los Gatos High School. CASSY quickly became a heavily utilized resource at LGHS, helping students, faculty, and families through pressures and difficulties, all free of charge. CASSY's mission since 2009 has been "to de-stigmatize mental health services and make supporting students' social and emotional well-being the norm in our local schools."

 

We, and many others, greatly appreciate the services CASSY provides at LGHS. Thank you for supporting CASSY and Jill's Ride for Hope in memory of our daughter Jillian Bailey Naber.

 

For Jill's Ride for Hope website, click here 

 

By Alison C. Mody

 As a really young kid, I thought that only adults could help other people by volunteering and donating money.  My parents taught me that kids could give back to others just like adults. The very first time I gave a donation was when I was three years old.  I was extremely moved when I learned from the news of all the kids who were affected by the tragedy of 9/11.  I wanted to help them so I asked my Mom to drive me to the Red Cross, where I handed them my piggy bank filled with coins.  Knowing that I could help these young kids made me feel good. 

My first organized fundraiser started when I was in first grade with a few of my classmates.  We started by having fundraiser birthday parties.  We asked for donations instead of presents.  We sent the donations to local charities, including organizations that focused on childhood diseases.  Our first donation went to a local family with two young children who found themselves homeless when one of their parents became very ill.  I felt very happy knowing that I was helping others, especially children, in need.  My classmates and I delivered the donations to the family, and we saw the smiles that widened on their faces.  I knew I had done the right thing.  I was giving back to others, and putting them before myself.  It was at that moment when I really understood what my parents were trying to teach me:  even though I was a kid, I could make a positive difference.  My classmates and I held these birthday parties for six years, each year donating the money we raised to different organizations and charities.  We set an example for adults, too, who started to have birthday fundraisers for different causes.

But, I felt that I needed to reach out to more than just the kids in my school.  So, a few years ago, I started a non-profit organization - K.I.D.S., Kindness in Deeds and Service - to encourage and empower kids to give back and help others in their communities, neighborhoods, and schools.

Since the start of K.I.D.S., we have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Blind Babies Foundation, a local non-profit organization that I really care about because my little brother received services from them after he was diagnosed with visual impairment at 2 months of age.  K.I.D.S. was a co-sponsor, along with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, of Sunnyvale's First Annual 5K K.I.D.S. Fun Run & Walk this past April.  We raised the money needed to make this fun event free for all children and their families.  In early June, K.I.D.S. donated the movies for this year's Summer Movie Nights at the Firehouse program, which is a great opportunity for kids and their families to spend time together and to have fun.

It is my hope that through K.I.D.S., all kids will come to know the difference they can make in their world and to reach out and to help even if it they help only one person.  And, for parents reading this article, I hope that you know the impact you have on the lives of your children and that you will encourage them to be the best they can be.  My parents do that for my little brother and me every day.