They were a sight to behold on a Sunday morning at the 2014 South Bay Fall Home & Garden Show held at the Santa Clara Convention Center: Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews and Congressman Mike Honda behind a food service counter—smiling, wearing hairnets and Latex gloves, and flipping flapjacks for breakfast to raise funds for the nonprofit corporation K to College.
“It’s fantastic! It’s cool that they’re here,” says Mike Spranton, co-owner with Joe Milligan of World Class Shows, producers of the Sept. 12 – 14 Home & Garden Show, and sponsors of the charity breakfast.”We’re proud for World Class Shows to be a part of a charity that’s really helping children today when budgets are being cut so drastically.”
K to College models the food banks approach to serving the community, stockpiling school and dental supplies and distributing them to disadvantaged kids through their school districts. Matthews and Honda also were present on Oct. 4, 2012, for K to College’s South Bay kickoff at Santa Clara’s Scott Lane Elementary School, where children received tote bags of school supplies.
“Programs like K to College bring out the fact that a lot of kids going through our system need more help,” says Honday. “K to College helps fill a gap.”
K to College (www.ktocollege.org), established in 2010, began as a college community service project organized by UC Berkeley graduate Benito Delgado-Olson, who auctioned off his 2002 Nissan for startup funds. Through 2013, K to College has distributed $14.5 million worth of age-appropriate materials to more than 230,000 kids. Its objective is to build a statewide supply bank.
“K to College is an outstanding example of what can be done with a good idea,” says Matthews.
After the Sunday pancake breakfast, attendees of the Home & Garden Show had plenty of time to chat with some of the approximately 150 exhibitors. New to the show was TV personality and head “Lighting Geek” Tommy Herren, who can be seen on HGTV and the DIY network. He and his associate geeks at www.thelightinggeek.com are ready to help with “Battling the Forces of Darkness Everywhere” by planning effective outdoor lighting for your yard.
“I’m an artist and a contractor. I think about the art of what I’m doing as well as the mechanics,” says Herren, advising that “good outdoor lighting should look like bright moonlight, a natural setting.”
Catch the Sept. 27 &and28 East Bay Home & Garden Show in Richmond or the Oct. 24 – 26 show at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Admission is free. Visit www.worldclassshows.com for more information.