Former Google employees step up for Second Harvest Food Bank
Back in April, when some of us were thinking there’s no way this lasts until August, a group of former Google employees banded together to raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley.
Obviously a forward-thinking group, the “Xooglers” sensed things were going to get worse than they were (and they were right). Their goal was to raise $500,000 for a challenge grant that could then be doubled with contributions from other donors.
In just a couple days, the group flew past its goal with $615,000, and eight days after that, the match was met and the food bank got a donation of $1.23 million to fund programs like the senior citizen grocery delivery program in Mountain View. Among the donors were venture philanthropist Laura Lauder, the Westly Foundation and the Dotson Family Fund.
Doug Edwards, one of the Xooglers and a former Mercury News employee as well, put on his marketing hat and thought the campaign could spread to other tech alumni groups from companies like Microsoft, PayPal and Adobe that could conduct their own challenges. Great idea. And he was as stunned as anyone that nobody else raised their hands.
“There’s so much wealth in the valley and such an incredible need right now, that we all need to do our part,” Edwards emailed me. “It seems a no-brainer that those who have profited from this community should be the first to give back.”
There are some other fantastic philanthropic efforts going on in the valley, like Sobrato Philanthropies’ $5.2 million grant to launch the $8.9 million San Mateo County Immigrant Resilience Fund, which will help nonprofits provide funding and support services for undocumented families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The leadership of John A. Sobrato isn’t at all surprising, and probably it helped that effort receive additional support from familiar tech names like the Grove Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and others.
But you’ve got to hope that more of the valley tech alumni who already cashed out — not to mention current employees — are finding ways to generously support community organizations, be it Second Harvest or someone else. If there are efforts out there we haven’t heard about, let me know.
ARTISTIC TAKE ON COVID-19: It doesn’t take much to figure out that San Jose’s creative community has been suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of our artists, musicians, performers and others were barely surviving before all this happened.
Well, the city of San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs is now looking for the artistic perspective on the pandemic while also providing local artists with significant exposure — and a bit of a payday — through “Holding the Moment,” a series of showcase displays at Mineta San Jose International Airport.
Artists can submit new or previously created 2-dimensional pieces that reflect or comment on the impact of COVID-19 through Aug. 18. Up to 90 pieces will be selected for series of six, one-month exhibits at the airport’s Terminal B, with selection submissions being awarded $2,500.
The details are available at https://tinyurl.com/y7xd3yuq.
S.J. STUDENT’S FLAG FLYING IN NYC: Twelve-year-old Pearl Nunag may have been to New York City only twice, but the Big Apple left quite an impression on her — and now her artwork is flying high in Manhattan.
Pearl submitted a drawing celebrating Broadway that was one of 193 designs selected — out of 1,200 submissions — for the Flag Project at Rockefeller Center. Her design, which also incorporates the New York City skyline, a microphone and the Big Apple logo, was made into an 8-foot by 5-foot flag that will fly with all the others through Aug. 16.
In her submission statement, Pearl explained that seeing a play on Broadway was an amazing experience. “The set, singing, and acting brought me to a whole different place and time,” she wrote. “I wanted to show the magic of Broadway on my flag.”
Mission accomplished. And like the song says, if she can make it there, she can make it anywhere.
AT THE MOVIES: As you’ve probably heard already, drive-in movie theaters are popular all over again as they provide movie lovers with a happy medium: You don’t have to be stuck at home watching Netflix but you also don’t have to be anywhere near other people. And San Jose is lucky to have one of the state’s few remaining venues in the venerable Capitol Drive-In.
Next Wednesday, the Capitol is hosting a screening of “Boys State,” which won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival this year before it heads to Apple TV+. Directed by Palo Alto native Jesse Moss and his wife, Amanda McBaine, the movie tells the story of a Texas program that brings together 1,000 high school students every year for a mock exercise on building their own state government.
The 8:30 p.m. free showing is one of just five taking place at drive-ins nationwide, and the directors are expected to be in attendance to introduce the film. My gripe: The marketing materials list the screening as taking place at the Capitol Drive-In in San Francisco. (Somebody send them a map.) You can get more details about the movie and register for the limited-space screening at https://boysstate.movie.
And if you’re in the mood for a different kind of movie, West Wind Drive-Ins — which owns the Capitol, the Solano Drive-In in Concord and others in California, Arizona and Nevada — is putting on a Shark Fest through Aug. 16. As an homage to Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, the drive-in festival will feature fin-tastic flicks including “Jaws,” “Jaws 2,” and “The Meg,” as well as the animated “Shark Tale” and the Bethany Hamilton documentary “Soul Surfer.” Check it out at www.westwinddi.com/locations/capitol.