SMUM Summary 2011 and 2012

Thanks to Operations Manager Alfonso Mendez for these summary numbers of SMUM’s remarkable support for the local community during 2011 and 2012:

                                    2011      2012 (partial year)

Emergency food boxes                 273       105
Households                         6,789     3,785
Individuals                       15,115     9,838
Children                           6,139     4,026
Food distributed  (in Pounds)    316,170   215,786    
   Clothes (Individuals)           1,500     2,233
   Studio  (Individual Kids)          17        20  
   ABC Playtime  (Individual Kids)    12        24
   Bicycles given away                 6         0
   Bicycles fixed                      0         4

Thanks to Lewis Pollard for the information that the VITA program in 2012 created 192 tax returns and requested $338,000 in refunds for the local community. Lewis is the leader of the VITA program, recently recognized with this certificate of appreciation for ten years of dedicated service, from the US Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue service.

Backpack Donation Day

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Thanks to outgoing SMUM Board Member Vicki Gochnauer for her many years of dedicated service, particularly in her management of the generous donation of 57 new backpacks plus school supplies this week for the SMUM community kids, from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.  Please join Vicki in encouraging your church, company, or local organization to contribute needed school materials to San Jose’s inner city scholars.  SMUM distributed over 400 backbacks last year.

Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson

Backpacks Welcome!

SMUM is now collecting new school supplies and backpacks for the children and youth of our community. Please – no red or blue! Contact Alfonso Mendez with questions.

Studio Movie Party!

The Studio and ABC Playtime programs are now on summer break until school starts again, in September 2012. Yesterday, the Studio kids, volunteer teachers, and SMUM staff enjoyed a movie and pizza party for the last day. As usual, Studio will be offering a monthly summer field trips – contact Alfonso Mendez to sign up.

Congratulations Rev. Lawrence Robles

Congratulations and thanks to Rev. Lawrence Robles for his many years of dedicated service as Executive Director of SMUM. On 7 December 2011, the Board of SMUM gave a community and volunteer party for to honor Lawrence for his work.  SMUM is proud of Lawrence but we will miss him when he moves to a new role as Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church, in Salinas, California.  Volunteers from ABC Playtime, Studio, VITA, the Food Warehouse and all of SMUM’s many programs turned out to talk and snack and eat one last tres leches cake with Lawrence.

During the interim period until the new SMUM Executive Director is in place, please direct questions to Alfonso Mendez in the SMUM office (Email: (Enable Javascript to see the email address), Phone: 408-292-3314) or to the SMUM Board Convener, Rev. David Breuer (Email: (Enable Javascript to see the email address), Phone: 408-354-2195)

Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson