| Published
July 21, 2009 |
Volume
17, Number 7
|
Supervisor Haggerty
Issues Fund-Raising Challenge for Hacienda Helping Hands

 
|
| Clockwise
from above, 1st United
Services Credit Union, the winner of the “Best Overall”
Traveling
Trophy in the Taste of Summer Corporate BBQ Cook-Off; judges
Gina
Channell-Allen, President of the Pleasanton Weekly and Anne Hoffman,
CEO of Chamberlin Associates sample the BBQ ribs, and Faz
Restaurants’ entry in the “Team Cheer” category. |
Scott Haggerty, President of the Alameda County Board of
Supervisors, has challenged Hacienda companies to match his pledge of
$10,000 to Hacienda Helping Hands (HHH), the business park’s corporate
giving program that funds grants to community service organizations.
Haggerty
issued his challenge at the “Taste of Summer” barbecue fundraiser,
organized by Hyatt Summerfield Suites of Pleasanton and the Tri-Valley
Community Foundation (TVCF), which conducts the HHH campaign for the
park. "These are difficult times," Haggerty told the crowd at the
barbecue. "To have an event to raise funds to make a difference in
people's lives shows the compassion of the community."
The
Hacienda Helping Hands initiative was launched last October as a way
for companies in the business park to give back to the community. “The
park’s vision for the Hacienda Helping Hands campaign is to create a
sustainable charitable funding stream for community projects and for
nonprofit organizations doing vital work in our community,” observes
Hacienda General Manager James Paxson.
A business culture that
values community giving has many advantages, Paxson continues.
“Employees come to work for companies, and stay with companies, that
give back. Customers like doing business with companies that give back.
Corporate and government partners respect companies that make community
giving part of the way they do business,” he explains.
Proceeds
from the annual campaign will fund grants to health and human service
organizations, educational programs, and cultural projects throughout
the Tri-Valley. Grant recipients for the first full year of the program
will be announced in the fall. Acknowledged at the barbecue as
recipients of Kick-Off grants were: Axis Community Health, Horizon
School-Age Parent Program, Open Heart Kitchen, and Senior Support
Program of the Tri-Valley.
Now, more than ever, the need for
such support has intensified, and Haggerty’s move drives this point
home. “Supervisor Haggerty is challenging Hacienda companies to
match—or even double or triple— this additional money,” notes TVCF’s
Chief Strategy Officer Suzanne Lawless. “We're asking
Hacienda
companies to step up to the plate so we can grow the grant funds
available in the fall," she emphasizes.
The Taste of Summer
benefit was held on the back lawn of Shaklee Headquarters on May
29. Six cook-off teams--from 1st United Services Credit
Union,
Becton Healthcare Resources, Faz Restaurants, Hyatt Summerfield Suites,
Sallmann, Yang & Alameda, and Suffolk Benefits--fired up their
grills in the competition to wow the judges with their versions of ribs
and grilled vegetables. Awards were also given for best team look and
best team cheer.
Pleasanton’s Mayor Jennifer Hosterman,
also in attendance at the barbecue, expressed her appreciation to
Hacienda Helping Hands and its contributors for their support of
community needs.
Contributions to Hacienda Helping Hands can now be made online by
visiting HelpingHands.Hacienda.org.
|