Polly Klass Theater fundraiser and others
POLLY KLAAS COMMUNITY THEATER
GoFundMe Campaign
WHAT’S HAPPENING? The Polly Klaas Community Theater project, which will gorgeously transform the building named for child safety icon Polly Klaas, is within $30,000 of raising the funds needed for stage one of the long-delayed endeavor. Once the current health crisis subsides, Petaluma has many youth-based groups in need of a space to develop their theatrical skills, and the beautiful little theater on the corner is waiting to be filled with children who eager to learn, practice, play and perform.
WHO DOES IT HELP? The Polly Klaas Community Theater is a project of the Polly Klaas Foundation. It was made possible through a partnership with the City of Petaluma which, on September 14th, 2020, began the transfer of the theater to the Foundation. Transfer is dependent on the raising of $600,000 in cash and in-kind support, considered Stage One of the entire project. Additional funds needing to be raised include $200,000 to complete construction (Stage Two) and $100,000 for lights, sound and curtains (Stage Three).
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW? To make a donation, go to GoFundMe.com and search “Polly Klaas Community Theater.”
‘IN LOVE WITH EARTH’ CALENDAR
Daily Acts fundraiser
WHAT’S HAPPENING? Every year, Petaluma photographer Leslie Curchack releases a calendar that combines jaw-dropping images of the natural world with brief musings on nature or stories of how she captured that particular shot, all augmented by carefully excavated quotes from authors, poets and scientists. Curchack sells the calendars through her wenbsite, and donated the profits to Petaluma nonprofit Daily Acts. The 2021 “In Love With Earth” calendar is now available, and include a portrait of a rainbow over Drake’s Beach, a vast sand mountain in Nevada, intimately nestled gourds and a snow-covered ground-scape polka-dotted with leaves and dramatically striped by the shadows of neighboring trees. Calendars are $16, with discounts for orders of 10 or more.
WHO DOES IT HELP? Daily Acts is a Petaluma-based nonprofit encouraging civic engagement and focusing on local efforts that promote heath, sustainability and environmental education. For more information, visit DailyActs.org.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW? To purchase a 2021 “In Love wIth Earth” calendar, visit EarthLovingLens.com or send Leslie Curchack an email at lesliecurchack@gmailcom.
HOLIDAY SHARING TREES
Petaluma Valley Rotary Club Fundraiser
WHAT’S HAPPENING? Thanks to the Petaluma Valley Rotary Club, Christmas will be a little brighter for the isolated residents of the Petaluma’s convalescent homes, a semi-invisible community that is often overlooked at this time of year. The Petaluma club has placed Christmas trees in the lobbies of several local banks. Each tree is decorated in ornamental tags indicating the gift request of a different resident of a local nursing home. “Community members are encouraged to take the tags and fill the request, wrap the present, secure the tag to the gift and return it to the bank,” states a press release from the Rotarians, adding that club members will collect all the gifts and make sure they safely arrive at the convalescent homes.
WHO DOES IT HELP? Seniors residing in our local convalescent homes frequently have no one left in their families to share the holidays with. According to program co-chairs Dawn Davis and Janet Seddon, the gift given to the nursing home resident is often the only one he or she receives at the holiday.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE KNOW? To participate, you may visit one of the following banks: Both Petaluma Exchange Bank branches, both WestAmerica branches, Umpqua Bank on Western Avenue, Poppy Bank on 2nd Street and the Marina branch of Bank of Marin. For gift requests that are unfilled, Rotary members welcome donations which they use to purchase gifts. To help, mail a check to the Petaluma Valley Rotary Club, P.O. Box 2101, Petaluma, Ca. 94953. For more information, call Dawn Davis at 953-6630.
SAVING THE HIDEAWAY (AND OTHER LOCAL BUSINESSES)
GoFundMe Campaign offering COVID relief for beloved bar
WHAT’S HAPPENING? “I am doing this for my friend John Hankins,” writes Rick Meyer on the GoFundMe page he recently set up to help save downtown Petaluma’s iconic Hideway Bar. “I know he’s going to be mad for me for creating this, but I feel as a community of friends we should do something to help. We have all enjoyed going to the Hideaway and it would be nice if it survived this pandemic mess.” The campaign hopes to raise $5000 to assist Hankins in expenses incurred during this time of bar closures.
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