Candice Bun In Community Happenings, , Upcoming Events

November Newsletter 2023

A Note From Angie

There are less than two months left in this year, and Fall is underway. We are filled with gratitude daily as we spend more time with our families. The Academic Enrichment Center is busy with wonderful student volunteers from local high schools as well as our caring adults from nearby. Our friends at Little Flock Church hosted their second annual Fall Festival and we all enjoyed games, yummy food, and lots of laughter; what a treat to celebrate in our neighborhood. We barely had time to breathe before another celebration at our AEC. Día de los Muertos is always a highlight here at Generations United; we celebrated the lives of those who have gone before us and enjoyed tasty treats and dancing from our favorite dance group, Danza Colibri. This past weekend, we hosted our friends from becomenew for lunch, and it was such a delight! We are heading straight into a fun-filled holiday season. Our Community Thanksgiving Dinner was held on November 12, and we also began registration for our Sponsor a Family Initiative. We will wrap presents at Sequoia Christian Church on December 8 and distribute them on the 9th. All the details are below, and we look forward to seeing you this Christmas season as we work together to empower the families in our community. Be on the lookout for our year-end fundraising letter and match campaign!

Dates to Remember

11/15: Generations United turns 16!
11/17 – Candice Bún’s birthday
11/20-11/24: No AEC Programming – Happy Thanksgiving!
12/8 & 12/9 – Sponsor A Family & Christmas Celebration

Community Thanksgiving Dinner

This event is a big hit every year. Where else can you enjoy a community dinner with turkey, tamales, ham, and pupusas? We shared a meal together and kicked off the Holiday Season at Generations United. Many friends signed up to bring food and serve, and we had an amazing time. Stay tuned for pics and video!

Fall Festival

Our staff and families enjoyed the 2nd Annual Fall Festival at Little Flock COGIC. We played games, ate treats, and had a blast. It was a beautiful picture of community right here in North Fair Oaks.

There were costumes, sack races, pumpkin carving, and all the Autumn joy we could contain. Thank you to our neighbors at Little Flock for hosting an amazing event!

Día de los Muertos

On November 1 & 2, we honored the memory of our loved ones and celebrated our rich cultural history with a joyous Dia de Los Muertos celebration. Thank you to all of the families and friends who joined us in sharing this tradition.
Special thanks to Sheena & the Laurel Street Arts team for helping us make frames for our ofrenda!

High School Helpers

It has been a joy and a blessing to have students join us from local high schools. Students from Woodside Priory, Serra, Menlo, and Everest have been giving their time in the afternoons to support our AEC students: reading, games, academic activities, crafts, and more. We hope GU students are inspired to give back and be high achievers with sights set on big things – just like the students who volunteer with us. Do you have a high school student with community service hours or a project to complete? We still need more volunteers (youth and adults) to read and spend time with our students after school. Click below for more information and to sign up.

Congratulations, Kat!

Congratulations to our talented and passionate AEC Staff Member, Katya Alvarado, on graduating from the Medical Assistant program through JobTrain. Kat has been connected to Generations United for many years and continues to invest in our students now that she has completed her schooling. We are so proud of you and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Happy Birthday, Candice!

A very special happy birthday (11/17) to our longest-serving staff member, Candice Bún. She is a superstar in every sense of the word. Not only does she remotely manage so much of the day-to-day efforts at GU, she is a wife, mom, worship leader, business owner, gardener, and friend!

We are thrilled to watch Can excel at everything she does and doubly happy she is part of our team.

Hope you have an amazing birthday month! We love you!

Sponsor a Family

Every Christmas, Generations United hosts a celebration to bless the families of our community. In years past, we have had massive gift/toy drives to serve the numerous families we impacted through our food distribution and AEC programs. This year, we’ve received a very generous gift of toys through our partnership with TBC.

Additionally, we will focus with intention on the families we serve through our AEC and on-site programs. As we do this, we will match families with generous donors to provide some extra Christmas cheer for them. You can participate by providing a Holiday Meal (or a gift card) or purchasing from a family’s wish list. Volunteers are needed to help with shopping, wrapping, and distributing presents. We are honored to partner with Sequoia Christian Church to host this event. Please see the flyer below and click it for more information and to sign up.

Giving Tuesday

Remember that the Tuesday after Black Friday is #GivingTuesday and is the biggest giving day of the year for nonprofits! Please consider a generous gift in honor of our 16 years of service to the community, and we need your help to spread the word! Share Generations United with your friends. Tweet, add to stories, TikTok, LinkedIn, or Facebook…whatever you do, join us as we expand our reach.

Click here to view our AEC Calendar and stay up to date!

Candice Bun In

Sponsor A Family 2023

‘TIS THE SEASON

Sponsor-A-Family 2023 brings Christmas cheer to our neighbors in Redwood City. Last year, we partnered with caring neighbors to bring holiday blessings to over 50 families. The day-to-day rising costs of living in Silicon Valley are evident to everyone here, and every little bit helps during this season. You can be a part of spreading the joy of this season to our community! In addition to shopping for gifts and making a financial contribution, you can also provide a homemade (or store-bought) holiday meal. There are many ways to partner with us as a volunteer or donor. Please review the options below and then click to complete the form. We will be in touch regarding scheduling and more details. We invite you to share with friends and invite others to join you! Use the hashtag #GUChristmas23 to spread the word!

Details for volunteer options are below. To make a donation, please visit the donation page AND fill out the form so we can keep track of the campaign and send updates!

Thank you to Sequoia Christian Church for partnering with us and hosting this year’s events!

Gift Shopping

November 30 – December 7

Gift Wrapping

Friday 12/8 & Saturday 12/9 (before 12 pm)

Delivering gifts to families (and assisting families picking up)

Saturday 12/9

Make or donate baked goods, hot chocolate, or coffee for the gift wrappers

Drop off at Generations United (895 2nd Ave. Redwood City) prior to 12/8

Click the button below to let us know how you plan to get involved.

Click here to help!

Take a look at the video below for highlights from last year

“It’s very clear that there are so many needs in our community. My family and I desire to have a part in meeting some of those needs in a way that makes sense. Sharing our Thanksgiving meal traditions with a family was just a small way we could meet one of those needs. We wanted to partner with Generations United to support the multi-faceted way Angie and her team are caring for those most vulnerable among us. It was our joy to serve in that way and we welcome any future partnership with GU in whatever ways our community needs.”

– Anne Gaddini, volunteer

DONATE

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday (11/29) is an opportunity everyone can participate in! Click here to give a one-time gift or set up a recurring donation. Inquire with your employer about matching giving opportunities!

For a list of items needed, see our Amazon Wish List or check the list on our donation page.

DONATE
NOW

Candice Bun In

October Newsletter 2022

As we head into the final quarter of the year, we continue to witness the faithfulness of God. We have had a year of great blessings amid some pretty chaotic times. I don’t think a year has passed so quickly that we could barely catch up. We are thankful for new staff, community events, and proximity to our families. As we head into the end of the year, we are reminded that the cold weather means reaching out with a greater emphasis on meeting felt needs. Many initiatives and events are coming up when the support of our volunteers and donors is critical. As you prepare for a season of celebration and giving, we invite you to join us in giving thanks, remembering, and rejoicing in new life. This weekend marks the close of Hispanic Heritage Month, though we continue to elevate the stories of our community year-round. Please read the stories below of the many lives being impacted daily by our work.
We look forward to seeing you soon at our AEC after-school programming, fall events, and Sponsor-A-Family. Thank you for your continued support and prayers – we can’t do it without you!

Donate

Student/Volunteer Spotlight

This pair has been working together for years. It’s such a sweet partnership as our volunteer is on staff at Stanford University. His weekly chats and work with his student have been a joy to observe. They have lots of fun while she is learning and focused on being successful. She has even helped as a Leader in Training (LIT) with some of the younger students. We are so grateful!

AEC Is Open

Students are excited about coming to our site daily for after-school homework support, reading, art, dance, music, and tutoring. We still need 5-7 volunteers to dedicate just 1 hour per week to help our students succeed. Of course, if you want to come for more, we’d love that too!

Click for more information and to volunteer

Join us this Fall!

As the weather cools, fall festivals pop up around our community. We are excited to partner with Little Flock Church again and celebrate with our students at their 2nd annual Fall Festival on Oct. 31.

On November 1 and 2 we will open our space for a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead/All Souls Day) celebration. The altar will be decorated and available for our community members to bring photos, food, and items to honor their loved ones who have passed. On Wednesday, 11/2 we will have a community gathering from 4-6 with food, music, and cultural celebration.

Our families have also been invited to the Zoppe Family Circus through a generous partnership with the City of Redwood City.

On Sunday, November 12, we will host our annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Fair Oaks Community Center. Please click the photo for more information and sign up to volunteer or attend any upcoming events. Donations can also be made to help support the costs of these community gatherings. Year-end giving opportunities will be sent next month!

Click for Fall Event Info

Donate Today

Impacting Tech Spaces

Angie spoke as part of a Hispanic Heritage Month event hosted by the Splunk employee resource group Somos. Our board member, Henry Villar, invited her to share about the work that Generations United is doing in Silicon Valley and offer hope and insight into how people can be involved.If you have time, take a listen to this great interview.

Calendar:

10/31 – Fall Festival Little Flock (click for info)
11/1 – preparation for Día de Los Muertos: community members are welcome to bring photos of loved ones who’ve passed to our AEC as we prepare remembrance altars. We will have a celebration on 11/2 from 4 pm – 6 pm.
11/12 – Community Thanksgiving Dinner
12/8-9 – Sponsor a Family & Christmas Celebration

AEC Calendar can be viewed here

Save the Date for Sponsor a Family! We are gathering information from our families and looking for volunteers to help with shopping, wrapping, and delivering. We also are collecting donations towards the gifts now. Click to give today.

Donate to Sponsor A Family

Candice Bun In

Back to School Newsletter 2023

Hello GU Family!

Fall is in the air! I hope you are enjoying the beginning of your fall season. We are excited for the upcoming school year. Can you believe that summer is gone, and we launch our 2023-2034 Academic Enrichment Center next week? We are so grateful for all the support we received over the summer for our summer camps and our successful backpack giveaway – Thank you to all our volunteers and donors who made this possible. As we begin our new AEC school year, we would love it if you partnered in prayer with us for each student; we have 17 signed up so far! We hope you can join us this school year as a prayer partner, volunteer at the center, or at one of our events. Check out our volunteer section below for more info; please share with any friends or churches who may be interested as well!

Hispanic Heritage Month started on September 15 and runs through October 15; please check out our website for ways to celebrate with us and our community. We hope to see you at any one (or more!) of these events.

The many contributions of Hispanic/Latino leaders are evident in America. We recommend reading up on so many notable contributions. A featured movie that just came out on Amazon Prime is our recommendation for viewing this month! Jose M. Hernandez’s powerful and sweet story is a must-see! Click the photo for an article highlighting his story and the subsequent movie.

Back To School

Our students have been settling into the new school year and we are excited to launch this week. Please read below for some tangible ways that you can support our students and families, including volunteering, prayer team, and donations.

Can you help a student this year?

Now is a great time to engage with our community by reading with a child. Just one hour a week makes a difference in the lives of our students and families. Our fall programming begins on Monday, 9/25. We have weekday opportunities from 4:00-5:30 p.m. (you choose 1 hour that suits your schedule). Please join us AND consider telling a friend! We also welcome High School students interested in completing community service hours or seeking a service project. Our upcoming calendar is below, and updates are always available on our website. Click for more information or to sign up.

Click to Sign Up

Welcome to the Team!

Cindy Santana

Cindy Santana has joined the team as our Family Engagement Coordinator and will lead our Academic Enrichment Center (AEC). A native of Sinaloa, Mexico, she is a valuable member of our organization with much experience in working with children and families. Please click her photo to see her whole bio. You can reach her at cindy@generations-united.com or 650.422.1658

Kat Alvarado

Kat Alvarado is a native of the Bay Area and has spent many years connected to Generations United. She is working in the medical field and will be working with us in the afternoons at the AEC. Please click her photo to read more about her.

ExploraDios

We are excited to launch a new community group in the heart of North Fair Oaks. We appreciate your prayers as we prepare to meet and explore life’s questions and faith in God.

We’ll meet on Saturdays beginning September 23 and culminate with our annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Please join us for that celebration on Sunday, November 12.

$30,000 Match

Our fall match campaign is at 38% with $9,535 raised so far! Every gift is DOUBLED so please help us start this school year off with a BANG!

Give Today

We encourage donations via Facebook or Zelle (no fees!). We also accept ACH, Venmo, and PayPal.

Details are on our website, click the button above.

With programs starting up, we need some passionate individuals to join our team. We welcome your referrals, so please forward this email to anyone interested in working with us.

Click for more information

Calendar:

9/23 ExploraDios begins

9/24 Glocal Ministry Fair at Peninsula Covenant Church (3560 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City)

9/25 First Day of AEC

Here is our AEC calendar should you like to join us for the fun! We have added Danza Colibri to our Wednesday programming! The children are loving this! We continue dance and music with Fridays and Sundays as well as Taekwondo on Thursdays at 5:30 at Salvation Army.

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Candice Bun In Community Happenings,

A Summer to Remember

by Angie Ibarra Miller
Founder & Executive Director of Generations United

_______

This year, we started as every year does. We assessed our 2022, prayed, met as a staff, and mapped out our year. As we began to look towards summer, something just caused me to pause. I had a sense that summer would look different in 2023. We put some dates in the calendar, but it was only for a few weeks. We knew we would do our VBS with our partner, the Salvation Army, but we needed to figure out how the other weeks would empower children; we weren’t entirely sure. We did as we always do, jumped into action, and looked at grants, volunteers, and staff necessary for summer camp funding. We began preparing our grant requests and praying about what we would do. There were so many children to consider and families genuinely struggling to determine how they could work, but children needed care.

April 2023 – We decided not to have our joint summer camp with w/another church in San Mateo. We realized that we couldn’t pull it off. Staffing in Silicon Valley has been challenging. When young people can make $27 @ In and Out…why work at a small nonprofit? Our precious and dedicated volunteers wanted to take summer breaks. After all, it was the first summer where families felt they could travel freely.

The door that opened was with Peninsula Covenant Church (PCC). Someone advised us that they had space at SACC. We devised a plan for a small discount off the costly rate and frantically contacted our funders.

We worked with Executive Director Dione and set in motion our plan to serve as many children as possible during the 8-week timeframe. North Fair Oaks (NFO) children had never been able to swim in a pool, run on a spacious lawn, learn bible songs daily, do woodwork, do cooking class, have water fun, and enjoy weekly field trips. This option was a blessing as families didn’t have to worry about their children staying home alone, playing in their carports unattended, or zoning out on video games. God had provided.

We are so thankful that after 15 years of partnership with PCC, we saw our children having such a fantastic summer on my church campus. I’m thinking of a student who lost an aunty in a horrible car accident and had so many friends to enjoy summer with. A family of 3 children who joined us, with three more at home, faced terrible circumstances this year when their father lost his job. Another family lives in a mobile park, and our sweet student is now in middle school and unsure if she wants to go. She smiled every day and said that bible time was her favorite time!

We launched with a prayer team covering all children, staff, and facilities! https://generations-united.com/summer-prayer-partners/

We pray this will be the first of many blessings as we bridge the communities of North Fair Oaks and PCC. They are only 3.8 miles from one another, and they are worlds apart. May our church look more like heaven in the days to come!

There are many stories from this summer that we’d love to share with you! Please stop by our center in September, or consider volunteering! https://generations-united.com/volunteer/

Thank you for a stellar summer! <– Click to view our video recap of this amazing summer!

Candice Bun In

Thank you Summer 2023

We are so grateful to every one of our loving volunteers.
This summer, we spread so much love to our students and families.
This would not have been possible without our donors, volunteers, and community partners’ faithful support, tireless commitment, and loving dedication.

Thank you from our students, staff, and community. Please view a short video below with highlights from summer camp and VBS!

Match Campaign Met!

We are incredibly grateful to every person who gave to our summer match. We raised $30,000, which a generous donor then matched! THANK YOU!!

Each of our students is grateful for the prayers this summer, and you can scroll through to continue to pray for them to have a successful school year.

Candice Bun In , Upcoming Events

June Newsletter 2022

Dear Friends and Partners,

It’s June – how did half a year go so quickly? As we head into the summer, we have mixed emotions as we finish the school year strong! There are many highlights to share, which would take much longer than our monthly newsletter!

We have experienced several losses this year with dear volunteers who left this earth earlier than we’d hoped. Our friend Brian Dubois went to heaven in May, and I wanted to share a sweet quote from his time as a volunteer. Brian was intentional about being missional in his city. Please pray for Jaymie and their family.

We are excited about the direction and focus of GU as we head into the future. The graduation of 40+ entrepreneurs from our Business 101 class last month was stellar. What an incredible advancement for our community after several challenging pandemic-impacted years!

Summer Camp plans are moving forward, and our partnerships are growing; we are grateful to Peninsula Covenant Church and Salvation Army for welcoming our students. After grants and scholarships, we have an immediate need for $20,000 to cover the remaining costs of student tuition. Details are below or please reply for Sponsor-a-Student information.

Our superpower is equipping individuals, families, churches, and businesses to open up their doors (and hearts) to serve the most vulnerable within our reach. YOU can be a part of creating lasting memories for a student in our community by supporting GU. Join us at Peninsula Covenant Church (3560 Farm Hill Blvd. Redwood City) Sunday, June 11 at 12 pm for a casual lunch and hear from Angie Ibarra Miller about this vision! Thank you for your love, prayers, support, and service – it means the world to us!

Important Dates this month:

Sun 11: 12 pm lunch @ PCC 3560 Farm Hill Blvd.
Sun 18: Happy Father’s Day
Mon 19: Summer Camp begins

Mother’s Day Celebration

We enjoyed a wonderful celebration with our mothers and mother figures last month! It has been a blessing to partner with Stanford and have use of the park around the corner.

Click here for more photos!

Graduations 2023

Justin and Kyler are moving on from elementary school and heading to middle school! We are so proud of the work they have accomplished this year and the joy they bring to our student group.

Congratulations to these Business Owners!

These incredible entrepreneurs completed an intense Business Development Class and we are so proud of them! Thank you to Tito & Adela of Marketea & the team at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.

Volunteer Spotlight

Melisa Njeru (far right) is a new volunteer at Generations United, and has hit the ground running! Melisa is known to be the first person to show up to set up for an event and be the last person to leave after tear-down. She is ready to jump in and do what is needed. She also tutors one of our 5th graders each week. Thank you so much, Melisa, for all you’ve done in your short time with Generations United!

Join us This Summer!

While our hours of operation are limited during the summer to make room for summer camp planning and execution, we are still hosting tutoring sessions for reading partners and students. We need friends to come by and help keep things looking good and running smoothly: clean-up, gardening, small projects, organizing books and materials, etc.

Thursdays at noon we get food donations and we could use your help to organize & distribute them to our families. Contact Julia or click the link below.

Click to Volunteer

Summer Double Impact Match

Summer is the time when most non-profits face financial giving declines. This year we have some BIG goals and we’re excited to share them with you! Our biggest needs this summer are staffing, family events, and summer camps for students. We have some amazing partnerships with local organizations that help offset many expenses, so our need is significantly less. You can sponsor a Summer Camp student for $100/week. Our goal for summer campers is $20K! Click below.

Thank you to all who give generously! From now through July 31, your gift is matched dollar for dollar up to $30,000!

Click to Donate

We encourage donations via Facebook or Zelle (no fees!). We also accept ACH, Venmo, and PayPal.

Details are on our website, click the button above.

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Happy Father’s Day!

We are grateful to all who love our students and send a special shout-out to the dads in our community – especially our staff dads Kopo & Keith.

We love you and celebrate you!

Volunteers needed for Summer Camp

Summer Camp starts next month! We have 35 students signed up! We also welcome more volunteers to join us! We are so excited to partner with Calvary San Mateo again this year. We will also work with the Salvation Army! We know it will be a meaningful and joyful experience for all! Please pass the word on to friends, family, and coworkers!

Summer $20K Match

Summer is the time when most non-profits face financial giving declines. Would you consider a summer gift that will be matched by a generous donor!

Double your impact TODAY

We encourage donations via Facebook or Zelle (no fees!). We also accept ACH, Venmo, and PayPal.

By Candice Bun In Community Happenings

November Newsletter 2023

A Note From Angie There are less than two months left in this year, and Fall is underway. We are…

Newsletter

A Note From Angie

Dates to Remember

Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Fall Festival

Día de los Muertos

High School Helpers

Congratulations, Kat!

Happy Birthday, Candice!

Sponsor a Family

Our Year-End Match Campaign is underway! Sponsor-A-Family season is here and you can be a part of it!

‘TIS THE SEASON

Details for volunteer options are below. To make a donation, please visit the donation page AND fill out the form so we can keep track of the campaign and send updates!

Click the button below to let us know how you plan to get involved.

Take a look at the video below for highlights from last year

#GivingTuesday

Student/Volunteer Spotlight

AEC Is Open

Join us this Fall!

Impacting Tech Spaces

Calendar:

Back To School

Can you help a student this year?

Welcome to the Team!

Cindy Santana

Kat Alvarado

ExploraDios

$30,000 Match

Presentamos un estudio biblico: exploraDios

by Angie Ibarra MillerFounder & Executive Director of Generations United

We are so grateful to every one of our loving volunteers. This summer, we spread so much love to our students and families. This would not have been possible without our donors, volunteers, and community partners’ faithful support, tireless commitment, and loving dedication.

Match Campaign Met!

Mother’s Day Celebration

Graduations 2023

Congratulations to these Business Owners!

Volunteer Spotlight

Join us This Summer!

Volunteers needed for Summer Camp

Summer $20K Match

Generations United's annual Mother's Day Celebration! Nuestro celebración anual para dia de las madres!

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DONATE | JOIN OUR TEAM | CONTACT

Our Year-End Match Campaign is underway!
Sponsor-A-Family season is here and you can be a part of it!

by Angie Ibarra Miller
Founder & Executive Director of Generations United

We are so grateful to every one of our loving volunteers.
This summer, we spread so much love to our students and families.
This would not have been possible without our donors, volunteers, and community partners’ faithful support, tireless commitment, and loving dedication.

Generations United's annual Mother's Day Celebration!
Nuestro celebración anual para dia de las madres!