5 Things To Know This Week

National Gleaning Day

Students and volunteers can harvest the ingredients for a healthy school lunch right from the farm today in recognition of National Gleaning Day.

The Marin Organic Glean Team will glean leftover crops from the fields of Star Route Farms at 95 Olema Bolinas Road in Bolinas starting at 4 p.m. The gleaning efforts support the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program. Pre-registration is not required.

The school lunch program, which serves more than half of the county's public and private schools, offers more than 10,000 students the choice of healthy organic foods, according to Marin Organic.

California Coastal Cleanup Day

Volunteers can help create a healthier environment for themselves and the plants and animals around them by cleaning local waterways during the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 17, 9 a.m.-noon.

Sites include Corte Madera Creek and the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, Starkweather Shoreline Path and Mahon Creek in San Rafael and Scottsdale Pond Gazebo in Novato.

Redwood Rocks

Redwood High School’s student musicians will be performing at two local restaurants on Friday, Sept. 16, 6-10 p.m., to benefit the Redwood High School Foundation. The event, called “Redwood Rocks Fall Dine-Around," will be held at Max’s Café (60 Madera Blvd. in Corte Madera) and Wipe-Out Grill (302 Bon Air Center in Greenbrae).

Both restaurants will donate a portion of their dining proceeds from the evening to the Redwood High School Foundation. In addition, Wipe-out Grill is donating a percentage for the entire day, beginning with lunch at 11 a.m.

The event is intended to kick off the Redwood High School Foundation’s Annual Giving Campaign. “Redwood Rocks” will also showcase the wide variety of musical talent at Redwood, which is supported by the Foundation’s fundraising. It follows the Redwood football and girls volleyball home games against Justin-Siena at 4 p.m.

Parent Partnership Program Volunteers Needed

The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and the Family Service Agency are seeking volunteers, especially Spanish speakers, to help families build a strong foundation from pregnancy through a child’s first year.

The Parent Partnership Program matches well trained and supervised volunteers with expectant families that are experiencing multiple stressors such as poverty or maternal depression.  By helping link families with community resources, decreasing family isolation, and supporting positive self care, Parent Partners will help promote the healthy development of young children.  The volunteers will also act as mentors and educators, encouraging positive parenting practices and parent/child attachment.

Volunteers receive 20 hours of training beginning in October and will attend biweekly group supervisions and maintain weekly visits with their family for a minimum of one year post partum.

For more information contact Tara Clark: 415-473-3515 or Tclark@co.marin.ca.us .

Baby Boomer Tutors Needed

School’s in session and Experience Corps Marin is looking for adults 55 and older to volunteer as early literacy tutors in San Rafael elementary schools beginning this fall. The next session is Sept. 20.

Sponsored by Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services (NCPHS), Experience Corps Marin, which launched in 2007, works with English Language Learners from predominantly low-income Spanish-speaking households. The program was nominated last year for the Eisner Award and one of its volunteers, Terra Linda resident Rosmarie Ellingson, 80, won a “Heroes for Children” award from the Marin Advocates for Children (MAC) program.

Currently, 70 volunteers work in five elementary schools.

Free orientations for new volunteers are held each month and are followed throughout the school year with ongoing training in the skill sets required to work with English Language Learners.