5 Nonprofits To Get Behind In The Petaluma Area

PETALUMA, CA — Nonprofit groups are keystone community organizations in the Petaluma area. Fortunately, there is no shortage of organizations to volunteer for or get behind financially — and that need your help.

Here are five outstanding nonprofit groups you should know about in the Petaluma area:

1. Polly Klaas Foundation is a Petaluma-based national nonprofit born out of the Polly Klass Search Center where in 1993, some 4,000 volunteers were based in the search for the missing 12-year-old girl from Petaluma. Polly Klass was kidnapped Oct. 1, 1993, from her bedroom at her mother's house in Petaluma. Her remains were recovered two months later when her killer, Richard Allen Davis, took authorities to her gravesite near Cloverdale. The Polly Klass Foundation's efforts led to laws surrounding missing children and the implementation of the Amber Alert. The organization runs a 24-hour missing children hotline and is dedicated to the safety of all children, the recovery of missing children, and public policies that keep children safe in their communities. Since its founding in 1993, the foundation has helped more than 10,000 families find their missing children. Locally, the foundation offers Social Media Safety Education to middle-school students. The program is currently available in Northern California communities. With appropriate funding, it will continue to grow the program to reach more students every year.

How To Help: People can help find missing children in their community by registering to become a Rapid Response Team e-volunteer and agreeing to receive approximately five emails a month, each with a link to a missing child poster. Volunteers print the posters they want to distribute through their community and decide how much time and effort they donate to help find missing children. Register here. Other ways to help include donating a vehicle, setting up an employer-matching donation, or supporting the Polly Klaas Community Theater with a monetary donation.

2. Farm To Pantry started with a walk around a Sonoma County neighborhood. Founder Melita Love saw so many fruit trees in her neighbors’ yards with once beautiful fruit rotting on the ground beneath them. She thought what a shame it was to see waste like that when 1 in 4 people in Sonoma County were facing food insecurity. So, she DID something about it. In 2008, the nonprofit Farm to Pantry was launched to serve a need in the local community: to provide a continuous supply of fresh, healthy produce to its most vulnerable neighbors who lack access to it by cultivating a community of growers and volunteers. The mission then and now is to bring together communities to end food injustice and reverse global warming by rescuing and sharing locally-grown food with those who have been systematically marginalized. Farm to Pantry envisions a just food system in which everyone has access to healthy food that honors and nourishes our community and heals the planet by eliminating food waste. Since 2008, the group has delivered over 6 million servings of fruits and vegetables. In 2022 alone, the nonprofit rescued over 400,000 pounds of produce.

How To Help: Farm to Pantry accomplishes this do with the power and commitment of over 500 volunteer gleaners, 400+ property owners and more than 100 community partners. There are many ways to help: become a volunteer gleaner, help grow the table, or grow a row/start a community garden. Sign up here to become a volunteer.

3. First Responders Resiliency Inc is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the psychological, neurological, physical, emotional and relational well-being of first responders and their families. Founded and operated by first responders, the organization is based on current evidence-based research and science that provides comprehensive, holistic modality training to equip first responders —and their families— to become more resilient both on and off duty. To expand its services and mission, FRRI is currently in the process of developing the First Responders Resiliency Center in Cotati. This center will be a home for training and will provide real-time access to wellness and support services. Its services will include but are not limited to trauma therapists, massage therapy, addiction and recovery support, mindfulness-based programs, physical resiliency training, wellness and nutritional consultation, equine-assisted therapy, cancer support services, family services, preventative holistic modalities and tactical yoga and meditation.

How To Help: There are opportunities to become a founding member of the resiliency center or fund a scholarship for a first responder to attend a three-day resiliency training. There is also a wish list of items needed for the center. Learn more at Resiliency1st.org/support-us/.

4. Common Ground Society all began at a preschool when "Just Two Moms" did a presentation on Down syndrome at their children’s preschool for World Down Syndrome Day in 2018. News of the presentation quickly spread and the two moms were asked to come and present in many classrooms. The requests quickly became overwhelming, so they decided to try their hand at all-school assemblies, and they were a hit. Common Ground Society, founded in 2020 as a 501c3 nonprofit, shifted its focus from just Down syndrome to a multitude of diagnoses. Its mission is to share stories to educate and empower the community to be more compassionate, accepting and inclusive of people with disabilities. The organization works to connect families through monthly meet-ups and support groups; offers customizable presentations to help get the conversation started about disabilities and inclusion; offers teacher resources; provides hospital support bags; and more.

How To Help: Volunteers with a high dedication to the Sonoma County community are sought to serve on social media pages, as event coordinators and as support for meetups and events. Learn more here.

5. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife; the promotion, understanding, appreciation, protection and conservation of wildlife through educational outreach programs and advocacy efforts. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue also makes charitable contributions to animal rescue and rehabilitation organizations as authorized by its board of directors. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue has a team of trained staff and volunteers available to rescue wildlife seven days a week and provides specialized medical care to over 1,500 animals a year. On average, Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue releases 70 percent of the patients it helps.

How To Help: There is always a need for new volunteers for many roles, from administrative duties to animal care duties at the rescue center in unincorporated Petaluma. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue has a junior volunteer program for children 13 and older; it has year-round internship opportunities and a community service volunteer program. People can also volunteer to host a release site or volunteer to transport animals or supplies. Read more here about the various volunteer opportunities at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue. The organization also accepts donations of food and supplies and online monetary donations. And there are several other ways to help.

RELATED: Read about five Petaluma-area nonprofits previously featured by Patch as part of this series.

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