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Thank you Embarcadero Media, for all you do!
Jeremy and everyone at The Pleasanton Weekly and Embarcadero Media, thank you for all you do! This month we attended the Pleasanton Mayoral/City Council Forum on Sept. 5, “Stripped for Parts” on Sept. 6 and saw Katharine McPhee on Sept. 7 — all compliments of The Pleasanton Weekly. We would be so lost without The Weekly keeping us up-to-date on the latest happenings!
However, it seems there has to be a more sustainable option other than relying on donations to keep you going. Although I don’t support Measure PP, I would support something where the entire community paid for independent, local journalism.
Thanks to the Weekly’s partnership with the Bankhead Theater, we were able to see Katharine McPhee who was accompanied by the Livermore-Amador Symphony. Both were outstanding and at dinner we happened to sit beside the husband of one of the cello players and learned quite a bit about the all-volunteer, highly professional symphony.
They held a live auction before the concert and it was impressive to see how enthusiastically the attendees bid on the auction items, and others who simply pledged money with two people donating $25,000 each, to the surprise and delight of the audience and the auctioneer!
We wish there was a way to get more of this type of financial generosity directed toward The Weekly. It is apparent that you’re an incredibly hard-working, passionate team, that you hold yourselves to the highest standards of journalism, and that you provide an essential service, and yet are having a difficult time staying afloat.
Although we made donations to The Weekly and The Bankhead, we know it is a drop in the bucket compared to what your organization needs. We may not have deep pockets, but we are willing to donate our time or help in other ways, so please let us know if there is some way we can be of help beyond raving about The Weekly and asking people if they are subscribers.
— Kathleen Hall and Rick Schneider
On homeschooling
I am a Boy Scout. I am sending you this message because I have to inform you of a random topic for a requirement in the Communication Merit Badge.
Pros of homeschooling: The curriculum is very flexible because you don’t have to just do math, or science, or english. You can learn how to cook or sew, and do extraordinary things that you might not have the opportunity of doing in school.
You won’t get bullied at home, unlike school, where it can happen regularly but might not happen often. So it is a really effective way to learn in a safe environment.
Since you can design and shape your own curriculum, you can choose where you spend your time, which could lead to stronger family bonds and more family time, which you can never have enough of.
Cons: Finance is an extremely large con of homeschooling, in fact, it can deter you so much that you might be better off not homeschooling.
Most schools are government-funded (at least in the Bay Area) and that means that they are generally free of any cost, but for homeschooling, you have to buy equipment, books, and countless other items that could give your budget a hard time.
If your parents plan on teaching you, then they put a big burden on themselves as well, because they have to prepare lessons for you, and teach you as well, which, again, is a big burden, but they have to be aware of the topic.
— Namish Gohil
Tennis fundraiser to honor my dad
I am a junior in high school. My dad, Girish, passed away this year on Jan. 26 from cancer, specifically liposarcoma. He was very passionate about sports, especially tennis, which held an extraordinary place in his heart.
Because of him, tennis has become essential to my life, and I am so grateful for it.
So, in his memory, I organized a doubles tennis tournament on Aug. 3-4. We live in Pleasanton and decided to conduct the tournament at Dougherty Valley High School as my dad played a men’s tennis league for the team that practiced at DVHS, and he used to play there a lot.
From the registration fees and other contributions, we were hoping to raise $10,000, which will all be going toward the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
We surpassed our goal of $10,000 and raised $13,200, which has all been donated to the Sarcoma Foundation of America. None of this would have been made possible without the donors, and others who helped make this event successful. I am so grateful for all the players who came out this weekend, especially in this heat, to celebrate my dad’s memory.
I hope my dad is watching from above and is proud to see our community coming together to celebrate his memory.
— Sagarika Kashyap
Rescuing our boys: A symposium on helping boys thrive
I am writing to draw attention to the growing education and physical mental health outcomes of our boys and men in California.
Boys are behind in reading at all grade levels in K-12 education, and they are behind in college enrollment by significant margins. Boys 15-24 years-of-age account for 77% of suicide and 75% overdose deaths in their respective age group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many of these challenges, that cut across all racial groups, are solvable if we begin with accurate data and talk more openly about ways to address them with solutions we know work.
The Global Initiative for Boys and Men will be holding a symposium at The Club at Castlewood on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 8-11 a.m., releasing its new “CA State Report on the Status of Boys and Men”.
Speakers at the symposium include educators, researchers and policymakers who will help you learn more about the outcomes of boys and men, why boys and girls learn differently, and how policy at the local, state, and federal level can help our boys and girls thrive, grow and learn.
For many parents, grandparents and others, GIBM will discuss the citizen science members of the community can engage in to help them better understand their community and its needs so that human flourishing becomes more than a conversation, but a reality. To learn more go to gibm.live/event.
— Sean Kullman, president, GIBM
