Published Sunday, February 6,
2005, in the San Jose Mercury News
By HOLLY HAYES / Mercury
News
sisters
Larisa, 6, and Daisy Cortes, 9, carefully selected notebooks and
pencils. Marcus Lopez, 6, got sturdy brand-new jeans. Eight-year-old
Adriana Zabala picked out knit tops in fresh spring colors.
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Volunteer shopper Alison Comerford, of Gilroy, tries to gauge
the correct pants size for six year-old Marcus Lopez, right.
Comerford and her husband Patrick, pictured left, also helped
shop for Marcus's brother Johnny Lopez.
(Susanna
Frohman / Mercury News)
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These young shoppers were among 136
kids who descended on the Target store in Gilroy recently to purchase
new winter clothing and school supplies, thanks to readers of the
2004 Wish Book.
For some of the children, choosing their
own stuff -- instead of hand-me-downs or something from a church
donation box -- was as new to them as the merchandise filling their
carts.
The shopping spree offered a boost to
the homeless families who are staying in the Arturo Ochoa Migrant
Housing Center. The facility, operated by St. Joseph's Family Center
in Gilroy, provides small, furnished duplexes each winter. The three-month
reprieve helps these families get back on track, find jobs, get
rent money together and move on.
Staff members and volunteers from St.
Joseph's accompanied each child to help them navigate the aisles.
But make no mistake -- they made their own purchasing decisions,
and they got a little lesson about budgeting and making choices
in the process.
Wish Book donations also assisted the
family of Ramon Gonzalez -- who benefited from a stay at Ochoa last
winter, but now are thriving in their own apartment -- with some
basic household furnishings, beds and linens to help add some comfort
as they continue to get back on their feet.
For 22 years, thousands of people in
the Bay Area have helped neighbors in their communities through
the Wish Book, a seasonal fundraising drive of the Mercury News.
Wish Book readers are invited to earmark
their gifts to particular stories or causes, or make general contributions.
Donations of any size continue to be welcome and are tax-deductible.
Here's how you can help fulfill a wish:
ONLINE:
When you read the Wish Book stories, links to donate are included,
so that you can earmark your donations through our secure server.
BY
MAIL :
Click here to download*
a Holiday Book donation form. Simply fill it out, attach your check
or credit card information and mail it to the Mercury News, c/o
Wish Book Fund, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190
* To view and print this
form, you will need Acrobat Reader. Free Acrobat downloads at www.adobe.com/acrobat.
QUESTIONS
ABOUT WISH BOOK?
Contact Holly Hayes, Wish Book coordinator at (408) 920-5374 or email wishbook@mercurynews.com.
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Some donors dedicate their gifts in honor or memory of loved ones.
Others give anonymously. Donor lists have been running once a week
since Dec. 4; this is the final list:
Rob Adams, in honor of Beth and Katie; Jill and Julia Albertson;
Sunil Arora, in honor of Vallabh Arora; Stephen Bagger, in honor
of TCOS Redemption; Jeffrey Bale, in honor of the Bale family; Debbie
Bretschneider; Maxine and Harry Burford;
Joe Cantrell, in honor of Don and Jackie Lathrop; Maria Casareto-Chapman,
in honor of Maestra Posada and Maestra Villagomez at River Glen;
Cynthia Castro, in memory of Joan Crothers; Chadbourne Elementary,
students of Room 18; Marie Chan; Amy Chavez; Shrani Chiu, in memory
of Yu Chiu; Elaine Curran, in honor of the Curran family;
Anne and Alex Dor; Jamie Elsila; Laura and Aaron Endelman; Mr.
and Mrs. Benton Farmer; John Fensterwald; Roberta Fitzpatrick; Alberto
Gamiochipi; Deborah Garvey, in honor of Christophe Maamari; Sharon
Gill, in honor of the Searing family; Lisa and Allen Gimenez; Goldstein,
Demchak employees; Kevin Gregory, in honor of Alertness Solutions;
Lori Henderson; Jane and Robert Hintz; Judy and Woody Hobbs; Ron
Hochsprung; Hubbard School, Miss Belcher's fourth-grade class; Mr.
and Mrs. Alvin Jong; Gail Klein, in honor of Margaret Christensen;
Jordan Kolb; Cynthia Kollerer, in memory of Richard Kollerer; Rosemary
Kuhn, in honor of the Kuhn-Raiyawa family; Irene Kung, in honor
of Paul Yen and Becky Yen;
Barbara Lamour, in honor of Wil and Louise Heiduk; Laurelwood School,
Room 8 multi-age; Thomas Lee, in honor of Lok Sze (Leslie) Kwok
and Tammy N. Wang; Philip and Christine Lora; Milo and Hannah Lovelace-Knowles;
Tracy Lubina, in honor of Margo Wixsom;
J. Mahowald; Linda and Bill Manry; Patricia Marshall; Reno, Jenelle,
Dana, Kendra and Reno G. Morella; Kevin Morris, in honor of Jean
and Russ Morris; Chris and Mike Morrissey; Jean and Bill Nix; Maureen
O'Brien; David and Victoria Pearce, in honor of the Pearce-Racanelli
families; Bruce Prime; Britta Puschendorf, in honor of L. Forlenza,
M. Howlett, D. Smith and R. Van Horn;
Sowmya Ramachandran; James Reeder Jr., in honor of Victoria Matthews;
Grace ReCupido; Paige Riveron, in honor of the Riveron family; Mr.
and Mrs. Ray Robidoux; Patricia Roller; Julia Schoettle; Sophia
Seremetis; Linda Sherry, in honor of Bob and Martha Guthrie; the
ShoreTel Marketing Team; Graham, Aaron, L. and G. Smith family;
Jeremy Spencer, in honor of Marjo Spencer; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sylvia,
in honor of Michael, John, Scott and Stacey;
Nalina Tirumalai; Gene Tognetti, in honor of Fred and Clara Tognetti;
Patti van der Burg, in honor of Mark Allen Guptill; Sue, Mark, Chloe
and Jordan Weiner; Cindy Kruse Werhli; Dave and Cheryl Wilson; Richard
Wylie; Jeffrey Zabarsky, in memory of Issie Zabarsky.
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