April 2006

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President's Corner

April is volunteer month and we celebrate Earth Day. Thousands of volunteer projects take place across the country on Earth Day including trail building, beach and river cleanup projects and community improvement project such as those sponsored by Rebuilding Together.

Over the years BAWA members have participated in many volunteer activities. Members have put in countless hours building toys in toy workshops. These toys have been donated to nonprofit daycare centers, schools, public libraries and a handicapped center. The toys made by our club have brought joy to many children. Our toy workshops have been opportunities for members to have fun, learn new techniques, work in someone else's shop and contribute to a worthy cause. If you have not taken part in a toy workshop you are missing a lot of fun. BAWA member and expert toy builder Harold Patterson (harold16@comcast.net 650 349-7922) is always looking for members to help.

Our members have contributed to improving our community through volunteering with Rebuilding Together, formally known as Christmas in April. Every year on the last Saturday in April our members have come together to repair houses for the elderly, build cabinets for churches that feed the homeless and repair schools and participated in many other projects. We have built stairs, wooden fences, installed a completely new kitchen, built cabinets for storage, and installed miles of shelving. A few years ago we built 82 bookcases, 4 cubbies and installed 120 shelves in one day at the Malcolm X school in San Francisco. Our members have taken on challenges that we all thought were impossible. Extensive planning and outstanding collaboration among our members made the impossible happen. Everyone who has participated in these events felt much was accomplished and sometimes new friends were made by the end of the day. I have watched with amazement as our projects seem to get bigger each year and yet we always finish by the end of day. On Saturday, April 29th we will be fixing up the old San Francisco fire station near SBC ballpark. Our goal will be to create better storage for all the toys that the San Francisco fire fighters collect for all the needy children in San Francisco. BAWA members Fred Reicher (tincan@rcn.com 650 991-1766) and Tony Fanning (tonyfanning@mac.com 650 323-1183) will lead us on this ambitious project. Please join us and see the magic that happens when our members come together to do the impossible.




Bill Henzel

President