The Valley Catholic August 21, 2018 | Page 8

8 COMMUNITY August 21, 2018 | The Valley Catholic Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Partners with Miller Center to Provide Unique Accelerator Program for Bay Area Social Entrepreneurs By Adelene Gallego Ramos Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepre- neurship recently completed the San Francisco Bay Area GSBI® Boost on July 24–26, in San Jose. The Boost was a free, three-day, capacity-building workshop for social entrepreneurs who are positively impacting the lives of those in need in the San Francisco Bay Area. The workshop brought together Bay Area social business leaders on a mission to make t he world a better place. With emphasis on improving strategic thinking, social e nt r e p r e n e u r s l e a r n e d h ow t o effectively articulate their business plans to demonstrate impact, growth, and long-term financial sustainability. “The Boost gave social entrepre- neurs and nonprofits a rare chance to collaborate with and learn from other leaders who are working to create in- novative solutions to poverty in our area,” said Gregory R. Kepferle, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara Social entrepreneurs from the Bay Area participated in the San Francisco Bay Area GSBI® Boost on July 24–26 thanks to a partnership between Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. County. “Leaders had the opportunity to work directly with Silicon Valley mentors and collaborated with other leaders who are working to create inno- vative solutions to poverty in our area.” Seven programs from Catholic Charit ies of Santa Clara Count y participated in the Boost workshop, including Art for Change, Baby Steps, Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL), Day Break Cares Adult Day Care, Immigra- tion Legal Services, Responsible Land- Radiate Family Camp Advocate for Older Adults BECOME AN OMBUDSMAN! Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility, listen to the residents, investigate complaints and resolve problems. Catholic Charities provides training and the State provides certification. Orientation is Tuesday, August 28, 2018 – 10:00 AM to Noon Training begins Tuesday, September 4. More details are listed on the Catholic Charities website: www.catholiccharitiesscc.org Click on the VOLUNTEER button for Volunteer Opportunities. To learn more about becoming an Ombudsman, contact: Wanda Hale at 1-408-944-0567 or email [email protected] Ombudsman08032018_Ad_ValleyCatholic.indd 1 lord Engagement Initiative (RLEI), and Supportive Housing Services. “Participants from Catholic Chari- ties of Santa Clara County are excited to take the learnings from the Boost and implement them to build success- ful, sustainable programs that serve the needs of our community members in need,” said Kepferle. Three programs from Catholic Charities of San Francisco also at- tended the Boost: Leland House, Peter Claver Community, Youth Club at Saint Francis of Assisi. Miller Center has 15 years of expe- rience helping more than 800 social enterprises around the world attain operational excellence and prepare for investment through its signature Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) programs. Social entrepreneurship helps im- poverished communities in a way that is sustainable. Social entrepreneurs hone in on opportunities to provide in- novative, large-scale solutions to local and worldwide problems. After the Bay Area GSBI® Boost pro- gram, up to 20 participants will have the opportunity to matriculate into the GSBI® Online accelerator–a six-month, mentored, virtual program where or- ganizations develop business models and strategies to sustainably grow their enterprises. Those selected for the GSBI Online accelerator program will have an opportunity to showcase their plans for scaling with a justifiable ask at a Silicon Valley event. To learn more about the Bay Area GSBI® Boost program, please visit www.scu-social-entrepreneurship. org/bayareaboost. 8/3/18 9:42 AM Seeing how so many families get buried in the busyness of life in the Silicon Valley, it seems necessary to take some time to get away and have quality time together. Holy Family Parish’s Radiate – Family Camp was designed to do just that. Family Camp brought miracles of time spent together to busy families, miracles of commu- nity to families new to our parish and miracles of renewal in faith and spirit. Families showed up, approaching the weekend unsure of what to expe