mustache gobble gobble

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. To me, this time of the year means a full belly, four days off, and the Detroit Lions losing the NFL game on turkey day. Not everyone's so lucky though.

In the Tenderloin, dozens of kids from 6-18 depend on the neighborhood Y for dinner. The Central Shih-Yu Lang branch runs a food program where the kids learn how to cook food and then take turns preparing dinner. The program helps youth prepare nutritious meals while ensuring these kids have a square meal five times a week. The food costs alone are $20,000 per year and decreased funding means this Y program's in jeopardy. But that's where you and I come in.

Another opportunity to be a holiday hero involves helping kids in Oakland use the same classroom supplies and equipment that many of us took for granted as kids. Think College Now, an amazing elementary school in the Fruitvale District, has asked me to help raise funds for books and science supplies. District funding basically pays for teachers and textbooks-- anything else depends on parents chipping in. At a school where 95% of families live in poverty, that's tough. But that's where you and I come in.

If the descriptions above don't move you to join in and contribute to these worthy causes on Thanksgiving, consider this: I have to walk around with this stupid mustache for a month, just to have an excuse to promote these two causes.

So.... To contribute to the Y food program, please visit the YMCA giving site and select "Central-Shih Yu Lang" branch.

To help with school supplies, you can choose a specific classroom project to contribute to on my Mustaches for Kids Giving Page.

To review: Thanksgiving + generosity + mustaches = well fed, educated kids. Please join in and thank you!