Almond Blooms Oakley and more

Around Oakley: Relay for Life in Oakley

Over the past couple of years Relay For Life has become one of the top fundraisers in East County. Already word is buzzing around the county about different fundraisers and team set ups for the 2010 countywide series of relays. While the fundraiser for cancer research, which started out 25 years ago in Tacoma, Washington, might have once been a 24-hour hike around an oval track, today is a months-long fundraiser with the dedication of individuals all over the nation.

Since local residents in Oakley started their own Relay For Life fundraiser last year, it has waged a great deal of excitement within the community. With the May 1 weekend of their relay approaching quickly, the Oakley teams are working to find more team members and raising funds for the walk. Relay For Life in Oakley isn't just about spending the night running or walking, it is about raising as much money as possible to help the very special cause of finding a cure and supporting those with cancer.

While raising funds is the most important part there is more to Relay For Life. It includes involving the community and to give the Cancer Society a local presence. As a community event, it creates a sense of community by bringing people together in a moving and fun atmosphere, with sufficient time to build relationships. The event is volunteer-driven, with the Cancer Society coaching the volunteers. There is a true partnership between volunteers and the Cancer Society staff.

Because of that it not only gives the volunteers of the event a sense of doing something good, but also provides a way for everyone in the community to get involved and support the cause. Not everyone has to put a team together and participate in the Relay. There are other ways that people can help. That is where the teams fundraising efforts come in. Over the next couple of months there will be opportunities for residents to show their support of this cause by just attending community events or even going out to dinner.

Oakley Relay For Life "Team Rebecca's Garden" has gotten the help of Chili's Restaurant to put on a fundraiser. They are asking residents to get a hold of one of the Teams coupons, or as they call them fliers, that offer a deal where those who come in to the restaurant on Feb. 22 and order any dinner on the menu and give the wait-staff the "Team Rebecca's Garden" flier, Chili's will donate10 percent of the cost of the meal back to the Rebecca's Garden team for the Relay.
If someone would like a flier, e-mail Denise Rundall
at drundall@sbcglobal.net and she can send one to you.

Knightsen Parent Teacher Club will be sponsoring two Pancake Breakfasts this month. They will take place on Feb. 19 and 26. The breakfasts will be held at Knightsen School 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Donations of $2.00 will be accepted. Funds will go towards the Oakley Relay for Life "Team Knightsen" and also for a plaque in memory of Carmen Galbraith who passed away last year on Feb. 18 of brain cancer. She was 8 years old.

It isn't too late to put together a team for the Oakley Relay For Life, or for that matter the Brentwood, Antioch or Pittsburg teams. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relays are 24 hours in length, which represents the reality that cancer never sleeps. Those who are interested in helping but don't want to create a team can join one of the other teams already started in Oakley. The next team meeting is March 2 at the Black Bear Diner. The committee meetings take place at 6:30 p.m. or check out the groups Website at www.relayforlife.org/oakleyca.

National organization offers food relief for families in East County

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Pastor Carleton Booker knows that there are a lot of people going hungry right here in East County. He believes there are more people than just those who live in shelters or accept a dinner prepared at the soup kitchen. There are people who work hard for a living, but have to make daily decision as to whether to purchase gas to get to work or provide a balanced diet for their kids.

"It is expensive to buy food these days," said Booker, who is pastor of Oakley's Mountain View Christian Center in Oakley.

When he heard that the Angel Food Ministries program was looking for a local organization to help distribute food in this area he jumped at the chance to offer Mountain View Christian Center.

"There is a great need for these services now," Booker said. "Everyone is going through hard times now. This is a great way to save money and feed families."
Angel Food Ministries is a nonprofit, nondenominational group that has been providing relief to families nationally since 1994. It does not give free food away, but offers it at discount prices.
"This is a helping hand, not a handout," Booker said.

The program offers food packages at discount prices, which Booker said are affordable to nearly everyone.

The program offers a monthly delivery of food that is ordered in advance by those who are in need. This month one box of food includes five different types of meats, including top sirloin and boneless rib roast, lasagna, four vegetables, pasta, sauce, rice, potatoes, eggs and milk. Each box costs $30. Those interested can purchase more than one box since all of the orders are placed in advance.
Each month's menu is different, but consistently it has both fresh and frozen food with an average retail value of $60. Comparison shopping has been done across the country so here the value of the box might be higher. Angel Food believes that of their "blessings by the box" can feed a family of four for up to a week or a single senior for a month.

"The food is the same high quality food that you can purchase at any grocery store," Booker said.

While the food is donated by various distributors around the country, the organization guarantees no secondhand food is sold.

"The beautiful thing about Angel Food is there are no income qualifications," Booker said. "Everyone is welcome."

While Booker's distribution program is in Oakley, he has made arrangements with other nonprofits in other local cities to pick up ordered boxes and host a distribution center in their area. On their first distribution day last month, Booker said that 211 families came from as far as Sacramento and Tracy to pick up a box of food.

Booker said that he is the only distribution center for the program in the Bay Area and is looking for other cities to get involved with the program.

"This is a nondenominational program," Booker said. "It doesn't have to be a church that can become involved. Schools, community nonprofits can also get involved."
Booker explained that all the group would have to do is offer volunteers to help sort food and a place for the community to pick up the food boxes. The boxes are ordered through the national group's Web site.

Orders must be in by Feb. 18 for the Feb. 27 distribution. For those who don't have Internet services at home, Booker suggests using the local libraries, which offer free Internet services. Those who can't order online are welcome to call and make arrangements through the church. All boxes must be paid in advance and food stamps are welcome.

To order a box go to the Web site at www.angelfoodministries.com and put in your Zip code to locate the host site and follow the directions to place an order, or contact the Mountain View Christian Center at 925-625-9570.

FOOD BOXES
WHEN: For delivery in late February
DEADLINE: Order by Feb. 18
COST: $30
INFO: www.angelfoodministries.com or Mountain View Christian Center at 925-625-9570

Business Spotlight: Gamers Guild offers wide selection of games, cards

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Name of business: The Gamers Guild of Antioch Inc.

Type of business: retail games, cards and comics

Owners: Chris Meyer and Abraham Chung

Founded: 2007

Address: 1203 Auto Center Drive, Antioch

Phone number: 925-753-5219

Hours: Monday through Friday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; closed Thursdays; Saturday and Sunday noon to 7 p.m.

Number of employees: four

Products and services: The Gamers Guild offers a wide selection of games, cards and comics. Comics include DC, Marvel, Independent and Dark Horse. Games include board games, role playing games and Dungeons and Dragons. They also carry miniature games such as World of Warcraft, Games Workshop 40K and AT-43.

They also sell a large selection of popular collector and playing card games such as Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Naruto and World Of Warcraft.

How did you get into the business: "We turned our hobby into a business," Meyer said.

Best part about the business?: "This is a great place for people to come and hang out and have fun," Meyer said.

There are tables set up in the front of the store where customers can come in and play with other people who like the games they play. They also host tournaments and activities for the different merchandise they sell at the store.

Worst part about the business?: "Economy and dealing with people underselling us on the Internet," he said.

Key to success: "Customer service," Meyer said. "Having new and hot items for sale or available for purchase."

He also said that having what customers want on hand at the store.

Biggest misperception about the business: "Customers don't think buying their games online and coming to the store to play them hurts our business," he said.
By providing a place for customers to play their games, the hope is that customers will purchase the items from the store and not go online and buy items and then bring them into the store to play.

Future plans: In the future, Meyer said they hope to be adding a computer network for gaming in the store.

Brentwood children's author enjoys living life to fullest

In our "Neighbors" series, we give you a personal look at the people who are serving your community. If you would like to nominate someone for this column, contact Judy Prieve at 925-779-7178 or e-mail jprieve@bayareanews group.com.

By Roni Gehlke

IN 1970, Brentwood children's author Carol Linden was listening to a local radio station and heard a story about how the state was finding it difficult to find adoptive parents for bi-racial children. Linden answered that call, and her life with Cherie, the half-French and half-black child she adopted, is the subject of her first published book.

"Susie Q Kitten, Is That Your Sister?" is the story of two sister kittens, Susie and Cherie, who are adopted and go through life as sisters without recognizing the obvious difference between them.

"Susie Q is a beautiful white cat and Cherie a beautiful brown bunny. The girls learn the meaning of family and fun in this whimsical, lighthearted tale with a relevant message," Linden said.

In the book Linden uses the names of two of her adopted daughters for each of the kittens, whom she says lived a very similar life to the ones in her book. Originally she was going to just give the book as a gift to the two women, but then decided that she would try to get it published.

Before adopting Cherie, the Lindens adopted two other children. After Cherie's adoption,
birth to a son. The Lindens' first adopted child was Susan, or Susie as her family knows her.

"Whenever Susie and Cherie would play in the playground other children would say to Susie, 'Is that your sister?' Since we hadn't brought our children up to believe there was anything different about them, Susie never thought anything of the question," Linden said.

It was later as the children got older that Linden started realizing that outside people saw their family differently. The girls were raised together in the 1970s, but Linden said she isn't so sure that people's opinions have really changed that much since then — no matter how enlightened people think they are.

"I believe that prejudice has to be learned as a child. When I was growing up in Kentucky there were no black children around me. By the time I moved to Ohio with my family I met them for the first time and didn't see any differences with them," she said. "My children were raised to believe that there are no differences and are better for it."

Linden says that she hopes her book will teach other children an important lesson.
While the differences in race might be considered the most controversial part of her book, Linden has found that in some cases her mention of God stirred more controversy. In one section of the book, Cherie asks why God made her different from Susie. Recently, Linden read the book in one of her grandchildren's elementary school classes and was asked by the teacher to not read the verses with God in them.

She couldn't believe how much of an issue that was, but her grandchild was looking forward to hearing the story and she decided to go ahead and cut the lines when she read it to the children. She didn't have that problem when she read the book for 125 students at a Christian school, nor was she asked to take the verses out when she read the book at the Brentwood Barnes & Noble at her book-signing earlier this week.

There was a time when getting a book published, let alone writing one, was the furthest thing from Linden's mind. She has been a stage two breast cancer survivor for the past 21 years.
"I was told by my doctor to get my ducks in a row, but the cancer never came back. Since then I do what I want to do and make every day like it is a new ballgame," she said. "No one can guarantee they are going to be here for long."

It is with that in mind that she has decided to work on getting five other children's books that she has written published as soon as possible. She said the other books aren't controversial. She also will make a 30-second television commercial for "Susie Q Kitten, Is That Your Sister?" through her publishing company that will air on cable television stations.

Linden works on her books while she and her husband travel around in their RV. They just returned from a long trip to Florida and are already back to camping at Lake Camanche for a while. They are also planning to take the RV to Ohio and spend the summer with her brother.
"You just never know long you have, so you should live life to the fullest," she said.

"Susie Q Kitten, Is That Your Sister?" is available online through Tate Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and Borders. It is available as a print book, Kindle e-book and audio.

Save the Date

Downtown Specific Plan Public Forum
Regarding
LAND-USE
Wednesday, February 17th
6:30 p.m.

City Council Chambers
3231 Main Street
Oakley

At the Public Forum, residents are invited to provide input and ask questions regarding the City’s General Plan and related land-use issues.


For more information, contact the city at (925) 625-7000
Fax (925) 625-9859
http://www.ci.oakley.ca.us/
See the specific plan here.

Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight