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-DQXDU\ 6HUYLQJ $ODPR DQG 'LDEOR Hunger Continues Even After the Holidays Join Cheryl Yee Glass and the SRVHS Contra Costa’s Food Bank Answers the Daily Call Instrumental Music Program for the Ultimate By Jody Morgan Hunger is a problem every day. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano helps Tribute to Journey Concert 132,000 people each month – a 35% increase over the past two years. How well do seasonal food drives meet the needs of the 180 partner agencies? What happens when the flood of donations hits the warehouse? Is there a time when the cupboard goes bare?
By Elaine Selna, SRVHS Student Writer and Alisa Corstorphine
San Ramon Valley High School (SRVHS) instrumental music teacher Cheryl Yee Glass is fondly known as “Chief” to many people. When Glass first began teaching, the kids would call her “Mrs. Yee,” and she wouldn’t answer, thinking they were addressing her mother. After several different nicknames, her students gave her the name “Chief,” a title that has stuck for over 28 years. Glass attended University of California Berkeley for her undergraduate Cheryl Yee Glass aka “Chief” years. After graduating, she needed money to go on to graduate school and a friend suggested Glass earn her teaching credential so she could substitute teach and earn some money for her further schooling. Glass attended Cal State Hayward for her credential and found herself Renee Baptiste, Joseph Stockdale, and Rob Luger rotate barrels at the Blackhawk Food Drive. working at Monte Vista High School as a student teacher. On her first day The mix of hunger-stricken local residents is hitting Food Bank volunteers close to as a student teacher, the regular teacher was out sick. Glass helped the substitute teacher home. Lisa Sherrill, Community Relations Manager for the Food Bank, spends time and ended up in the field meeting with both beneficiaries and distributors of the Food Bank’s regular teaching all the programs. Volunteers, she reports, are finding their neighbors in line for groceries or classes that day hot meals. “If that person is one paycheck away from the situation, maybe I am too,” herself. The exthey are realizing. Lisa has talked with many folks working three jobs and still finding perience opened they don’t have enough to cover basic family needs. Do you pay for the gas to get to her eyes to the work or the shelter over your children’s heads? Senior citizens are balancing budgets joy of teachthat don’t include sufficient funds for both medications and food. Eighty-nine thousand ing. of the individuals receiving aid are residents of Contra Costa County. While conScouting for Food kicks off the holiday season with a pre-Thanksgiving collectinuing her stution by local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts netting an average of 150,000 pounds of dent teaching food in a single day each year. Neighborhood, supermarket, school, and church at Monte Vista, holiday food drives bring in about one million pounds. Local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers took in 173,000 pounds during this year’s Come see “Evolution: The ultimate tribute to Journey” play at the a midyear posiInstrumental Music Benefit Concert on Saturday, January 28th at SRVHS. tion at SRVHS annual collection on May 14, 2011. While Rossmoor keeps barrels in place throughout the holiday season, many opened up. Glass took the position with the idea that she would teach for neighborhoods focus on single-day dawn-to-dusk events. Amanda Kuiper, Black- a couple of years and then go back to graduate school. However, Glass hawk Food Drive Chair, reports, “The outpouring of enthusiasm and support is fell in love with her work and never left. overwhelming. We actually have a surplus of volunteers.” During her years at SRVHS, many honors have been bestowed on the Interviewed midway through a workday that began at the Concord warehouse Instrumental Music Program that she teaches. This year the marching band at 5am and would end at the same location about 7pm, Renee Baptiste is passion- won first place in the Merced competition, the jazz ensemble received the ate about her work. Baptiste is on hand day after day for all of the neighborhood Sweepstakes trophy, and the jazz band also won first place in its division. collections from Crow Canyon to Diablo to Apple Hill, Round Hill, Stone Gate, One of the things Glass is most and Blackhawk, to name just a few. Overseeing the rotation of full barrels being proud of is that three students loaded on the Food Bank’s big truck with empty barrels being dispatched to collec- who graduated in 2010 were Volume XII - Number 1 tion sites, Renee is confident that even in this down economy 2011 donations will accepted to the very competitive 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Alamo, CA 94507 exceed 2010’s records. Non-perishable comestibles are weighed at the close of the UCLA music program. Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397 Glass has a full teaching See Food continued on page 25 Fax (925) 406-0547 schedule. She teaches six classAlisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher PRSRT STD es a day including both wind Editor@yourmonthlypaper.com U.S. Postage ensembles, both jazz groups, Sharon Burke ~ Writer PAID Local orchestra, marching band, and sburke@yourmonthlypaper.com Permit 263 Postal Customer the Advanced Placement Music The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do Alamo CA necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today is not Theory class. Due to budget not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor ECRWSS
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