How Zynga Volunteers Transformed the Cafeteria into a Superhero Training Ground By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator What do you get when you mix a group of endorphin-loving volunteers from a gaming company with 1st-5th graders who love superheros? A crazy fun company volunteer day helping kids...
Meet Natalie Toland, R.O.C.K.’s Elementary School Beacon Director By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator Please help us welcome our newest R.O.C.K. addition to the management team, Natalie Toland, our Elementary School Beacon Director. In this interview, Natalie tells us about what motivated her about R.O.C.K.’s mission...
By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator JW: Hi Mike, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. Why don’t we just jump right into it, by starting with the most obvious question: why did you apply to work with R.O.C.K.? MA: I was...
William Blair Spreads Philanthropic Mission to the Bay Area by Partnering with Real Options for City Kids of San Francisco By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator William Blair and Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.) have teamed up after William Blair selected R.O.C.K. as their first...
R.O.C.K. Kids Experience the 23rd Annual Lil’ Kid Camp By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing and Development Coordinator Nicole, a fifth grader who was notoriously quiet and shy at school, was climbing a R.O.C.K. wall nestled in the outdoor playground of Mountain Camp. As she neared the toughest part--known...
KPMG Book Fair By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator Summertime in San Francisco means a lot of things -- BBQs, exploring the outdoors, and (hopefully) more sunshine. But what most people don't know is that summertime can also mean a sharp decline in reading progress for...
R.O.C.K. Star Staff Q&A By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator For this newsletter, I’ll be interviewing Devin King, Family & Community Engagement Coordinator, who has an integral part of keeping our kids and their families connected to our programs. We wanted to find out what her...
We LOVE our Volunteers. Here’s One of Many Reasons Why. By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator This video was recorded at one of our most popular volunteer events called Skill Drills, an introductory sports clinic that teaches 1st-5th kids the fundamentals of basketball, soccer and volleyball....
How Do You Get a 7-Year Old to Eat Their Vegetables? Turn Them into Race Cars! By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator It was a rainy day with cool temperatures, and a team of ten young adults from a video game company called Product Madness filed...
Happy Birthday R.O.C.K. By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator Scrolling down R.O.C.K.’s Facebook page one day I noticed a new category amongst the familiar headings. Fundraisers: Facebook’s new tool that allowed Cameron Turner, a R.O.C.K volunteer, to raise $1,141 for R.O.C.K.! Depending on when your birthday is, you...