Small actions can have a very big impact. That was part of the message delivered Friday by Shiza Shahid to more than 500 people at the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley’s 32nd annual Inspire Luncheon in Santa Clara.
And she knows a bit about that. When Shahid was a student at Stanford University in 2009, she read the blog of an 11-year-old girl in Pakistan decrying the closure of her school. Shahid reached out to her and raised money to hold a summer camp for that girl and others like her. The girl was Malala Yousafzai, and five years later — following an assassination attempt on Malala — they had co-founded the Malala Fund to ensure educational opportunities for girls.
“I think in life we are all called to do things and in those moments we have to be prepared to take on those challenges,” Shahid said in an onstage interview with NBC Bay Area’s Gia Vang. “That’s what the YWCA does — show up for people who then show up for people.”
Since stepping down as CEO of the Malala Fund, Shahid has since started Our Place, a company aiming to simplify cookware and create connections through food.
Friday’s gathering was the first time the event had been held in person since 2019, with two virtual years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a welcome return for many longtime supporters like Sandra Moll, a San Jose resident who has been bringing friends to the event for 25 years. As she has for several years, Moll — a member of Downtown College Prep’s board of directors — invited eight female students and two staff members from the school to the lunch at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
“They’re in a room full of female energy,” she said of the benefit of being back in person. “I think the energy in the room is motivational for people to understand what an important community asset the YWCA is.”
That’s not lost on Adriana Caldera Boroffice, who became the CEO of the organization — which serves a community from Marin to San Jose — in the midst of the pandemic. “I’m so excited to be back in person,” she said. “There’s nothing like being in person with community and being able to talk about our mission as an organization to eliminate racism and empower women and to really engage with our constituents and community in this way.”
And having Shahid as a keynote speaker was a great way to come back, she said.
“She embodies our theme this year of ‘Speak. Act. Change,’ ” Boroffice said. “She’s someone who saw change she wanted to create and did what she needed to do to make that happen at such an incredibly young age.”
HOLIDAY RUSH: Valle Monte League is bringing back its traditional Christmas Tree Elegance event for the first time since 2019, and it seems like revelers are excited about the return of the fundraiser for several valley mental health agencies. Tickets for “A Roaring ’20s Christmas,” a trio of events on Dec. 2-3 at the San Jose Woman’s Club, went on sale less than two weeks ago, and two of the events — the champagne brunch Dec. 2 and the Speakeasy Casino Night on Dec. 3 — are already sold out.
That leaves just the champagne brunch on Dec. 3, which starts at 10:30 a.m. for $175 a person. No doubt the holiday spirit of gathering together again is part of the quick sellouts, but it might also have to do with Christmas Tree Elegance’s big draw: the chance to win a beautiful, professionally designed Christmas tree along with a huge haul of special gifts.
If you’ve already got that flapper dress ready, head over to www.vallemonte.org for tickets before they’re all gone.
RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE: One of Happy Hollow Park & Zoo’s most popular habitats isn’t empty anymore as two young female capybaras have taken up residence there. The giant rodents — the species is an extra-large cousin of the guinea pig — were born at the Abilene Zoo in Texas in October 2021 and were transferred to Happy Hollow this month as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.
Meenie, the last of Happy Hollow’s capybaras, died in March at the age of 12, a few years past the species’ average lifespan of 8 to 10 years. While the habitat in the lower zoo was empty, the space got a makeover with renovations and a completely rebuilt outdoor shelter. The new arrivals are swimming in the pool and gnawing on the bamboo growing in the space. Go to www.happyhollow.org for hours and ticket information to pay them a visit.
SEASON OF THE BARD: Director John McCluggage is teaming up with Silicon Valley Shakespeare Company for another “ShakesBEERience” staged reading at San Pedro Square Market in San Jose. This time, the cast of veteran South Bay actors — including favorites Doll Piccotto, Tasi Alabastro, Ambera DeLash and Melissa Jones — will be taking on “A Winter’s Tale” on Nov. 7. That play may be best known for the stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear,” so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. on the patio stage and is free, as always.
LOOKING FOR ROLE MODELS: Project Cornerstone, a program of the YMCA of Silicon Valley, is looking for nominations for its Asset Champion awards next spring. These are adult and youth role models, as well as organizations and schools, that provide a positive influence for youth.
The deadline for nominations has been extended to Nov. 14, and you can read all about the program — with nomination forms available in English and Spanish — at ymcasv.org/ymca-project-cornerstone.
Source: www.mercurynews.com