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 discover their SUPER powers.

R.O.C.K. partnered up with Zynga and Ethos Health Co. last November for a volunteer event to transform the mundane cafeteria into a superhero training ground.

With input and resources from the EHC Team Lead and Location Manager, Meg Hallinan and R.O.C.K.’s Marketing & Development Coordinator, Jenna Watanabe, they designed the perfect event for Zynga’s corporate volunteer team.  Aligned with elements of fitness and an overarching theme of superhero qualities, this collective effort aimed to empower kids through the power of physical fitness and strong community values.

The event setup was quick and flawless. Zynga volunteers tackled each project within minutes, wrapping shoe boxes to look like city buildings, strategically taping red streamers between tables to resemble “lasers” and practicing agility ladder drills bordering the room. Then each volunteer adorned their own superhero mask and cape...

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An interview with R.O.C.K.’s Program Director, Gina Patterson on R.O.C.K.’s Partnership with the San Francisco Beacon Initiative

By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator

JW: Thanks for sitting down with me today Gina! I thought it would be great to let R.O.C.K.’s supporters know how we provide after school, Saturday and summer programs for two schools that are also part of another local powerhouse--the SF Beacon Initiative.

On their website, the San Francisco Beacon Initiative describes the organization as “coordinating public and private partnerships and funding that enable schools, communities, and families to offer academic, social, and emotional support to their youth as they prepare for lives as successful adults. Beacon Centers transform public schools into youth and family centers that become a beacon of activity for the surrounding neighborhood.” As of last year R.O.C.K. was confirmed as the community-based organization (or CBO) at two of the many Beacon sites in San Francisco.  

So what exactly does that mean for R.O.C.K. to be the CBO of choice for both El Dorado Elementary School and Visitacion Valley Middle School?

GP: It’s...

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