Hey there MAD Clubbers! We've been having some problems with getting our posts up on our blog and out to your inboxes lately, so with the new semester approaching, we've decided to move on to a new blogging platform to host our news blog.

Our new blog link is http://makeadifference.vox.com - go check it out!

All new blog posts will still be delivered via email, so don't worry about changes with that. Our site just looks a lot spiffier and has lots of cool new organizational features (You can even subscribe to our new blog via a RSS feed easily now by clicking on the button on the side of the page!) now.

Thank you all for a great semester of volunteering and making a difference in our community! We managed to help out at many more events with many more local and national organizations than we've ever done before this semester as a result of all you wonderful members' dedication to community service.

Give yourselves a big pat on the back and get ready for another great semester full of fun volunteering opportunities!

Hey MAD Clubbers, some changes have taken place since I sent the location assignments out last night, so I've included a revised version of the list in tonight's post. All changes are in bold - most of the assignments have remained unchanged, but please double check to make sure everything is correct and contact me ASAP with any new corrections.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF AREA
Hyde Street Pier
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Judy Cheng 0906
Margaret Tsai 0918

USS Pampanito
Tiffany Au
Christine Le 0809
Anissa Chen 0804
Cynthia Lee 0813

SS Jerimiah O'Brien
Jan Young 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Erin Tom 0901
Tina Kwan

Musee Mercanique
Sonya Ostashevskaya 0910
Karen Chen 0914

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
Yvonne Kong 0819
Michele Chui 0818
Aimee Howard 0812
Nora Casey 0815
Christine Trinh 0804
Annie Wong 0805

Wax Museum
Justin Chan 0801
Raymond Wu
Lily Guan 0811
Irene Cheung 0817
Katie Yee 0817
Tiffany Vu

Aquarium of the Bay
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Susan Lim 1019
Mindy Muynh 1011
Wendy Chak 1019
Jenny Huynh 1010
Vivian Suen 1015

GOLDEN GATE PARK AREA
Conservatory of Flowers
Amy Lai 0918
Shirla Shan 0902
Justine Pon 0901
Amanda Chu 0910
Janet Lee 0903

deYong Museum
Angel Huang 0917
Anna Chen 0904
Jenelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Annie Yan 0913
Peter Yu 0907

Japanese Tea Garden
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Thurston Zhu 1018
Arianna Lopez 1004
Jonathan Siu

San Francisco Botanical Garden
Jimmy Xie 0811
Evelina Vu 0817

You can find the links to the maps/directions for each location, as well as detailed instructions for this event, in last night's email or by clicking here.

Thanks!

Hey MAD Clubbers! Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day is coming up this Sunday, so I have all the details and information you need to know about volunteering at this event ready for all you wonderful volunteers.

Listed below are the location assignments for Family Appreciation Day:

FISHERMAN'S WHARF AREA
Hyde Street Pier
(located at Hyde street on Jefferson Street)
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Judy Cheng 0906
Margaret Tsai 0918

USS Pampanito
(Click for directions)
Tiffany Au
Christine Le 0809
Anissa Chen 0804
Cynthia Lee 0813

SS Jerimiah O'Brien
(Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf)
Jan Young 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Erin Tom 0901
Regina Lam 0701

Musee Mercanique
(Pier 45 Shed A at the end of Taylor Street at Fisherman's Wharf)
Sonya Ostashevskaya 0910
Karen Chen 0914

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
(Click for directions)
Yvonne Kong 0819
Michele Chui 0818
Aimee Howard 0812
Nora Casey 0815
Christine Trinh 0804
Annie Wong 0805

Wax Museum
(Click for directions)
Justin Chan 0801
Raymond Wu
Jessica Wong
Tina Kwan
Alan Lam
Karen Li

Aquarium of the Bay
(Click for directions)
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Susan Lim 1019
Mindy Muynh 1011
Wendy Chak 1019
Jenny Huynh 1010
Vivian Suen 1015

GOLDEN GATE PARK AREA
Conservatory of Flowers
(Click for directions)
Amy Lai 0918
Shirla Shan 0902
Justine Pon 0901
Amanda Chu 0910
Janet Lee 0903

deYong Museum
(Click for directions)
Angel Huang 0917
Anna Chen 0904
Jenelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Annie Yan 0913
Peter Yu 0907

Japanese Tea Garden
(between JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. drives)
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Thurston Zhu 1018
Angela Zhou 0711
Arianna Lopez 1004

San Francisco Botanical Garden
(Click for directions)
Jimmy Xie 0811
Evelina Vu 0817

Here are the instructions direct from the Mayor's office - please read them carefully so you understand your duties because it might get pretty hectic during your shift!

Please arrive at your assignment between 10:00-10:30 a.m. but definitely not later than 10:30 a.m. You will be finished at 4:00 pm.

Upon arrival, check in with the Site Supervisor who will be wearing a square Volunteer button. There should be a table and chairs set up for you near the entrance. You will also find the following supplies: easel, Appreciation Day poster, and a box containing wrist bands, Event Guides and volunteer buttons for you to wear. Please return the button at the end of the day so we can use it again next year.

WRIST BANDS:

Free admission will be granted to San Francisco families with children. Your main job is to check IDÂ’s for proof of San Francisco residency, and distribute wristbands and Event Guides. You only need to check one adult in each group. One adult can bring in an unlimited number of children and adults. Give one wristband to each person. Do not to be too rigid about what people show as proof. Here are some examples of what people may use as proof of residency:

DriversÂ’ License
Utility Bill or other bill
SF School ID
Library Card
SF YMCA card
Other (use your best judgment)

There may be a few suburbanites who perhaps work in the city and feel they should be allowed free admission. Please explain it is for San Francisco families only but donÂ’t argue if they insist--use your best judgment.

Please keep your eye on the wristbands--- things tend to disappear. If you think you may run out please call Mary or Jill and they will bring more to you.

EVENT GUIDES

The Event Guide is for families to use today and throughout the year as a reference for family friendly attractions in San Francisco. It lists all participating attractions and any special programming they have on Family Appreciation Day. There are a limited number. Please only hand out ONE PER FAMILY. If you are running low call Mary (415-845-7079) or Jill (415-420-9887) and they will bring more to you.

SITES

The museums and attractions have been extraordinarily generous with us---they are not being reimbursed for lost admissions, and they have put a great deal of time into making sure the details are all in place. Please make sure to thank the staff for participating in the event. Also, please be respectful of their needs and requirements and assist them in any way possible. Finally, we have a duty to make sure our visitors donÂ’t damage the attractions in any way. Please involve the Site Leader, museum personnel or security if you think a problem is brewing that you cannot handle yourself.

Because there will be no central meeting location before volunteers are dispersed to their locations, all volunteers are required to print a copy of a verification slip to bring with them to the event to be filled out and signed by their adult supervisor. You can download the slip here, labeled "Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day Slips". There are three slips per page, so one person can print a sheet of the slips and share with two other group members to conserve paper.

Please remember to bring these slips with you to your location this Sunday because you will not receive credit if we do not receive a signed signed slip from you after the event as proof of yattendanceence.

This event is worth 6 credits (10 am to 4 pm). At the beginning of the year, we made it clear at our meetings that if you sign up for an event and find out that you can no longer attend, you have to let us know at least ONE WEEK in advance or else you will receive negative credits equal to the number of credits the event is worth. If you do not show up at an event you sign up for without notice, you will also receive negative credits equal to the number of credits the event is worth.

With that said, this event is worth SIX CREDITS, so if you do not show up at your assigned location or do not bring back a signed slip as proof of your attendance, you will most likely seriously jeopardize your active membership status for the Fall semester (unless you have enough extra credits to cover the negative six). Eight credits is required for active attendance for the Fall semester.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the event or our negative credit policies, please email us and we will be happy to work things out with you.

Thanks!

Hello there, MAD Clubbers! Here are the details for the SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party, which is also taking place this Sunday, January 7th. Different tasks have different start and finish times, so please pay special attention to the times of your specific shift listed below!

(The asterisk(*) means you signed up for this event through email, but were not present at today's meeting and did not get a chance to choose your preferred shift. If there are any problems with your assigned shift, please contact me ASAP and I will work something out with you.)

Coat Check 9 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Tiffany Lau
Angela Quach
Jonathan Siu*

Check-in 9 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Serene Ho
Alice Lan
Serena Luong*
Gloria Chen

Volunteer Check-in 9 am - 2 pm (4 credits)
Stephanie Yee
Tina Liu

Greeters/Info 10:30 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Wing Cheuk
Teresa Zhou
Diana Chen
Jason Jee

Coat Check 1 pm - 4 pm (3 credits)
Nancy Ma
Kelly Tam
Anne Yan

Greeters/Info 12:30 - 3 pm (3 credits)
Wendy Kwang
Carol Liang
Sirena Louie

Here are the details from the volunteer coordinator:

AIDS/LifeCycle Kick-Off Party Sunday January 7th

Nikko Hotel, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Grand Ballroom on the 3rd Floor, you should be able to hear people!

Contact: Emily'’s cell. Phone number is 415-902-4974 but you will be reporting to Volunteer Check-In on-site and they will tell you to which area to report.

Dress:

Casual nice so nicer jeans with closed toe shoes. You will receive a t-shirt when you arrive. Do not bring any valuables. There will be a coat check but access will be limited so fanny packs or other containers for your stuff (i.e. lip balm, cellphone, keys, wallet, etc.) that allow your hands to be free would be great!

Food:

There will be water for volunteers in the morning but no coffee and the food will not be out until after noon so plan accordingly. Thanks for understanding.

Directions:

The Nikko Hotel is located on Mason between O'Farrell and Ellis so it is really close to Powell Street Cable Turnaround and the underground Muni and BART Powell station. If you are at the Cable Car turnaround at Powell and Market go up Powell towards Union Sqauare. Cross and the next street you will come to is O'’Farrell. Go left at O'Farrell and after the next side street Cyril Magnin you will see an entrance to the Nikko at Mason on the left-hand side. Go on in and go up to the 3rd Floor. (You can go up Cyril Magnin but it's not as straight-forward so I gave the easy to explain way!)

TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION if possible because the Nikko is really central and parking is excruciatingly expensive downtown.

Because the different shifts for this event start at different times, we are requiring volunteers to print participation verification slips to bring with them to their shift to be filled out and signed by adult superviors in the vicinity. Slips can be downloaded here, labeled "SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party Slips." There are three slips per page, so one person can print a sheet of the slips and share with two other volunteers to conserve paper. A signed slip will serve as "signing in" at this event, so please remember to bring a copy of a slip with you to the event and don't forget to turn in the signed slips to us at the meetings after this event! You will not receive credit for this event if we do not receive some kind of signed verification of your participation.

If you forget to bring or lose your slip while you are working at the event, grab a piece of paper and write down all the information required on the slip and have an adult sign the slip of paper. We will accept this and give you credit. (This also applies to Family Appreciation Day.)

Please contact us with any questions you may have about this event!