August 2019 | sunflowerhill.org
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August 6, 2019 
Fun and Productive Summer Harvest!
Thank you to all who participated in our Summer Harvest Family Workday last Saturday! Families were able to enjoy cooking demonstrations from Culinary Angels , yoga for all abilities led by our Executive Director, Edie Nehls, face-painting, a fun-filled scavenger hunt, and of course, harvesting lots of sweet summer produce. T he total amount of produce harvested at this event was 318.7 lbs. WOW! 


A special thanks to Lisa McNaney and her team from Culinary Angels for the delicious, healthy snacks and to our volunteers for ensuring the day ran smoothly.   
Check out photos from the event here.
 

Looking forward to spending another fun-filled day in the Garden? Don't miss our Fall Pumpkin Festival on October 26. It's guaranteed to be a spooktacular good time!

Moonlight in the Vines - A Magical Evening!

Moonlight in the Vines ~ Christmas in July was a great success! To our community of supporters, thank you for your generosity, good will and joyful spirits! We were thrilled to have approximately 340 guests in attendance who generously donated over $150,000 on the night of the event! Your incredible support enables Sunflower Hill to create programs and build residential communities for adults who identify as intellectually and developmentally disabled.


In addition, we were delighted to recognize our founder, Susan Houghton, with the 2019 Rainmaker Award!  As Board President for the past seven years, Susan's passion, dedication, and creativity transformed Sunflower Hill into the thriving organization that it is today.

Thank you to Casey Henshaw of Little Rae Photography for capturing our event beautifully. You can see the evening's pictures here.

Thank you again to our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, and guests for making the 2019 Moonlight in the Vines another success!

Sunflower Hill Chosen as Beneficiary to Pleasanton Young Professional's Charity on Tap!

The Pleasanton Young Professionals are holding their 3rd annual Charity on Tap on Sunday, September 8 from  1:30-4 p.m. at  the Square on the patio at the Pleasanton Hotel. We are honored to be their beneficiary this year and hope you will join us for all the fun! Tickets can be purchased here.

In addition,   Porky's Pizza Palace - Pleasanton will be hosting a Porky's Giveback on Wednesday, August 21 from 5-8 p.m., where t he PYP board will be working the bar at Porky's for tips. All tips as well as 20% of your purchase will be added to the Charity on tap proceeds and donated to Sunflower Hill (dine in only). Bring in the yellow flyer below to Porky's for the Giveback.

Both events are sure to be a great time and we thank the Pleasanton Chamber PYPs and Porky's Pizza Palace for their incredible support of Sunflower Hill! 

 
Summer Interns at the Sunflower Hill Gardens
SFH Gardens Intern, Blake

This summer Sunflower Hill has four interns working under the guidance of SFH Vocational Coach, Allison Arons and Career Enhancement Intern, Katie Fenner. Interns Blake, Kyle, Ryan and Cory work closely with Allison and Katie to develop their gardening skills, gaining valuable work experience as they assist with harvesting our delicious produce and supporting the special needs ranchers who visit the garden each week.  

SFH Gardens Intern, Ryan
We thought you might like to hear about their activities: Kyle stated that he's been doing "a lot of weeding, and learning how to harvest ripe fruit from unripe fruit. I clean and bleach the harvest sink and I take care of the compost each day." Blake has been "helping with the mulch. It can be hard sometimes because you need a lot of strength. But I don't mind doing it - I like it. I've also been picking stuff for our snacks with Ryan like strawberries cucumbers tomatoes and ground cherries. I got to try the peaches and cucumbers, they were good!" And to hear what Ryan had to say, check out his video here .

We hope you will enjoy some of our delectable produce this summer by stopping by the farm stand on Saturday mornings from 9:30 a.m.- noon.

House Passes Autism Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support, or Autism CARES, Act, by a voice vote last Wednesday.  Over  $ 1.8 billion in government spending on autism efforts is one step closer to being approved , and now goes to the Senate for consideration.   You can read more on this important legislation here
Upcoming Events


Sunday, August 18: Breakfast at the Stable Cafe
Wednesday, August 21: Porky's Pizza Palace Giveback to 
Sunflower Hill
Sunday, September 8: Charity on Tap
Saturday, Oct. 26: Fall Festival  Family Workday



Sunflower Hill | | info@sunflowerhill.org | Phone 925.231.6003
P.O. Box 11436 Pleasanton, CA 94588