November in Pasadena begins the holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving. I’m especially grateful for the generosity of our community this year, as the pandemic continues to create financial struggles for many businesses and non-profits. Our team has worked hard to create grants and opportunities to help small businesses in our area. The Pasadena Cares Financial Assistance Grant program was a huge success, with almost 200 businesses getting grant assistance.

In an effort to help our local students, the Pasadena Education Foundation will hold a virtual telethon this year in lieu of their annual statewide basketball tournament. The Pasadena Philharmonic Orchestra is also promoting a donation campaign at www.keepthemusic.org.

Our annual Pasadena Food Drive was blessed again by the generosity of our city’s businesses, schools and residents. There is still time to donate online by clicking here.

As we head into the holiday season, it’s especially important to be aware of health and safety. We have created a special online resource with information and educational videos for residents.

Please have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Questions about our vacation watch program? What’s the best way to keep a Christmas tree from drying out? Helpful tips and more can be found on our Holiday Safety Webpage.

The Pasadena Police Department and the Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department have officially moved into their new training facilities. A joint ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held for these long awaited facilities and will ensure our first responders have the most up-to-date training.

Every year our staff at the Madison Jobe Senior Center recognizes our Senior Veterans. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, our team had to get creative. The result was a safe, heartfelt event that reminds us how much we owe these heroes. Click here for photos.

Our 10^th annual Pasadena Food Drive looked a lot different this year, but the generosity and love from our community hasn’t changed. We collected over 20K pounds of food to be distributed to six local pantries. You can still donate online at www.pasadenatx.gov/FoodDrive

The Pasadena Cares Financial Grant Assistance program helped almost 200 local small businesses recently. A variety of businesses received help, ranging from restaurants to hair salons. We salute these hard-working companies and thank them for all they bring to Pasadena.