From Human Sun Media:

December 3rd is the official release date of Saniel Bonder’s serio-comic fantasy novel, Ultimaya 1.0: The Trouble with the Wishes of Leopold Stokes. To celebrate and launch the book officially, we’re holding a book reading and signing at the BodyWorks Yoga Studio in Petaluma, CA. There’ll be music, light snacks — maybe even a little champagne! — and a lot of fun as a bunch of us gather to welcome this two-decades-in-the-making book into the world.

“It’s obviously written by a spiritual master who is, at the same time, a regular guy — a man with a gift for taking us from the mundane to the fantastic, from everyday consciousness to ecstatic bliss. I felt my awareness expand and contract as the journey unfolded, swept up by this delicious metaphysical adventure story, a cross between Tron, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Harry Potter.” Lion Goodman, The Shift Network.

And, we’re making the evening partly also a benefit for Petaluma’s premier charity for the homeless, COTS (Committee on the Shelterless). We’ve been COTS donors since living in Petaluma from 2005-2007. And for the past five years, starting in February 2006, Saniel has co-hosted a twice-or-more-weekly meditation at the BodyWorks Yoga Studio, along with BodyWorks owner-proprietor Jean Grant-Sutton.

The result? This winter the “Sit & Serve” team will have given more than $8,000 to COTS over the years. Subsidizing hot meals for the hungry at about $2 a plate, or a safe, warm, dry bed for a shelterless person at about $15 a night, or a superbly effective $300 training program to help such a person get her own home again…you can do the math; that’s a lot of help to those in need.

To honor and carry that tradition forward, we’re happy to offer COTS a third of the proceeds on each copy of Ultimaya 1.0 sold at the launch — or any time during that day, December 3rd, through our webstore online. So if you like, you can join the launch party that way from a distance!

Summary: Combination launch party for Ultimaya 1.0 and benefit for COTS
Date & time: Saturday, December 3, 7:30-9:30 pm
Venue: BodyWorks Yoga Studio, 490 2nd St., in Petaluma, California

In just a few days it will be turkey time at the Petaluma Kitchen.  On November 18 we need to have about 450 turkeys on hand to give to the families on our Food Box Program for their Thanksgiving Day meal.  We invite you to participate in this turkey give-away.  Here is how you can help:

Bring your frozen turkey, 20 lbs. or less, to the Petaluma Kitchen now located at the Mary Isaak Center, 900 Hopper St., any day from 7am – 2 pm.  For food safety purposes, please do not bring thawed or cooked turkeys.   Since the grocers limit the number of turkeys one can purchase, we need you to bring us the turkeys instead of money to purchase them.  However, we will be happy to accept monetary donations for other foods.

Thank you in advance for the blessing you will bring to hungry families this holiday season!

Celebrating Halloween in Petaluma? Trick or Treat at Cavity Cove on D Street, and benefit COTS!

Dear COTS supporters,

Thanks to an anonymous gift, COTS is able to provide emergency rental assistance to individuals and families in our community who are facing a temporary financial setback.  This is part of our efforts to prevent homelessness, saving families and communities thousands of dollars.

Those who receive assistance commit to meet for an hour once a month for four months with a volunteer budget coach, who helps them create and realize financial goals. These meetings vary widely depending on the assistance recipient. Some need help prioritizing and anticipating their expenses, scheduling payments and deciding where to make changes. Others might want help communicating with creditors or organizing their financial records. One team has created a spread sheet so that an independent contractor-artisan can more accurately track his business profits and expenses.  

COTS provides coaches with a manual from the Master Money Mentor program developed by the Ohio State University Extension program.

The ideal candidate will understand the basics of money management and be comfortable working with another person one-on-one.

We have a number of coaches volunteering already, but demand for rental assistance has outstripped our supply of volunteers. To learn more, please contact Eileen Morris at .

Eileen Morris

COTS Rent Right Manager

Thank you for your fabulous generosity in helping furnish our new Integrity House. A few items still are needed…

 

 

We’ve been very happy with the excellent job that UPrinting does with our annual calender. Thank you UPrinting!

Partner with COTS at our annual Fundraising Breakfast!  Together we can strengthen our community safety net for hungry and homeless children and their families and other adults in need!

Please RSVP by November 2, 2011.

Email: 

For more information about this important community event, please call Deborah Breitbach at 

The Petaluma Kitchen needs your help. We deliver over 200 boxes of groceries to low income families and seniors in our community every Saturday. Volunteers deliver these boxes every week.

You can volunteer on your own or coordinate a group of 5 friends that combine their efforts by ‘owning’ a route – that way each friend volunteers just one Saturday a month.

Drivers should be able to lift 40 lbs, respect the confidentiality of food recipients, and have at least 5 years of driving experience. In addition, COTS will need a copy of your current driver’s license and auto insurance.

Here’s a two-minute video about this program.

To volunteer or to find out more, contact COTS Volunteer Coordinator

707-765-6530 x111