Agency: Napa County Historical Society
Support Needed: $10,000
Purpose: Create an online catalogue of the library's collections

Napa County Historical Society (NCHS) wants to keep the Valley's rich history alive by blazing a trail into the Digital Age. The nonprofit was established in 1948 and is housed in the historic Goodman Library building in downtown Napa. After a seismic retrofit of the Goodman Library, NCHS re-opened the building in early 2007 and has been offering more robust exhibits and programs that illuminate the people and events of our region, and their place in California's history. A cadre of 25 volunteers provides historical research--free of charge--to visitors, 400 NCHS members and County residents alike. These volunteers, and a staff member, handle 350 requests annually. NCHS houses 10,000 archival items in 590 cubic feet, including: photographs; newspaper clippings; yearbooks; maps and drawings; oral history recordings; pamphlets; and obituaries. The nonprofit also boasts a tea room, decorated in Victorian style, similar to the way it was when the Goodman Library building opened in 1902. Total operating expenses for NCHS run about $100,000 per year; the organization has a full-time executive director and a part-time research and volunteer coordinator. Earlier this year, NCHS received a $22,000 matching grant from County of Napa TOT (Transient and Occupancy Tax) funds to create an online catalogue of its archives. The electronic catalog will be accessible via the World Wide Web; this means that anyone, near or far, will be just keystrokes and mouse-clicks away from a treasure trove of documents and ephemera. The goal: to make NCHS's unique collection accessible to more history buffs, especially those who want to do their own research. About 12 percent has already been catalogued (staff and volunteers are doing the cataloging). Completion date for this ambitious project is 2011. Total budget for the effort is $60,000, with $52,000 for staff time, and the balance for hardware and software. NCHS has raised $7,000 from the Giles W. and Elise G. Mead Foundation, and has a $20,000 grant pending from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. What's needed now is $10,000 in matching funds to keep the project moving forward. Your support will help NCHS improve access to our Valley's history, for visitors and residents alike.

Agency: Community Health Clinic Olé
Support Needed: $6,000
Purpose: Costs for Bi-National Health Week program

Three years ago, a group of community members joined in a large-scale mobilization effort to improve the well-being of Latin American immigrants and migrants. The cross-border initiative is called Bi- National Health Week, and was started by the Mexican government and University of California, Berkeley. These entities partner with nonprofits and public health agencies in areas around the United States that have large populations of Latino immigrants or migrants. The goal is for local groups to stage events that promote positive physical and emotional health among under-served Latinos. Napa County's Bi-National Health Week Task Force is comprised of representatives from both hospitals in Napa Valley, Community Health Clinic Olé, Napa Valley Community Housing, and others. The Task Force launched in 2005 with a one-day Bi-National Health & Wellness Fair that reached more than 400 Latino residents. Since then, the Task Force added several more events and now reaches a total of 1,100 Latinos throughout the year. The 2008 Health Fair drew 700 people and provided free screenings and exams for a broad range of conditions, including blood sugar, glaucoma, anemia and bone density. Other Bi-National Health Week programs include a Latina Women's Conference for low-income, new-immigrant and disenfranchised women (this year, 125 women received health assessments and listened to presentations on mental health); an event targeted to elderly Latinos (100 will participate this year and learn about services and ways to engage in community life); and, a U.S. Citizenship Fair (helps a few dozen Latinos with permanent residency status to complete their citizenship applications and prepare for citizenship exams). Budget for all six events is $24,225, which pencils out to $22 per attendee. The Task Force is fundraising for the final three events, which themselves cost $15,000; $9,000 has been committed from both hospitals and UC Berkeley. A balance of $6,000 remains. Support of this program would promote well-being among Latino community members.

Editor's note: Community Health Clinic Olé serves as fiscal sponsor for grants to Bi-National Health Week.

Agency: The Baum Foundation
Support Needed: $15,000
Purpose: Expenses for permanent outdoor installation at The Oxbow School

Throughout history, gardens have represented the mythical, as well as the practical. Gardens also can be a canvas of expression. A group of Bay Area artists has established a program, called The Garden of Forking Paths, to experiment with gardens as symbols of time, culture and contemplation. The group's pilot project is a permanent outdoor installation on the campus of The Oxbow School, a nonprofit interdisciplinary art program for high school students. The installation contains traditional elements--edible plants and grasses that meander around pathways and rest under pergolas of wild roses. These bucolic components are juxtaposed with human-made structures, including: a machine artifact; a contemplation room and a moored rowboat. With this design, the artists want to evoke themes from American pastoral literature, namely the tension between rural and industrial life. Oxbow students will use the installation as learning and science labs, and as an art studio. For instance, themes will come to life as kids study Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain or river ecology; the space also will serve as inspiration for their drawing and painting assignments. The installation, which also will be open to the public, is tucked in a corner of Oxbow's campus, where the Napa River's "bow" twists and turns. Work crews of professional artists and landscapers, and Oxbow students, began construction last spring, and plan to complete the project next year. Oxbow already has benefitted from introductions to some of the professional artists working on the installation. While Oxbow is not doing any fundraising, the school will be responsible for the installation's upkeep--students will work the grounds as part of their gardening class. Budget for this permanent installation is roughly $135,000; structural elements comprise the majority ($45,000), followed by artists' honoraria ($31,000). So far, Forking Paths has raised $80,000 from foundations, corporations and individual donors. Your support would ensure this unique art-and-nature installation comes to full fruition.

Editor's note: The Baum Foundation (a 501c(3) public charity) serves as fiscal sponsor for grants to The Garden of Forking Paths.