Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

For the past four years, I have been volunteering with City of Dreams, a mentoring program that works with kids and young adults in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.

I have been a mentor to a lovely and talented girl named Karen for two years. Karen is now 13, and is blossoming from a shy little girl into a confident and poised young woman. We've gone ice skating, hiking, rowboating and West Coast Swing dancing among other fun outings, and through the City of Dreams program, she has taken on leadership roles, and is now a junior mentor!

Karen is a good student and wants to be a veterinarian, and we've visited the veterinary school at UC Davis to give her an idea of what it means to reach that goal. She is curious, adventurous and brave, and through the junior mentor program, she is becoming a leader within City of Dreams and is learning skills including public speaking and how to run a meeting.

One time Karen left me a phone message and accidentally said, "Hi, this is Karen, your mentor." But that's not far from the truth because I feel like I've benefited as much as she has since we've been paired up. In trying to set a good example for her, I've had to set the bar higher for myself in a number of ways. And her sense of responsibility is helpful -- as I run around between all the activities in my life, Karen will remind me to return my library books. "All you have to do is renew over the phone," she says.

On the Saturday outings with the rest of the City of Dreams kids, it has been remarkable to see them grow over the past few years, physically and otherwise. It was really amazing to see shy Dontrell, for example, who once hid under a table and pouted because I wouldn't buy him $8 french fries at an event, suddenly standing up in front of a whole room of people giving a presentation on a poster he and his team had created.

City of Dreams is so good for these kids, and gives them what I think is the key to surviving difficult childhood circumstances: A sense of self and what is possible.

We're doing our annual fundraising drive, and my goal is to raise $500 to support the program. The money goes toward food for the Saturday outings, travel costs, supplies and other necessities.

Donating through this website is simple, fast and secure. Many thanks for your support -- even $10 will help a great deal -- and please forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Melissa