Whether you're a student wanting to participate in community service projects or a parent wanting to offer help to an M-A student or family, opportunities abound at M-A! The programs that the PTA supports include:

• Computer Donation Program
• Outreach Holiday Gift Drive
• Project Backpack
• Canned Food Drive
• Gift Card Donations

Computer Donation Program

Do you or your company have an old computer (working or not), monitor, printer or computer parts that you don't need anymore? The M-A PTA refurbishes old computer equipment for students who do not have access to a computer at home. Since the program started in 1999, over 5000 computers have been supplied to hard-working, deserving M-A students!

All information is securely erased from the hard drives before loading new software and distributing them.

If you have one (or a truckload!) to donate, please contact Sue Kayton at 650-853-1711 or kayton@alum.mit.edu.

Please click here for detailed donation guidelines.

Outreach Holiday Gift Drive

The PTA supports the annual Holiday Gift Drive, sponsored by the Outreach Club, with partial financial backing and organizational help. The program provided 39 M-A families with gifts during the 2008 holiday season. Outreach, along with other M-A clubs, school departments, teachers and parents, adopt specific families. Gifts are purchased, wrapped and personally delivered to the recipients based on a wish list that they provide.

Outreach Club's Project Backpack

In its 12th year in 2009-2010, Project Backpack is a community service program designed to allow Menlo-Atherton students to interact with and assist the homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Each year M-A's Outreach collects donations of backpacks or small duffel bags and fills them with gently used scarves, gloves hats, warm clothes as well as new toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos and other toiletries or health supplies.

After school on January 23, 2009, approximately 50 students distributed the packs in the Tenderloin district along with cookies, hot chocolate, and a list of resources in the area that provide additional services to help people get off the streets. In 2007 about 200 backpacks were delivered. This event is the highlight of many Outreach members' service careers in high school.

Questions? Email outreach@mabearspta.org or stop by an Outreach meeting Mondays at lunch in G-4. All students are welcome to be a part of Project Backpack!

2010-2011 Outreach Club Support Co-Chair:

Pam Songer

Canned Food Drive

The Canned Food Drive is held in November and December and organized by the Leadership Students. M-A students and staff collect money and non-perishable food in an effort to feed about 400 to 500 M-A families and others in the community. The food drive kicks off in November when students start "canning" - collecting non-perishable foods and donations of money outside of grocery stores. M-A families also send in donations to school. The money that is donated is used to purchase perishable items.

In December at the end of the drive each family receives at least two weeks worth of canned food, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, a large bag of rice and whole chickens.

Adult volunteers are needed the last week of the drive to help the students sort and pack the food into family-sized boxes. Adults are also needed to help deliver the boxes to M-A families on the final Saturday of the food drive.

The food drive started many years ago in Coach Parks' garage. In 1999, the food drive was moved on-campus when Mr. Fontana, the new Activity Director at the time, involved Leadership Students. Over the years the numbers of cans collected has grown from 5,200 to 120,000 in 2008!

2010-2011 Canned Food Drive Co-Chairs:

Julie Brody
Jill Smith

Donations of Gift Cards

Looking for a meaningful but easy way to help the M-A community? Donate gift certificates or gift cards in the amount of $5, $10 or $15 from Safeway, Target or Walgreens! The certificates will be given to M-A students by the Administration for stop-gap support of their basic, immediate needs.

Gift cards can be put in the PTA mail box in the main office. If you prefer, donations of cash can also be left in the box with a note explaining it is for Outreach gift cards. We cannot accept checks for the gift cards.

650.322.5311