Redwood City presents Welcoming Star awards

“We’re able to see that people are still pulling together for our common good, for common will of community. … There’s a greater sense in collaboration and adapting,” said Rafael Avendaño, the executive director of Redwood City 2020, a community collaborative of 10 nonprofits and public core member organizations and hundreds of other community-based organizations. 

The Miracle League of the San Francisco Peninsula is a nonprofit which hosts a biannual baseball league for children and adults with special needs, partnering players with volunteers who assists the player throughout the game. Despite COVID-19 halting games this year, players and buddies have stayed connected through a pen pal program hosted by the organization.  

“Children and adults who have never been … included are able to not just play baseball but also be a part of a community, that they do not have to just sit on the sidelines but instead are the stars,” said Ilana Winawer, the registration coordinator and executive secretary of the Miracle League. 

Also honored was the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, which has provided needed resources to underserved families in North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park. During the pandemic, the organization provided students with in-person work spaces for online learning and to-go dinners for anyone who needs it.  

“The Boys and Girls club always responds to the needs of the community in so many ways and pivots their mission to cater to needs of the community,” said Avendaño.