By Town Crier Staff

Community Services Agency (CSA) of Mountain View and Los Altos has scheduled “Hometown Heroes,” its annual community breakfast, Sept. 5. The breakfast event, sponsored this year by El Camino Hospital, honors the businesses, groups, churches and individuals who have made a substantial community impact by assisting CSA in its mission to serve those in need in our community.

This year’s honorees are Los Altos-based Rambus Inc. and Los Altos Hills resident Jeff Skoll of the Skoll Foundation.

Rambus was instrumental during the 2002 holiday season assisting with CSA’s Holiday Sharing program, a food and toy drive for disadvantaged families. The company hosted one of the most successful toy drives in recent history and sent a team of employees to assist CSA with distribution of the toys to the families. Rambus employee teams also volunteered to help sort and distribute holiday food bags throughout the holiday season.

The Skoll Foundation, founded by Jeff Skoll, offered innovative financial relief and support to many of the area’s public benefit corporations through the creation of the Urgency Fund. This fund was designed to help Silicon Valley non-profits weather the economic downturn that began post Sept. 11, 2001, and continues today. Eighty- seven grants, totaling $2.99 million, were awarded in two separate rounds to 54 area organizations. CSA alone was awarded over $85,000 in much needed relief from this fund through the end of fiscal year 2002.

Both Rambus Inc. and Jeff Skoll exemplify the spirit of Hometown Heroes — those who give selflessly of their time and resources to aid others in our community.

Jim Thompson, founder and executive director of Positive Coaching Alliance, a non-profit organization based at Stanford University with the mission of “transforming youth sports so that sports can transform youth,” has been named keynote speaker. Since its founding in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance has launched a movement to transform the culture of youth sports so that every young athlete playing sports can have a terrific time while learning life lessons. Thompson will share his knowledge of the impact that positive coaching has on our youth and our entire community.

He is the author of “Positive Coaching: Building Character and Self-Esteem through Sports” and “Shooting in the Dark: Tales of Coaching and Leadership.” His third book, “The Double Goal Coach: Positive Coaching Tools to Help Parents and Coaches Honor the Game and Develop Winners in Sports and Life,” was released this month.

Thompson also teaches courses in leadership, coaching, and sport and spirituality in Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program.

Tickets are $40 each, $500 for table sponsors (includes table for 10 and table sign) or $1,000 for Major Underwriters (includes preferred seating table of 10, table sign, acknowledgment of company in program and printed material and recognition from the podium).

Hometown Heroes Breakfast is scheduled 7:30-9:00 a.m., Sept. 5, at Hyatt Rickey’s in Palo Alto. To reserve a table or a ticket, call 968-0836, ext. 147. The deadline for reservations is Sept. 2.