Magazine

Courtesy of Pets in Need

Omar Jimenez of Pets In Need feeds Sadie while Buddy watches.

With the family working and studying at home, and vacations pretty much on hold, the pandemic-induced lockdown may seem like the perfect time for an addition – of the four-legged variety – to the household.

Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity

Volunteers build a home for Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley.

Volunteering is at the heart of many local nonprofit organizations, which often rely on those willing to give their time and resources back to the community. However, the coronavirus pandemic has diminished or at least altered most service opportunities.

Megan v. Winslow/Town Crier file photo

Children meet a goat at Hidden Villa, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the 1920s, Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills has been a hub for wildlife education and exposure to the natural world, inviting schools, families and other members of the public to explore its farm, garden and trails.

Courtesy of Ryan Juran

Decathlon Sports Club’s adventures like a beach run, pictured here in 2019, draw special power from the teenage leaders who graduate from camper to counselor and return to share their traditions and continue to play, in a new role.

“Summer fun” makes a very broad promise, but Decathlon Sports Club’s slogan captures a founding intent that has brought kids together to play for 40 years in Los Altos.

Courtesy of Mindy Meyers

In-person camps relied on careful spacing this year, but for Cooking Round the World, expanded online programming reached a new breadth of campers, extending beyond the Bay Area.

It took a sprinkle of spellworking, but a crew of young sous-chefs descended the peaks of Morocco, hovered over Cambodian rice paddies and surveyed the blue domes of Greece from their humble kitchens at home.

Courtesy of Palo Alto Children’s Theatre

The rare in-person studio dance session did occur this year for youth programs like Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, but vastly expanded, sometimes experimental online offerings made the biggest mark.

Performance intersected with technology a little too much this year for most of us, as many of our most personal and professional moments had to happen through a screen.