Yesterday I took part in a big community event and I wanted to share with you the great joy of the results. After all the planning and networking for the Project 680 Foot Drive, I am very pleased to say we collected 2,706 pairs of new socks for homeless students in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD). The tally for financial contributions has not been calculated yet, and the number of socks will only rise in coming days too as donations trickle in (just like 150 pairs came in since I took a picture of the calculator app below).

This is great news for me to start the day and I am so pleased how the community came together to rally around a cause as basic as collecting new socks for homeless students. You can check out the Project 680 website or Facebook page for details and read some really great stories about community members making this happen.

We cannot easily solve some of the bigger problems we face in society, but when we put our hand to the plow we can often do small things to make a dent in real local issues. This is exactly what happened last night and this is often how change begins.

Have a wonderful day of life and business.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

I’m elated to announce very successful results for the Project 680 Underwear Drive. Last night we had a finale BBQ and we counted 2,983 pairs of new underwear that were donated by the community for the sake of homeless students in the FCUSD. This effort was pulled off by a long list of so many community members, churches and businesses.

I’d like to personally thank Orange County Cellular, Coldwell Banker Steve Ostrom & Team, CTP Business & Personal Development Coaching,  Jenny Lundquist – Author, Market Small, Body Investment Studio, The Appraisal IQ, Janice McNally Appraiser & Vice-Mayor David Sander for responding to a specific vision from my company to team up to knock out a chunk of Project 680′s overall goal. It was so good to be a unified front for this vision and we did it together! Here is some footage from the finale BBQ last night. Enjoy.

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love” Mother Teresa

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

What can it look like for local businesses and households to network together for the sake of homeless students? I wanted to share a vision with you and ask you to consider getting involved.

Project 680 is doing an underwear drive for homeless students, so I figured a group of us could team up to help this important effort by pitching in. If 17 local businesses or familes each donate 25 pairs of underwear and my company donates 100, we’ll hit 500 pairs with ease. This team-approach will help us maximize results and put a big dent in Project 680′s goal to collect nearly 3000 pairs of new underwear by May 11, 2011.

If you do join the team, you’ll get a link below, links on the Project 680 website and SacTube, recognition on the P680 Facebook page, kudos on Twitter (and some other stuff too). Of course, the best thing you’ll get is the knowledge you did something good.

The All-Star Project 680 Donor Team
1.   Orange County Cellular
2.   JanMac Appraisals (Janice McNally)
3.   RosevilleandRocklin.com: Coldwell Banker Steve Ostrom & Team
4.   CTP Business & Personal Development Coaching
5.   Jenny Lundquist – Author
6.   Market Small
7.   Body Investment Studio       
8.   Soroptimist Organization in Rancho Cordova
9.   Mitchell Middle School in Rancho Cordova PTSA   
10.  Vice-Mayor David Sander City of Rancho Cordova     
11.  TBA      
12.  TBA      
13.  TBA      
14.  TBA      
15.  TBA      
16. TBA
17.   Lundquist Appraisal Company

This is a great way to maximize results and do a little good together. Business isn’t just about making money, but about making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved.

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

You might remember me heading to Kansas City last June for the All-America City Awards. It was a real honor to be a part of the team from Rancho Cordova due to my involvement with Project 680. Anyway, the National Civic League interviewed me via Skype last week, so I wanted to share it with you in case you might be interested to hear some of what I think about local government and civic engagement. Enjoy. 

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

I wanted to let everyone know that Project 680 will be holding an underwear drive for homeless students from April 1 to May 11, 2011. A group of neighbors and I founded Project 680 a few years ago to address student homelessness in our community. I wanted to invite you to consider getting involved. This is a grassroots effort with no paid staff and it’s all about local households, businesses, churches and organizations coming together to advocate for local kids. Please see www.project680.org/underwear-2011 for more information and check out a video announcement below. Thank you so much for your support.

If you have any real estate appraisal, valuation consulting, or property tax appeal needs, contact me at 916.595.3735, www.LundquistCompany.com or via Facebook.

It’s been a great week of business, but one of the most exciting things I have to talk about is the official hooded-sweatshirt count for Project 680. Our goal was to collect 680 new sweatshirts (“hoodies”) for homeless students in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, and I am very pleased to announce that 735 hoodies were gathered by residents, churches, businesses, and organizations.

It’s been amazing to see intentional compassion spread throughout the community. Watch a video thank you below or HERE for details. For more information on Project 680, contact me or see www.project680.org or the P680 Facebook page.

What do Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, business in the Sacramento area, and local charities have in common? If you’re near the Holiday Inn in Rancho Cordova tomorrow, come on out to the “Networking for Charity” event. I’m really looking forward to connecting with local businesses, as well as representing Project 680, one of the charity organizations to benefit from this festive networking event.  

From the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce website:

Join the Holiday Inn Rancho Cordova and the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce in raising money for local charities. Not only will we be raising money for our community, but there will be over 50 business exibitors to network with. Food and entertainment will be provided by Holiday Inn Rancho Cordova. All the proceeds will be going to the local charities. We are excited to be presenting this event on December 3, 2010 from Noon to 5:00 pm

December 3, 2010, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Holiday Inn Rancho Cordova
11269 Point East Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742

If you’ve been spending any time reading this blog (thank you), you’ve heard me talk recently about Project 680 and a drive to collect 680 new hooded sweatshirts for homeless students in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. Well, last night we had our finale celebration at Rancho Cordova City Hall and I am very pleased and excited to officially announce we met our goal of 680 hoodies since we counted a total of 687 hoodies last night.

It’s been amazing to watch the community rally together for the sake of homeless students in the FCUSD. Local residents, businesses, churches and organizations really stepped up their game to to make this happen. Thank you everyone for your team-oriented mindset and support, whether big or small. 

Here is a brief video I shot to give you a glimpse into last night’s festivities.

I wanted to share with you that there are three weeks left in the Project 680 Hoody Drive. It’s been great to see everyone get involved so far, and I’d love to see others embrace the vision too. We definitely have some work left in our quest to collect 680 hoodies for homeless students in the FCUSD. Let’s keep going strong and advocate for homeless kids in this very practical and relevant way. If you have any questions or a desire to get involved, let me know.

By the way, this was the first video I took with my Flip Ultra 4GB video camera. I am really excited to have this camera. The lighting wasn’t great and there is a freeway close by, so settings weren’t ideal, but overall I am impressed with the quality so far for a $150 product. Are you a Flip owner?

Beyond appraisals, Project 680 is something really important to me, so I wanted you to know what is going on. We’ll be doing a community hoody drive beginning this month. This is such a simple idea and practical way to advocate for local homeless students. Together we can make a difference. 

If you can’t see the video in RSS, click here. There are many ways to get involved in the flow of what we are doing (the video explains it all). Even if you aren’t local, I’d love to have you join forces and definitely take a photo for the photography contest. I’d love to have some blog readers submit photos. That would make my day.

Questions? More information? Call 916.595.3735, see www.project680.org/hoody, catch us Twitter @project680, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/project680.

As I mentioned previously, I’ll be heading to Kansas City next week as a part of delegation from the city of Rancho Cordova for the All-America City Awards. I wanted to invite you to follow this exciting journey next Wednesday through Friday through videos, Facebook & Twitter. Technology is going to help us connect!!! It should be great fun. Watch the videos below or here and here.

I’ll be posting from Kansas City mainly from my Twitter account @SacAppraiser and I’ll be getting some videos up at www.facebook.com/Project680 (directly on my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/lundquistco). The official hash-tag on Twitter is #AllAmericaCity (note it is not “American”, but “America”). I’d love to hear from you during my stint in Kansas City. Your support will be a huge encouragement.

This is a real honor for me to represent Project 680 and my city. Go Rancho Cordova!!!!

I’m getting ready to head out to Kansas City in a couple of weeks for the All-America City Awards. The City of Rancho Cordova was selected as a finalist in the competition this year, and I am honored to be a part of the delegation to make the trek to Missouri. My role on the team will be to represent Project 680. I’m very excited to get to travel for a few days, be a team player for my city, and meet so many wonderful people.

Here is a synopsis of the All-America City Award competition from their website:

The National Civic League recognizes ten communities each year for outstanding civic accomplishments. To win, each community must demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges.

I’ve never been to Missouri. What should I expect in KC? Is there anything I should definitely try to do while I’m there?