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Wish Book 2019

Please check a box next to each wish and enter the amount you'd like to give toward that wish. Donations to the general fund help to grant ALL wishes. (Please note: the minimum online donation amount is $10.)

Then click "give securely" at the bottom to continue.

The San Jose Mercury News covers all the online transaction fees so 100% of your gift goes to the charities you designate.

For the Wish Book general fund, to be applied to all wishes.
Donations will help ACCESS, the Auxiliary of Good Samaritan Hospital, pay for housing for NICU parents in a fully furnished apartment within walking distance to the hospital. Goal: $35,000
Donations will help Alannah's family buy her a new hospital bed that can tilt, relieve pressure and keep her cool/dry. Goal: $55,000
Donations will help Alum Rock Counseling Center launch a Family Reunification Fund to help families heal after being torn apart by challenges such as substance abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness. Donations will also help the Barajas family start a college fund. Goal: $25,000
Donations will support Bill Wilson Center's Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program, which provides immediate crisis intervention and support to first responders, families and the community following incidents such as natural disasters, school shootings or other emergencies. Goal: $25,000
Donations will help Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley support its education and career development programs for low-income Santa Clara County youth ages 6-18. Goal: $20,000
Donations will support the Community Services Agency emergency financial assistance program, which helps low-income residents with rent, utilities, healthcare needs and transportation. Goal: $5,000
Donations will help Friends of Independence Network buy a wheelchair-accessible van for Independence Network, an educational, vocational and life skills program that serves adults with disabilities in the Santa Clara County area. Goal: $50,000
Donations will help Healthier Kids Foundation provide vision screening, glasses and replacement glasses for underserved children in Santa Clara County, and help buy a new photo optic screening system so more children can be vision screened. Goal: $22,300
Donations will help Heart of the Valley, Services for Seniors to continue helping seniors live independently by offering support such as free transportation and assistance with household tasks. Goal: $15,000
Donations will help Hearts & Minds Activity Center provide more than a year of dementia-specific adult day care services for its lowest-income clients. Goal: $35,000
Donations will help Hope Services provide job coaching services for 33 adults with developmental disabilities. Goal: $20,000
Donations will help Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley provide holocaust survivors with assistance for basic necessities along with counseling, care planning and care giver support. Goal: $25,000
Donations will help Latinas Contra Cancer provide support services and supplies such as wigs and prostheses for low-income Hispanic women diagnosed with cancer. Goal: $20,000
Donations will support Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen's Hot Nutritious Meals Program, providing 6,500 meals for children, families, veterans, seniors, disabled individuals, and the homeless in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Goal: $10,000
Donations will help Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley fix a leaky roof and other issues at Vianey Villegas’ house in South San Jose through its no-cost home repair program for low-income homeowners. Goal: $20,000
Donations will help Schmahl Science Workshops provide hands-on science programs to 60 classrooms in Santa Clara County. Goal: $15,000
Donations will help the Seven Trees Community Center replace music and recording equipment to rebuild the center's youth music program that serves underprivileged teens. Goal: $30,000
Donations will help St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County buy 400 camping grade sleeping bags for homeless clients. Goal: $10,000
Donations will help Sunday Friends provide weekly classes for low-income families on topics such as financial literacy, parent engagement, pathways to college and life skills. Goal: $20,000
Donations will help Via Services expand the farm program at its special needs camp in Cupertino which serves children, teens and adults with developmental, physical and intellectual disabilities. Goal: $20,000
Donations will help Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired fund its Shared Paths program, which offers outdoor activities for adults with vision loss. Goal: $6,100
 

Total: $

Donation FAQ

Yes. Donations to the Wish Book Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, are tax deductible. The tax ID number is 77-0229665

NO! All donations are held in strict confidence. The Wish Book Fund will not provide donor information to anyone. Names are published on this website and in The Mercury News only with your permission. We take donor privacy very seriously and only publish names when we have your consent.

Yes. You can also send your donation by mail using this downloadable donation form. Fill out the coupon, attach your check or credit card information (please do not send cash) and mail it to:

The Mercury News Wish Book
c/o MediaNewsGroup
P.O. Box 909, San Jose, CA 95106 

Yes. Donations are accepted year round. Just go to the donation page. Please note that direct donations to certain Wishes may be fulfilled, but you can still contribute to the general fund, which will be distributed to local charities throughout the year.

Sorry, we are unable to manage donations of any type of goods, including toys, holiday food baskets, clothing, furniture, automobiles, etc. Please email wishbook@bayareanewsgroup.com, and we may be able to suggest organizations that accept such donations.

Wish Book maintains transparency on all costs that are essential to advance the mission to help as many as possible in the Bay Area. The Bay Area News Group covers all printing and costs for producing the stories, and staff time. There are some costs to offer secure online donation option, issue tax receipts to all donors, postage, and to select and fully vet all fund recipients in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz counties, and those costs remain around 5%, and for 2022, we received a grant to cover those costs as well. ALL of your donation goes to work helping here in the community.

During the annual fundraising effort, reporters and photographers from the The Mercury News and other Bay Area News Group news publications document the challenges  facing individuals, families and nonprofit organizations in our community and their successes in meeting those challenges. These stories are published in The Mercury News and on its website. The paper publishes lists of contributors and coupons advising readers how to contribute, as well as ads throughout the paper and online to further encourage readers to help their neighbors in need. Wish Book also manages the grant-making application process, distribution of donated funds to the grant qualified nonprofit organizations, processes readers’ donations, maintains the nonprofit accounting and reporting, and provides all donors with tax receipts in a timely manner.

More ways to give

Make a gift to Wish Book

Check with your financial institution regarding the deadline for recommending your 2022 gift to Wish Book. Many of these institutions have request dates due in early December for 2022 gifting. You can also simply go here to recommend your gift to Wish Book today.

‍Many companies offer a matching gift program to their employees that can boost the reach of a gift. Please contact your HR department for details on how to get a company match. We’re happy to help with paperwork, just email or call us.

A gift of assets can be a big help and have tax advantages for the giver. The total value of stock, securities, and mutual fund shares are tax deductible upon transfer, and require no obligation to pay any capital gains on appreciation. If you are interested in making such a donation, please email us at [email protected].

A legacy gift is a distribution from your estate to a charitable organization through your will, trust or financial accounts. You can designate a specific amount, a percentage or the residual of your estate to the Wish Book Fund.

Your legacy gift provides future support to the Wish Book Fund when you remember us through your will or trust or name us as the beneficiary on your savings, checking or pension account. All these gifts represent a meaningful way for you to create a philanthropic legacy to help throughout the Bay Area.

There is no minimum gift amount required and you can adjust it at any time. Your gift also may entitle your estate to an unlimited federal estate tax charitable deduction. Please contact us at wishbook@bayareanewsgroup.com.

When you shop at smile.amazon.com using this link, Amazon donates a portion of your purchase to the Wish Book Fund. To initiate the program, go to:  https://smile.amazon.com/ch/77-0229665

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