But our first story involves two people doing something nice for each other. Christine boshen and taliha bomani are at first glance as different as can be, different races, very different backgrounds. But what they see in each other are all the ways in which they are similar. The most important of which, a desire to help others. Garvin christine boshen says shes not a religious person, though she does believe in a higher power. Which explains why after finishing her commute to her job in oakland one day last december, christine wasnt at all fazed by what happened next. Christine i was at work and i got this real quiet voice inside my head that said, you need to take a walk. And i was like, okay, right now . Yes, you need to take a walk. Garvin christine says she now knows it wasnt fresh air she was meant to get. There was a person she was meant to meet. Christine so then i see this woman in front of me. Taliha bomani good morning. Garvin taliha bomani is a fixture on the streets of downtown oakland. So much so perhaps many professionals on their lunch breaks might look right past her. But not christine. And certainly not on that day. Christine and so i turned my head and said, hello. And it was taliha. And so we are both the type of people that see people. Out of the tribal jewel garvin it was a chance encounter that has sparked an unlikely alliance, one between the Office Worker and the gospel singer. Each helping the other achieve a personal goal. Christine its about making a joyful noise, isnt it . Garvin christine, you see, recently decided her passion is to become a life coach, and was actually on the lookout for someone whose dreams she could help make true. God is giving me garvin and taliha, who writes and sings her own gospel music, was looking for someone to help her bring it to a wider audience, people who taliha believes need her message of faith. Christine taliha and i are very similar, in a sense that we both have this thing that keeps us up at night, this thing that we wake up in the morning is the thing we think about the first moment we take a breath, an awake breath, and that is helping people. Taliha cause jesus was wounded garvin christine and taliha now meet regularly, offering prayers and songs to passersby, and support for each other. Christine has spent some of her own money to help taliha make a video, and is trying to raise more so she can record her very own album. Taliha its a warm feelin. It makes me feel very warm. Christine yep, me too. Garvin its the kind of story that can only happen in a melting pot of a city like oakland. Two people from very different backgrounds, yet each the answer to the others prayers. Garvin now to a story of a Community Coming together to help a remarkable man. Chad bohorquez took quite a long journey to get him on the right path to helping others. But now, thanks to the generosity of others, hes on the move to do even more remarkable things. Garvin if you had to go through the worst part of your life in order to get to the best, it is still really the worst . Chad bohorquez doesnt have an answer to that quite yet. Perhaps because the absolute best part of his journey, chad believes, is still ahead of him. Chad bohorquez it keeps me motivated to going. Garvin though born with a muscular disease that required 14 surgeries by the age of 10, young chads future looked bright. He graduated high school in just 3 years, and was accepted to study film at usc. It was there though that some future demons first got their hooks in chad. Chad i was pretty depressed, pretty lonely, using substances to kinda fill that hole. Garvin it was the beginning of a downward spiral that ended up with chad living on the streets of santa cruz for 4 brutal years before realizing he did have the strength to fight his way back into society. Chad i had just survived this experience that not everyone does. And that was pretty empowering. Chad this is where we meet at every morning. Garvin chad is now a project director for the downtown streets team, a nonprofit with a tremendous track record of getting homeless off the streets and into housing and jobs. Still, the amount of good chad can do here is limited by the amount of time hes spending here, hour upon hour relying upon buses and trains to get to work sites all over the south bay. Chad the morning could be in palo alto, the middle of the day could be in san jose, and the end of the day could be in sunnyvale. Garvin chad cant afford, though, the 100,000 a fullyequipped accessible van would cost. Chad then we might make the front page. Garvin he could, however, afford a cup of coffee with julie matsushima, and that was enough. Julie matsushima when i heard his story, it just touched my heart. Garvin once julie, who is active in san jose civic life, heard chads story, she decided to help. She mobilized a team to raise money for chad, even got the mayor involved. And just recently, julie handed chad a very large check. Julie seventyeight thousand dollars. All whoo garvin chad is perhaps even more excited about what this van will mean for his family life than his work. It is why he believes the best is ahead. Not just for him, but maybe all of us. Chad its incredible. Its humbling. Its a dream come true. It makes mei believe in humanity, you know, i mean, i believe in community. Not everyone does. Garvin while an entire Community Came together to help chad, theres a onewoman force of nature working to help Oakland School kids. Amika antoniadesrao says she is well aware of all the advantages her son gets from growing up in wealthy saratoga. Its why it bugged her knowing that not all kids, particularly in her hometown of oakland, were so fortunate. She thought shed try something small to help, and surprised herself how big it became. Garvin amika antoniadesrao has never shied away from hard work, something she says she inherited from her immigrant parents. Amika antoniadesrao its in my blood that ive always thought if i wanted something, im gonna have to work really hard for it. Garvin so its interesting, to say the least, that when amika decided to help some children in her hometown of oakland, she started, in some ways, with the least she could do. She posted about it on facebook. Amika i did this as passively as possible because i dont want to be that friend who now sees my name and says, oh, gosh, what does she want from me now . Amika ah, look at that. Garvin what amika was asking for were books, not many really. Amika this one is great for a 9 to 10yearold. Garvin just 100 was her goal, books she could then donate to a school she thought, based on test scores, could use the help. Amika just go for 100, amika, you can do it. But i started to get nervous, and i thought, whos gonna give me 100 books . These are stacks of 25 my son helps me put together. Garvin well, a lot of people, it turns out, and a whole lot of books from many more people than just her friends. Amika two thousand, five hundred and two books. It was a great moment. I mean, i couldnt believe it. Amika so these are actually garvin amika is now on her second carstuffing delivery of literacy. This time, more than 2,000 books to a very appreciative Reach Academy in oakland. Amika says while shes looking forward to more deliveries like this, shes got no plans for a big organization. Instead, shed love it if other individuals were simply inspired to do a Little Something else for others because that, she is sure, can add up to a lot. Amika one woman, one school at a time. Thats it, yeah. Garvin coming up, a south bay woman looks to her past to educate the future. Jan strahan here i am in 1958. Garvin how she kept kids coming to a schoolhouse long after it was shut down. Tina she was the only girl with the disability on the team. Garvin plus, a disability doesnt stop a young woman from shining in synchronized swimming. And it only inspires her mom to make sure more girls have the same opportunities as her daughter. And two east bay hikers take the road less traveled. Wendy wheeler its kinda our goal, not my goal. Garvin all in the name of friendship. Garvin welcome back. Our next story is about a love of the outdoors and an enduring friendship. Wendy wheeler and thomas page have spent countless hours together on east bay hiking trails. And their journey has led right into a oneofakind milestone these two hikers are very close to marking, but not until both are ready. Garvin the great thing about a good friend is that knowing all your quirks, they still wanna spend time with you. Thomas page, for example, can tell you all about wendy wheelers obsessive need to highlight and catalogue the trails these two longtime hiking buddies have covered together over the years. Thomas shes, like, you know, wantin to highlight things during the trails. And im like, ah, you know . Garvin in wendys defense, though, if she hadnt kept such good track, the pair might never have realized a pretty ambitious goal was within their reach. Wendy just something that just sounded like a cool idea. Garvin the idea . Hike every mile of every trail in every park in the east bay Regional Park district, more than 1200 miles in all that because of spurs, out and backs, and dead ends, would take the pair more than 3,000 miles of hiking to complete. Thomas i dont even know who said it. It was just like, we should just try to do all of em. Garvin wendy and thomas worked on their goal for more than a decade, to the point they were just 1 30mile hike away from finishing. But 2 years later, they still havent. Thomas, you see, has been beset by medical issues, blood clots mainly, that have limited what he can tackle. And wendy, though she could have completed this goal ten times over since then, flatout refuses to hike those last miles alone. Wendy its kinda our goal, not my goal. Its something weve been doing. And, you know, who cares if we finish in 6 months, or a year, or . It doesnt really matter. Its whatever you personally wanna do, right . And so id rather finish it with him. Garvin thomas swears if the hiking boot were on the other foot, he would do exactly the same. Thomas yeah, its gotta be together. I mean, we, you know, it cant, you know, you cant do it any other way, really. Garvin it is apparently just another great thing about a good friend. They would go to the ends of the earth for you, just not the end of a journey without you. Garvin a saratoga mom is traveling much farther than the hills and trails of the bay area. Tina boales is traveling the world, and draining her bank account, so her daughter can live out her dreams. Garvin if you head into the back yard of the boales family home in saratoga, be prepared to meet daughter raquels feet long before you see her face. That sort of thing just happens around synchronized swimmers, a sport 15yearold raquels been doing for 6 years. Tina very good. That was the right amount of speed. Garvin though, mom tina says shes been in the water much, much longer, since she was 4 months old, therapy for her erbs palsy, a condition that severely limited her mobility as a child. Tina couldnt raise both arms. She couldnt do this. And shed fall over. Or she couldnt walk straight, or shed always kinda act like she was limping. Garvin a major surgery at age 6 helped raquel regain some range of motion. And taking up synchronized swimming has been great for her recovery. Not to mention, her trophy case. Tina the first season, my daughter just went crazy. She won gold and silver medals. She was paired in a duet with a girl. She was the only girl with a disability on the team. Garvin as good and as passionate as she is though, raquels disability means highlevel international competition, like the olympics, is out of reach. It was a bitter pill for her and her mom to swallow. Tina thats the hardest thing as a parent you will ever be able to witness, is when your child, regardless of who they are, they put their heart and soul into something, they excel. But because they dont meet a criteria, theyre told they cant do it. Garvin but if that sport wasnt the right fit, tina decided time to start their own. A few years ago, tina retired as a San Jose Police officer, and now dedicates all her time and most of her money to synchronized swimming for athletes with disabilities. Tina and raquel have been traveling the world, encouraging other countries to start similar programs so the sport will be accepted by the paralympics. Hopefully, by 2024 theyll be in, and raquel will be there. Tina so, all the money ive spent out of my savings, which has a 0 balance now, was worth it. Garvin worth it, tina says, not just for her daughter, but the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other disabled children around the world who could join in the competition and the fun. Garvin coming up, a south bay woman returns to her roots. Jan you know, i lived in berkeley for a while. I was never a radical while i was there. And i came back to sleepy little morgan hill, and became a rabble rouser, so. Garvin and shes rousing up a new life for a very old schoolhouse. But first, a High School Teacher goes above and beyond to help young people realize their dreams. Javier guzman you know, im forever grateful for him. He really cares. He really cares about, you know, about how were doing. Garvin and what hes doing could change the lives of hundreds of people. Garvin welcome back. Our next story is about a bay area High School Teacher who learns an important lesson about giving back by paying it forward. Charles schmuck is the founder of a nonprofit that came to life in 2005 with a modest goal raise enough money to give a few kids 3,000 to help pay for college. That amount over the past decade has stayed the same, but so much else has grown. Charles youre very welcome. Glad to have you in the program. Garvin Charles Schmuck likes taking chances on young people. Perhaps its because over the past 11 years, the Peninsula College fund charles started has taken chances on more than 150 lowincome, first in their family to go to College High School graduates, and 90 of them have gotten their 4year degree. Charles theyre just, theyre inspirational. Theyre just amazing. Garvin perhaps its also because someone once took a chance on charles, although a little later in life. After a career in advertising, charles decided he wanted to be a teacher. Charles the biggest question i had in my mind was, at 56, which is, im now 69, but, at 56, can i still connect with kids . Garvin the principal of san joses Presentation High School took him up on the offer. Charles and she took a chance on me. And it was, in many ways, the best 10 years of my life. Garvin it was while he was teaching though, charles and a group of friends came up with the idea for pcf. Charles and the goals were very simple. Goals were provide these kids with 3,000 a year, carrot and a stick, so basically, a 12,000 scholarship. Charles bachelors degree from here, and then garvin the money, it turned out, turned out to be just part of what these kids got. The students got charles too, and a whole team of mentors dedicated to helping them all the way through college. Charles regularly travels around the state, even the country, visiting students that have received pcf scholarships. Javier guzman now has a degree from san jose state, and a friend for life. Javier charles, you know, im forever grateful for him. He really cares. He really cares about, you know, about how were doing. Charles in america what you can do is literally change the horizon, change the script, in one generation. And its all tied to education. Garvin coming up, whats old becomes new for thousands of Bay Area School kids. When we come back, how one woman gives a History Lesson these students wont soon forget. Garvin as parents know, kids often come home from school carrying letters. Sometimes its not important stuff. But other times it is. Like the letter a morgan hill 1st grader brought home to his mom 13 years ago. It actually changed jan strahans life. The letter announced the district was shutting down the school, one of californias last one or tworoom schoolhouses. She couldnt bear the thought of children not benefiting from the history. And now, thanks to her, theyre not. Garvin a building never gets to be historic unless it first survives being simply old. And that rarely happens without someone who loves it. Who knows if morgan hills Machado School would have survived the transition were it not for jan strahan and the people she has inspired to follow her. The Machado School, an original, oneroom schoolhouse, was already old by the time jan entered the 1st grade there. Jan here i am in 1958. Garvin still, it was another 50 years before her 1st grader came home with a note from the district. Machado was closing. Jan tried her best to get them to change their mind. Jan you know, i lived in berkeley for a while. I was never a radical while i was there. And i came back to sleepy little morgan hill, and became a rabble rouser, so. Garvin the district, though, didnt budge. But that wasnt gonna stop jan. She desperately wanted the children of morgan hill to experience at least some of what she did here. Jan i had a really good time here as a young child. And i think its an experience that kids should get, coming out to the country and seeing what life was like in the old days. Garvin and that, for the past decade, thanks to a team of volunteers jan has recruited and trained, is just what students have been doing. Male gold gold garvin a free fieldtrip program, exploring different eras, like the gold rush, brings 1500 students a year through the school property. Jan and then scrubadubdub. Garvin jan says one reason she keeps at it year after year is not knowing what might happen to the Machado School if it lay dormant. And theres no better way to breathe life into an old building than with young people. Children, it turns out, learning all about history, totally unaware theyre helping to save it. Garvin thanks again for joining us for this bay area proud special. You can see new bay area proud stories every tuesday and thursday evenings in our 5 p. M. Newscast, and all the reports are on our website. Just go to nbcbayarea. Com and scroll down to the bay area proud segment. If you know someone who should be featured in this segment, i wanna hear from you. Go to our website where youll find links to my facebook, twitter, and email. Have a good night. [music] cc by aberdeen captioning 18006886621 abercap. Com trumps turn to talk. Welcome to e news, the weekend edition. Im liz hernandez. Now the big news this weekend is Donald Trumps speech at the Republican National convention. And as expected, trump delivered his speech in his typical fashion. Scott evans is in cleveland with all the details and reaction. Congratulations, sir. Thank you. At approximately 9 20 p. M. Eastern time, donald arrived at the Convention Center just one hour before his epic speech began. With his wife melania and rarely seen 10yearold son barron by his side, sporting a navy suit and tie with his hair slicked back, barron was the spitting image of his dad. Barron looked enthusiastic at the evening began, giving his half brother donald jr. A fist bump. But it turns out hes your average 10yearold up past his bedtime. A little bored and tired, holding his head in his hands and even yaunging the ch. At one point in locked like mom was not happy with his behavior. After trumps speech, he joined his father onstage where they shared a hug. Good luck on your speech. Thank you. Trumps daughter ivanka harived at the center holding
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.