Non-profit fundraising – Malvena Pearl's Emporium

News for May 2017

The Emporium Proprietor continues to do a lot of Volunteer Activities. When presented with a volunteer opportunity, our Proprietor asks herself, “What would Grammie Do?” The answer is always clear.

We support the following non-profit organizations and awareness building campaigns in our communities:

Seasonally, we offer Discounted Tickets to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, with special rates for groups of people who are in school, and for elders and seniors. Please contact us with these requests!

And we are also please to introduce a place for you to express your interest in doTERRA Essential Oils ~ From there you may also request Wellness workshops or private consultations. As our friends over at Mrs. Greenbalms Healing Salves tells us, “the plants remember Paradise.” And as musician Laurie Anderson tells us, “Paradise is exactly where you are, right now, only much, much better.”

We are also continuing to offer our Letter Writing workshops at libraries and bookshops around the San Francisco Bay Area and on the East Coast. Stay tuned for upcoming class schedules and ways that you may participate or purchase supplies.

Events in 2016

Our Proprietor has been so busy, this year, she realized that she hadn’t taken the time to enter a proper Update for this season’s events.

The first photo is from the Blind Baby Foundation’s Beeper Egg Hunt, a few years back, with the pictured pals Kenny and Kate, plus Costumer’s Guild members (Helena, Lynne, Dawn and the Proprietor) creating the costumes and helping out. We had an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party for the young guests; and gathered contributions of tea, cookies and all sorts of raffle prizes from kind Oakland vendors. That day at the BBF Beeper Egg Hunt was much fun. So, this year, our Proprietor remembered that she might borrow the Alice costume that Helena created and is wearing in the photo for a similar event at the Camron-Stanford House! In the next photo she’s wearing the Alice dress, standing next to the amazing docent training officer, Molly (on her right) as they both admire the handiwork of Dragonfly Cakes in Sausalito. “Eat Me,” the cake told Alice.

IMG_20160312_134234749 — March Hare Tea at the Camron-Stanford House, Oakland, CA with Molly (right)

IMG_6371(1) — 2016 Edwardian Ball, San Francisco

Here are some other photos from events we attended. The black, silk, beaded shirt was a gift from Sara, who received it from a design teacher. It was apparently beaded in Paris in the early 1900s, so the Proprietor wore it to the Edwardian Ball in San Francisco.

And here is evidence that the Emporium’s Proprietor does a fair amount of community work on behalf of women and girls. She’s performing the monologue called “The Flood,” in Eve Enslers’s Vagina Monologues. This year, with a cast of 9 women, they were able to raise $1,200 to give to Oakland Elizabeth House for women and their children who are homeless.

Flood 2 — V-Day at the Uptown Lounge. “The Flood.”

Fires of Wisdom 2011 Tea at Lovejoy's in San Francisco — Fires of Wisdom 2011 Tea at Lovejoy’s in San Francisco

We recently learned of the passing of our dear friend Jane Cudlip Coblentz King, Mills College class of 1942. She is pictured, above, at the center of our group in the grey and black jacket. Jane was 93 years old when she passed last fall. She retired from tutoring just the year before and boy howdy, could she tell jokes, stories and remember Shakespeare, line, act and scene! She is dearly missed by our group of volunteers in Fires of Wisdom, the Mills College Oral History Project, pictured above. We miss her so much, some of us made a gift to the American Heart Association in her memory.

~~ Malvena Pearl’s Emporium staff also witnessed the glory that is/was the Pan Pacific Exposition, entitled Jewell City. There are many images, including a lot of stories, here. ~~

Finally, the Proprietor started off in January of this year assisting some clients with their outfits for the NOIR CITY Film Festival at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. Here are some happy film goers!

February 2015

February has seen the return of Lady V_Jay Jay in her pink outfit, as a greeter and fundraising for the Oakland 2015 readings of The Vagina Monologues. Here is a photo of this year’s amazing cast:

Thank you to all of our sponsors and to the people who helped us sell out the two evening shows, and fill the hall at the matinee, held at the Humanist Hall. All proceeds went to Bay Area Women Against Rape.

THANK YOU:

AdvanceHealth Chiropractic & Rehabilitation

Ais Q. Harvey

Bacheesos restaurant

Bibliomania book shop

Cemora Vanetino-Devine

Chelsea Hill

Daryl Rodillas

Dr. Clo Lau

Ericka Schneider

Eva Salyer

Follies & Dollies

Get Goes Mobile Coffee

Greta Joseph & La Sagata

GwendOline PouchOulin

Howard Bloom

Jessica Opitz

Juan Romero

Kin Folkz

Liba Falafel

Lisa Marie Arens Insurance Agency

Liz Burden and Serenitea Handmade Soaps

Marcelina Verarde

Micha Bennett-Cauchon

Mystic Hands Massage & Body Work

Neena at Feelmore 510

Perch Cafe

Princess/Merlin Monroe/Chris Hughes

SpectrumQueerMedia.com

Splendid Colors

Suzette Davidson

Sweet Bar Bakery

Tanaya Hurst and Rogue Making

Tech Liminal

The Creativity Stimulus Package

The White Horse

Viscera Studio

Many things to Do and Tell about

So, do tell! Our proprietor went to her 20th Mills College Reunion yesterday and she saw lots of long-lost pals and even met some new ones whom she had only known in her volunteer capacity as Class Agent from 1994 to 2007 or so. She even did some (gasp) Networking for her day job status, as she has only recently been offered a Temporary Full Time Job at her old stomping grounds, UC Berkeley. Aherm. What does the Queen of England have to say about this? Let’s find out:

We were So Pleased to see our buddy and pal Jane Cudlip King, from the class of 1942, at the lunch on Toyon Meadow! We also saw Redwood Mary and hung out with her for most of the day, meeting friends and classmates of hers, getting caught up, getting our photo taken and hearing part of a dramatic reading of Letters written to Mills College President Aurelia Henry Reinhardt, during the Japanese internment period of American History (talk about infamy, holy cats, why did the government force people to live at race tracks?!) that was being read at Danforth Hall. Our proprietor could only stay for an hour and a half of that before she had to go to her Class Dinner at a classmate’s home, which was also awesome in many 21st century ways, unlike walking back into the past when seeing all the wonderful alumnae and staff who were Kind to her. That is what we take away from the day at Mills.

Also? The lunch didn’t suck and she got to give out information about her latest volunteer organizations, the East Bay Children’s Book Project and the Next Step Learning Center for adult literacy in Oakland.

Speaking of life during World War II, Here are some Photos of the Fires of Wisdom: Mills College Alumnae Oral History Project at a few of the annual Tea outings, which keep the Mills Tradition of Having Tea and Schmoozing up a storm. CAN YOU TELL WE LIKE HATS? Yes. Yes we do. Old hats. And outfits that recall the Tea Parties of Yesteryear. We keep this Fire alive to Stay Connected and share Experience, Strength and Hope. To share our activies and triumphs, stories of our travels and job huts. And to give scoop on what vintage clothing stores and thrift shops are still in business or what flea markets for charity had the best deals on gloves. (not really a huge topic but sometimes…)

The first photo is of the Fires of Wisdom group at a performance of our Dramatic Reading at Alumnae Reunion at Mills A note from our proprietor: HI JANE! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE STILL CONDUCTING THE CAMPUS TOURS! We LOVE YOU and WE HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I almost burst into tears when I hugged you, yesterday! SEE YOU SOON!