On April 21st, eight local artists (and over seventy volunteers) created murals for the Pediatric Specialty Clinic exam rooms at Valley Medical Center's Bascom clinic as part of Kiwanis One-Day. Plain white walls were transformed into an undersea wonderland, a pair of zebras on the African Serengeti, a bear floating through the sky with balloons, astronaut animals playing in space, kids frolicking outdoors, a colorful rabble of butterflies, whimsical cats, and rainbow in the clouds.

Our artists were community members, Kiwanians, and Key Clubbers who designed and led small teams of volunteer painters in the creation of each mural. We are humbled by the donation of supplies that came from the community for this project: Tacos Al Pastor on Bascom, Home Depot, Ace Hardware in Almaden, Safeway, Kelly-Moore on Bascom, Glidden Store on Bascom, and Sherwin-Williams on Blossom Hill.

With 8 rooms successfully completed, our attention is now turning to the remaining 40 rooms and hallways making up Urgent Care and Primary Care. Donations are still needed to keep it going -- tax-deductible cash donations can be made directly to the VMC Foundation (a 501c3 non-profit) by directing the donation to the "Almaden Valley Kiwanis" fund. Their address is:

2400 Moorpark Ave, Suite 207
San Jose, CA 95128

To see more pictures from our event, please visit our Facebook gallery.

Our Leland Key Club created a great project: a day of cutting and tying two-ply blankets for kids in hospitals. On February 18^th, four members of Almaden Kiwanis met up with about eight Key Clubbers from three different schools. For three hours, we cut one-inch-wide tassles in patterned felt, and then tied the tassles together to form the blankets. Many hands make light work -- we completed ten blankets in record time.

Great project idea, Leland Key Club!!