My Nonprofit Reviews
kokopelli
Review for The Trust For Hidden Villa, Los Altos Hills, CA, USA
As we enter the pygmy forest and sit down on the leafy earth the two boys with me, both second-graders from an inner-city school ask if they can go explore while we wait for the rest of the group to come in from their "alone walk." I am surprised because these two have been struck to me like banana slug slime all morning, but the open airy feeling under the low canopy of scrub oaks, and the myriad of child-sized tunnels through the tree trunks is pretty irresistible to most kids. Dumping their backpacks, they stand for a moment uncertain, then head cautiously into one of the openings, hand in hand, and I hear one say to the other,"This is just like Sam and Frodo." That overheard comment, and many more like it, are what keep me coming back to my volunteer job as a wilderness guide at Hidden Villa. I was raised hiking, camping and backpacking; I work as a park ranger. I am ever so very happy and comfortable in the woods and this job is my chance to share that joy and comfort and excitement with our society's nature-deprived children. Let them climb on the bouncy tree, let them climb to the top of the Rock of Gibralter, let them take off their shoes and wade in the creek. Bring them back as dirty and tired and happy as possible. Some days are a struggle. Some days I think I have way too much to do to be spending half of my days off every month at a volunteer job, but then there are those comments, those special kid comments, that remind me that my time spent taking kids into the woods is, in the long run, probably a greater service to society than any number of citations I may write in my "real" job.
More Feedback
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
my son's experience at Summer camp. He attended Hidden Villa Summer Camp for seven years growing up. When I would go to pick him up he would refuse to leave before dragging me over to meet his counselor and new friends.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
be able to afford to pay the staff living wages, and hire more staff.
What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
the wonderful staff and other volunteers. Of course, other like-minded people are drawn to Hidden Villa. It is wonderful to spend time with them. There is a real sense of community.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
fantastic! Of course, as a volunteer you are shielded from most grumbling, but I get the feeling that there isn't a lot. Everyone knows that Hidden Villa operates on a shoestring, and that there is a lot of work to be done.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
offer complete summer camp scholarships to all the poor children in Santa Clara Valley, and create an endowment so we won't have to sell our precious land to the developers to keep from going broke.
Ways to make it better...
There were more volunteers so the groups of kids could be 5or 6 rather than 7 and 8.
In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...
chronic money shortage. There are so many inspired and creative people working to make Hidden Villa work, but the whole place teeters on the edge of the financial brink.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
