BONNIE MILLER, a board member for Fair Oaks Community Center, saw a need to provide more food for impoverished people all year long. She roped a number of board members into several fund-raising campaigns over three years, including letter writing and seven flea markets resulting in over $6,000 for food. In 1991, when children at Taft School were playing “toro” with discarded hypodermic needles found on the playground, Bonnie, as a neighborhood association co-chair, was instrumental in organizing her community to make Taft School a Drug Free Zone. She was one of the founding members of a coalition which developed the Taft/Healthy Start Family Center in 1995. As a small business owner, she has been a key player in the Women’s Financial Information Program Coalition, a seven-week course designed to take the fear out of finances for women. This program has served over 600 women, ranging in age from 17 to 91. She has raised seven children, a multi-ethnic group including step and foster children, many of whom call her “mom.” Bonnie has received the “Unsung hero” award from the Redwood City Interservice Club and the Sequoia Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
