This year's Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle fund raising bike ride proved to be a great success. Mae and I had a terrific time riding along our beautiful California coastline. Thanks to all of you who helped us meet our goals to help place Best Buddies into mentorships and jobs.

Please consider joining this further appeal to help us raise at least $1,000 more for scholarships to a Best Buddies training program. We were moved to make this appeal after hearing first hand from Best Buddy graduates about the value of the two-day conference.

Charles Calhoun and Lauren Potter, who stars on Glee, spoke eloquently about the challenges they faced and how they succeeded in overcoming many obstacles. (To see the presentation Charles made, please click here.)

During this leadership conference, the Best Buddies participants will develop their leadership skills and train to become speakers, advocates, and leaders.

Please consider helping others have this empowering experience with a donation of $25 to $100. Please send checks to Tamara Torlakson, Best Buddies, 921 11th Street, 10th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. Checks should be made out to Best Buddies International.

I appreciate your support of this outstanding organization!

Best regards,

MORE ABOUT BEST BUDDIES

Founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver in 1989, the Best Buddies mission is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Best Buddies International Leadership Conference brings together leaders with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities from high schools, colleges, and (for the first time) middle schools worldwide, providing personalized trainings that develop the skills needed to organize a Best Buddies chapter. Over the past 22 years, the Leadership Conference has inspired thousands of leaders to be Best Buddies ambassadors and to bring about social change in their communities.

With your support, we can help pay for the airfare, lodging, and food to attend for the weekend.

Earlier this week Tom attended an announcement by Texas Instruments to support math education through the Power of STEM Education Initiative.

Here's an ABC-7 News story about the announcement.

Children with special needs are 38% more likely to be obese, a startling statistic that needs attention and action now!

Please join me in celebrating the launch of Ability Path's report Finding Balance: Obesity and Children with Special Needs, a comprehensive look at how parents, educators, and the community can help fight the obesity epidemic in the special needs community.

Today we launched Team California for Healthy Kids at San Jose's Thomas P. Ryan Elementary School!

Athletes and others involved in the campaign will be visiting schools throughout the state to encourage local efforts to increase physical activity and increase access to water, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

The Team's co-chairs are Paris, ultramarathonman Dean Karnazes, fitness expert Lorrie Sullenberger, Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bill Walton, and UCLA Professor Toni Yancey, MD, MPH.

Because student health and student learning go hand in hand, we want to empower every child and every family in California to make healthy food and physical activity choices every day.

With Team California for Healthy Kids, we'll help make the healthy choices the easy choices.

The campaign's materials are posted on the California Department of Education's Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/tchk.asp or at the Team California for Healthy Kids site at http://www.teamcaliforniaforhealthykids.org.

It was wonderful to have an opportunity to talk about California education issues with the members of the Kiwanis Club of the Delta-Antioch yesterday! I was also honored to receive my 30-year membership pin. That was a great surprise!

It was great to see so many familiar faces. This club has always had a close connection to teachers and our schools. It is an honor to be a member!

Update: You can read a Contra Costa Times story about Tom's visit by clicking here.