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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Volunteering: Donna Rubin is preparing for the 16th annual Silicon Valley Charity Ball this month, for which she's serving her second year on the ball's board of directors. Rubin recently received the Board Leadership Award for her volunteer work on the board of ALLIANCE for Community Care.
Public Citizen
Retired project engineer volunteers for the Silicon Valley Charity Ball
By Amy Jenkins
After retiring three years ago as a project engineer at National Semiconductor in Sunnyvale, where she worked for 28 years, Donna Rubin knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life--she wanted to volunteer.
And Rubin, 55, has done just that. This is her second year on the board of directors for the Silicon Valley Charity Ball, where she is also cochair in sales. She is also the recipient of this year's Board Leadership Award, given by Compass Point Nonprofit Services and Union Bank of California, for her position on the board of ALLIANCE for Community Care.
While last year she was in charge of thank-you letters and handling the auction and donations for the Silicon Valley Charity Ball, this year she has new duties. She must find vendors to donate wine for the VIP party and ball, is in charge of making centerpieces to coordinate with the ball theme, and makes presentations to sell tickets for the ball to Silicon Valley companies.
"You retire but you don't retire from life," says the Campbell resident who has four children and seven grandchildren. "If you have skills from your job, you can put them to use."
She got involved with the ball when her friend Joyce Hunter, the ball's administrative director, asked her to volunteer.
"[Hunter] knew I was retiring and scooped me up before I could turn around," says Rubin who works between four and six hours a day. "I was very familiar with high tech and I do this like everything else. I have a tendency to jump in with both feet. I don't even stick a toe in."
As a board member, Rubin also helped review and narrow down the hundreds of applications from nonprofits interested in receiving a grant from the ball. Since the foundation began in 1986, it has raised over $10 million for nonprofit agencies--specifically those that serve children and seniors.
This year the ball takes place on April 20 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, 150 W. San Carlos St. in downtown San Jose. The entertainment includes cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and performances by Beach Blanket Babylon and Bill Hopkins Rock'n Orchestra. The Master of Ceremonies is NBC3 news anchor team Terilyn Joe and Allen Denton.
The theme, "Fly Me to the Stars-Celebrate the Future of Giving in the Valley," came about because the board wanted to focus on moving forward into the future, Rubin says.
Also on hand that night will be representatives from the 39 nonprofit agency grant recipients. Rubin believes it is important that people see exactly where their money is going to be spent.
For example, Hospice of the Valley will use the money on medical supplies for the terminally ill, and Campbell-based organization Meals on Wheels, A Community Service of Health Trust, will buy food to serve hungry senior citizens.
"This is a very hard year for everyone," Rubin says. "But as hard as it is for us, think of people who don't have anything. People gave to New York but that didn't lessen the need of what's here."
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Campbell, California
