Thanks to the efforts and arms of many, a Willow Glen blood drive helped saved 210 lives.

On Aug. 11, the American Red Cross and the Willow Glen Post Office teamed up for a local Bay Area blood drive, and 79 citizens volunteered a pint. The drive reached 117 percent of its goal and collected 70 pints. Each pint of blood is used to save up to three lives.

Donated blood saves the lives of premature babies, children with sickle cell anemia, accident and burn victims, people stricken with cancer and patients receiving organ transplants.

The next mobile blood drive in San Jose is scheduled for Aug. 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Clara Water District Office, 5750 Almaden Expwy.

For more information, call 1.800.448.3543 or go online to www.BeADonor.com for an appointment.

Old downtown buildings
retain their character

Two abandoned and decaying historical buildings in the heart of downtown San Jose are about to get a serious makeover.

On Aug. 10, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency Board approved a $4.5 million project to revitalize the structures commonly referred to as the "Dr. Eu Building," which are located at 35­39 and 43­49 E. Santa Clara Street. The buildings will be overhauled to support new offices and retail centers while retaining their historical character.

Cats and kittens are
meowing for adoption

For those interested in adopting a four-legged friend this summer, Humane Society Silicon Valley might just be the place. The Santa Clara shelter recently opened "Kitty City," an office turned adoption center that will house up to 30 cats and kittens. The room currently holds 12 kittens, and more cats are being moved to the shelter's AlphaPet supply store.

"We wanted to make sure we could get as many cats as possible adopted this summer," said HSSV Communications Director Laura Fulda. Spring and summer are breeding season for cats, and there has been "a huge onslaught" of felines coming to the center this year. The shelter took in more than 5,000 cats and kittens from May to July alone, and "August seems just as busy," she said.

Fulda said that while the shelter usually has no problem finding homes for kittens, older cats tend to be ignored by potential foster families.

"We have a lot of adult cats that are really great cats that get overlooked because of the kittens," she explained. The shelter features a wide variety of cats, including purebreds.

For more information on adopting a cat or kitten, call 408.727.3383 or visit www.hssv.org to make an appointment with an adoption counselor.

Engineering classes give youth opportunity

Semiconductor manufacturing, computer networking, software production ... these are just a few components of what the high-tech world is made of.

These fields are also just a few of the highly technical but potentially lucrative areas that students in the Unity Care Group Pre-College Minority Engineering Program spent the summer studying.

On Aug. 13, 65 minority students between the ages of 10 and 16 graduated from the educational program. The ceremony featured keynote speaker Ann Johnson, director of engineering at Silicon Graphics Inc.

The Unity Care Group Pre-College Minority Engineering Program incorporates hands-on instruction with job experience and in-depth workshops that include guest engineers from companies such as Cisco Systems, Applied Materials and Hewlett-Packard. The nonprofit's mission is to provide a safe, secure, positive environment, while educating at-risk youth and enabling them to pursue professions in which minorities are chronically underrepresented.

By introducing students to the latest developments in technological careers, the program aims to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, increase self-esteem and improve oral and written communication skills.

The Pre-College Minority Engineering Program is one of the many youth-development programs of Unity Care Group Inc., a community-based, nonprofit organization serving Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

For more information, visit www.unitycare.org. Unity Care Group Inc. is located at 237 Race St.