Seedling Projects LLC

Founded in 1946, The Volunteer Center connects individuals, nonprofit organizations and businesses with resources to support local communities. Based in San Francisco, Calif., the volunteering agency caters to the San Francisco and San Mateo counties. It offers free and fee-based services, including customized training for the staff to work with volunteers, consultation services to assess/analyze volunteer programs and helps potential candidates learn board positions. It also offers interactive training and in-depth consultation on volunteer engagement and management. The Volunteer Center is governed by a voluntary board of directors representing a group of professionals in the business, educational and civic services.

HistoryIn 1899, legendary newspaperman Kyutaro Abiko established the Nichi Bei Shimbun, the most influential Japanese American newspaper in the country prior to WWII. After the war, some former staff of the Shimbun came back to establish the Nichi Bei Times with the goal of getting the community reconnected after their devastating incarceration in wartime concentration camps. Led by Shichinosuke Asano, the Nichi Bei Times debuted on May 18, 1946. As the Nichi Bei Times was closing in Sept. 2009, a group of staff and contributing writers, media professionals and community leaders -- supported by the community -- established the Nichi Bei Foundation, an innovative educational nonprofit organization that published the Nichi Bei Weekly as the first ethnic nonprofit newspaper of its kind in the country. Inspired by a community-serving historical legacy, the Nichi Bei Foundation and the Nichi Bei Weekly have a simple yet profound mission: to keep the community connected, informed and empowered.