Wendy Bruns has attended a lot of births. So many that she’s become a hot commodity for friends and family giving birth who want a supportive person in the room.
“Birthwork is definitely a calling,” says Bruns, a Sonoma County native who earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology at UC Santa Cruz. “I had a friend who got pregnant at 19 and the dad wasn’t in the picture, so I went to every prenatal appointment with her and was there when she gave birth to my godson. I hadn’t seen anything about birth except on TV, so I watched birth videos and learned everything I could. Then I attended my nephew’s birth and other friends’ and family’s births and people started saying, ‘You should do this as a career.’”
Sheila Boxley sees truth in the adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” at her job as president and CEO of The Child Abuse Prevention Center.
“I strongly believe we need to give people the support they need when they need it rather than waiting for tragedy,” says Boxley, who celebrates 25 years at the helm of the center. “We’ve all had that moment where we’ve needed somebody to help us.”
The center began as the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento in 1977, a small agency serving only Sacramento County. (Every county has one child abuse prevention council.) Over the past 45 years, it has been asked to replicate and expand its programs and services locally and statewide, adopting multiple agencies along the way.
This post is sponsored by Lovin’ From The Oven Family-owned pizza restaurant keeps community fed By Jessica Laskey May 2023 It’s no surprise to learn Shelly Tyler and Wendy Williams love pizza. They eat it at least twice a week. The two best friends are co-owners of...
Music is magic. Just ask the 200 students at Martucci Music.
Gabriella Martucci, founder and owner of the new school near McKinley Park, says, “Students have embarked on a physical and psychological journey that will shape them into whatever they want to be.” Music transforms.
“Music is a positive force for healing,” Martucci says. “It makes us aware of what we are feeling.”
Living in a 700-square-foot New York apartment, Matthew Margolis slept in the foyer and his sister curled up on the living room couch. The family had two dogs when Margolis brought home a third.
His father said the dog couldn’t stay. So Margolis slept in Central Park, the dog by his side.
“When you’re shy growing up, dogs are your best friend,” Margolis says. “I couldn’t give that up.” After three days in the park, his parents finally gave in.
That passion for canines gave Margolis, better known as Uncle Matty, his future—55 years of training more than 50,000 dogs and a life goal to save as many as he can.
As a kid growing up in Sacramento, David Gull often visited his Uncle George’s house. George, bar manager at the old Buffalo Club tavern, had a collection of memorabilia from the Buffalo Brewing Company in his basement. Buffalo Brewing operated at 21st and Q streets from 1890 until 1945. At one time it was the largest brewery west of the Mississippi.
Years later, Gull remembered his uncle’s collection and conducted research about the brewery. “And I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if someone brought back this historic brand, this historic beer? That was my lightbulb moment,” he says.
That moment led him to found New Helvetia Brewing Company, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in December. Named for John Sutter’s original settlement, the brewery and taproom are located at Broadway and 18th Street in Land Park. The taproom is decorated with Buffalo Brewing memorabilia, along with maps and lithographs of Sacramento.
