Volunteers Give Back

Sacramento and its sister city Jinan, in China’s Shandong Province, are similar. Both are capitals, both have rivers and both share rich cultural scenes. Grace Liu knows this firsthand.

Liu is a Jinan native. She attended Shandong University before coming to Sacramento State¬. The J Street campus was the only U.S. school she applied to, due to its sister city status. She earned a master’s degree in management information science.

When Liu arrived in 1996, she was contacted by the Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation, a nonprofit set up in 1984 to “foster mutual understanding, cultural awareness and friendship” between Sacramento and Jinan.

On the water, rowers can’t think about much else. Rhythm and teamwork take concentration. Or as Shari Lowen puts it, when you’re in the boat, you’re in the boat.

This works for Lowen and her fellow ROWsist members. Lowen founded ROWsist rowing group within the River City Rowing Club in 2023 for cancer survivors like herself.

She wanted to “give people who’ve been through cancer an opportunity to use their bodies and minds” along with “the community and emotional aspect of doing something together.”

Here’s what happens when 100 or more women each donate $1,000 and pool the money.

They define “power in numbers.” And they make a difference with transformational grants.

The dollars, gathered by a group called Impact100 Greater Sacramento, support nonprofits in five focus areas: arts and culture, environment, health and wellness, education, and family.

“One thousand dollars helps, but when we collectively pool our resources together, we’re able to do even greater things,” chapter President Sarina Paulson says. “It’s really good to know as a member that yes, I donated $1,000, but 391 other women also donated $1,000, so collectively my $1,000 has morphed into $452,000 (with a matching campaign). I went to six site visits this year and I can tell you firsthand the good that is going to do.”

The historic Nisei War Memorial Community Center is returning to life, thanks to dozens of local volunteers.

The restoration of the Downtown center—known as Nisei Hall—is led by Debbie Eto and Dr. Michael Luszczak.

Eto is vice president of the Japanese American Citizens League, which bought the building with VFW Nisei Post 8985, a Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter created for Japanese American veterans after World War II.

The house with the 6-foot banner, poems and illustrations on Ninth Avenue near the zoo belongs to Lance Pyle. Stop and say hello. He’s happy to see you.

Pyle has displayed banners, original poetry and drawings in front of his house since 2023. His goal is to bring joy to the neighborhood.

“Every once in a while, someone stops and reads and I catch them on my Ring,” Pyle says.

Next time you get an urge to shop, try thrifting instead of buying new. Linnea Bohan knows why.

Inspired by her love of thrifting, Bohan, a junior at Rio Americano High School, received a Climate Leaders Fellowship. The program engages young leaders to find climate solutions—one of which is thrifting, rather than buying new clothes.

For the fellowship, high school students around the world identify local climate impact opportunities and complete a 12-week capstone project with help from advisers and peers.