The Salvation Army units in San Joaquin County (Lodi, Stockton and Tracy) are reporting that the Red Kettle Campaign donations are down by nearly 30% compared to funds raised last Christmas season.

St. Joseph’s Medical Center located in Stockton will participate in the Abiomed Mobile Learning Lab program on Dec. 14, 2016 at 11 a.m. The Mobile Learning Lab is a highly interactive, facilitated learning experience that is brought directly to the hospital with the goal of training hospital staff on the Impella® heart pump, one of the newest, minimally invasive heart support and recovery technologies. The Impella is manufactured by Abiomed, Inc.

James Patterson, the internationally renowned author, literacy advocate and philanthropist, will be the commencement speaker for the May 13 graduation ceremony at University of the Pacific.

This December, the Micke Grove Zoo Education Department is offering full day (10:00 AM-3:00 PM) Winter Zoo Camps for children ages 5 through 10. These adventure-packed, single and 2-day camp sessions offer campers a chance to experience traditional zoo camp activities with a longer day. This gives parents a chance to schedule in some time for their busy holiday plans.

Presented by Capital Ballet Company - December 17, 2016, Delta College

Tis the season of giving and the Children's Home of Stockton (CHS) is honored to be a recipient of the Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive, which provides customers the opportunity to donate books to locally designated non-profit organizations. Customers are invited to visit the Barnes & Noble Weberstown location listed at 4950 Pacific Ave., Suite 319, Stockton, CA 95207, to give the gift of reading to children in need by donating a book from now through January 1, 2017.

Thanksgiving is over…but the holiday feasts are just getting started! Join Delta College’s Culinary Arts Department as they present their Annual Winter Feast Scholarship Dinner, Wednesday, December 7, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Delta’s  Danner Hall. This year’s flavorful theme: Italian!

The Stockton Auto Mall is hosting the 3^rd Annual "Drive Out Hunger" Food Drive to benefit The Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin.  Dealer ownership/management will be at the Food Bank on Wednesday, December 7^th at 11am to deliver over 100 turkeys.

Every day, St. Joseph's Medical Center's ER sees over 232 patients, a 30% increase over just last year. This is at least twice the volume of any other facility in San Joaquin County, and twice the volume of UCSF.