Congratulations to our 205th paid subscriber

When Jana Wacholz learned that she had won a gift basket for being the 205th paid subscriber for the Sebastopol Times, she emailed back, “Is this a joke?”

No, it was not a joke. Admittedly it’s an unorthodox number.

The truth is we were contemplating giving it to the 200th paid subscriber, but that came and went in a flash while we were still thinking about the idea. By then, however, one of us (uh, me) was so excited about the idea of putting together a gift basket that I couldn’t wait for the 300th paid subscriber.

Ergo, the 205th subscriber took the prize.

Jana got a bottle of wine from Dale’s winery, DRNK; homemade Santa Rosa plum jam from my tree; beeswax candles and Sonoma County Wild Flower honey from Beekind; cookies from Patisserie Angelica; an elegant dishtowel from Sebastopol Hardware; and dried fruit and a beautiful basket from Andy’s. So hometown!

Help us build a holiday lights map!

Do you have one of those homes with all kinds of holiday lighting and other decorations? Does your neighbor or friend? Please send us their address as we’d like to create a map that helps others find homes brightly lit for the holidays. Send to sebastopoltimes@gmail.com.

Caverly’s warm-hearted coat drive expands to all of Sebastopol and beyond

When you last saw Caverly Whittemore in this column, he was sitting on a massive pile of winter coats in the back of a pick-up at Burbank Heights and Orchards. The coat drive he organized there was so successful, he set his sights on bigger things and began looking around for local businesses willing to host coat donation bins to take his coat drive citywide. Naturally, he succeeded. You can now drop off winter coats for the homeless at the UPS Store in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, and you can drop of coats, sweaters and other warm, clean clothing in good condition at Sebastopol Christian Church and both Community Markets (Sebastopol and Santa Rosa). Great job, Caverly!

Contribute to a local toy drive

The Sebastopol Fire Department is holding their annual toy drive. Drop off new toys, art supplies, books, and gift cards to the firehouse at 7425 Bodega Avenue during normal business hours (Monday through Thursday, 7 am to 5:30 pm) through Tuesday, Dec. 20. All toys and gifts should be unwrapped.

The Toyworks has two toy giveaway programs: a secret Santa and toy donations for the California Homemakers Association, while Pacific Market has a drop-off box for Toys for Tots. Check them out.

'Tis the season for kids and toys. Let’s make sure no kid goes without.

Sebastopol’s $500 Shopping Spree goes another round

The $500 Shopping Spree, an idea thought up by Sumbody’s Debbi Burnes, working with Relaunch Sebastopol, has been so wildly successful that it’s being extended. Pick up a holiday shopping passport at a downtown store (or Pacific Market or Sebastopol Hardware). Visit five participating stores and get five stickers and signatures on your passport (no purchase required). Return your passport to any participating store for a chance to win a $500 Sebastopol Shopping Spree.

The first winner, chosen on January 9, was Erick Prieto of Santa Rosa. Turn in your passport card in by December 19 and you might be the winner of the second drawing on December 20.

(Note: the author of this piece, wearing her other hat, is also the coordinator for Relaunch Sebastopol.)