Community Involvement

Our Stockholders and Staff serve on boards and committees of many community organizations including the Rotary, Fremont Chamber of Commerce, Soroptimist International, East Bay Community Foundation Advisory Board, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Lindsay Wildlife Museum and Oakland's Family Center. Their dedicated service is a reflection of their commitment to the communities in which they live and work. At RINA, we support and encourage these charitable efforts that benefit so many good causes.

Rebuilding Together Oakland
On Saturday April 24th, RINA's Howard Zangwill, Walt Tchirkine, Tom Shannon and Kelly Creed spent the day volunteering for Rebuilding Together Oakland (RTO) in partnership with Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley LLP and Bell, Rosenberg & Hughes LLP. RTO rehabilitates the homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners, so they may continue to live in safety, comfort, and independence. RTO utilizes the hard work of skilled and unskilled volunteers to make improvements at no cost to the homeowners. Howard, Walt, Tom and Kelly spent the day painting the exterior and interior of a home, fixing the porch, and making several other repairs. At the end of the day they were tired and a bit sore but also happy that they made a difference for the very appreciative homeowner.

Paper=Food
RINA is proud to support Give Something Back's Paper=Food program. All of us want to save money, conserve the Earth's resources, and make sure the most vulnerable among us get enough to eat. That's why GSB has made it easy to do all three with Paper=Food. Each time you buy a case of 30% or 100% recycled paper, Give Something Back and Boise Inc. donate $1 to a select food bank in your county. And because food banks receive donated goods and services, that $1 can provide up to 7 meals.

Take a minute to watch the fun Paper=Food video and help your company, your environment, and your community.

RINA Gives Back
Tracy Teale, Audit Manager in our San Francisco office, enjoys providing services to our not-for-profit clients, so it’s no surprise that she currently sits on two boards: Contra Costa Child Care Council and Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco.

CCCCC partners with parents, child care providers and the community to promote and advance quality child care and early childhood education through a variety of programs and services. The work of the CCCCC is invaluable for working families. "As a working parent, one of the most difficult things to do is to leave your children and go off to work,” Tracy explains. "When you feel good about the child care situation you are utilizing, you are able to give work and the rest of life the attention they deserve."

FWASF’s mission is to advance professionalism in finance and financial services by promoting the development, career progress and leadership of women. Since 1985, the FWA Scholarship Fund has awarded over $1,500,000 in scholarship grants to more than 180 Bay Area women. The scholarships provide opportunities for women in the field of finance or the financial services industry. Tracy has been very moved by the recipients of these scholarships. “It has been an incredible opportunity to be involved in the FWA scholarship program. The dedication and effort many of these young women put in to pursuing a career in finance is inspiring. Many have overcome significant obstacles in their lives and are looking to have a positive impact on their families and the world around them.”

Tracy ends with “I am fortunate to have a job that I love. RINA's philosophy of giving back allows staff at all levels to support organizations for which they have passion.”

RINA "Rail Rescue Rangers"
On Friday October 30, 2009, the RINA family spent our annual community service day volunteering at the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary in Alameda, CA, part of the East Bay Regional Parks District. Led by Dave “Doc Quack” Riensche, Wildlife Resource Analyst, we removed non-native plants such as ice-plant and fennel, cleared trash, and planted wildlife friendly plants to create anew habitat for the endangered California Clapper Rail. With everyone’s hard work we managed to fill three dumpsters with trash and non-native plants and to plant about 30 new grindelia plants for future Clapper Rail’s to nest in. It was a great day and RINA's "Rail Rescue Rangers" accomplished a lot to help the Clapper Rail and the East Bay Parks District.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
Many people are inspired to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer for personal reasons, and it is no different here at RINA. One of our long time employees was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years ago, but is now happily cancer free. RINA is sponsoring her husband and daughter in the upcoming Avon Walk in San Francisco on July 11 and 12, 2009. Funds raised from the walk support five areas of the breast cancer cause: awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services and scientific research. If you would like to support this cause, visit www. avonfoundation.org and help find a cure!

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco
Cecile Chiquette, stockholder in RINA’s San Francisco office, joined fellow Rotarians on April 25th at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco’s Whitney Young Circle construction site for a day of building. The Whitney Young Circle development consists of seven new single-family homes which will have four bedrooms, two baths and a one-car garage. The homes will accommodate residents with mobility impairments and include environmentally friendly components and solar photovoltaic roof panels. Twenty-seven members of the Rotary Club of San Francisco and members of the Rotaract and Interact Clubs partnered on this day to help build these houses as part of their commitment to Rotary at Work Day and National Volunteer Week.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay
This past December, RINA spent our 2008 Community Service Day at Habitat for Humanity East Bay’s Edes Avenue development in Oakland. This was our fourth year of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and our third year volunteering at the Edes Avenue development. This year was special, because we could really see how much our efforts had contributed to the completion of 26 new homes. During our first two years at the Edes Avenue development, we worked hard on the foundations, framing walls, fencing, roof tops and painting . This year our focus was on readying the completed homes for a dedication ceremony,which was very satisfying to all of us. We beautified the open space park, added finishing touches to the back yards and helped to make the interiors shine. At the end of the day we were tired and a bit sore, but we knew we had made a difference for the future homeowners.

Challenge Day at Northgate High School
Pamela Raumer, RINA's Business Development Director, recently participated in Northgate High School’s Challenge Day along with twenty-four other adult facilitators. Spending 6 ½ hours with one hundred Northgate High School students was one of the most rewarding days Pam has ever had. Challenge Day brings together teens from different backgrounds and cliques via experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibility of finding love and connection through celebration of diversity, truth and full expression. Imagine a school where every child feels safe, loved and celebrated - a school where bullying, violence and other forms of oppression are things of the past. Creating this school is the work of Challenge Day. The students are asked to inspire each other, to be the driving force in creating the school of their dreams, to manifest the change they wish to see in the world in themselves.

Since 1987, Challenge Day has inspired hundreds of thousands of youth and adults in 450 cities, 39 U.S. states, 5 Canadian provinces, Japan, Germany and Australia. If you would like more information about the Challenge Day Program, visit their website at www.challengeday.org.

Surtec Adopt-A-Family
Founded by Bill Fields in 1991, the Surtec Adopt-A-Family Program provides food and gifts to ensure a happier Christmas to children of needy families in the Alameda, Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties. Each year the Surtec Adopt-A-Family program provides food and gifts for over 320 families with more than 935 children. To date, the 3,900 families with 11,275 children have benefited from this program.

The Surtec Adopt-A-Family 12th Annual Golf Classic held on October 4th 2008 at the Sunol Valley Golf Club was a top-notch run tournament. From check-in to check-out, every detail was thoughtfully and expertly handled. The golf and camaraderie was fun and exciting, but the greatest reward of all was knowing that all proceeds benefit Adopt-A-Family. This organization takes my breath away when I think of all the families in need that we help and actually make a difference in their holidays. This is a heartfelt THANK YOU from me to Surtec for organizing this tournament and sponsoring Adopt-A-Family. The tournament is an event I would not miss. In appreciation for all you do!

Chinatown Rotary Club
Carolyn Sillin, tax manager in our San Francisco office, is a founding charter member of the new Chinatown Rotary Club. Rotary will officially celebrate the new club on August 20th with a dinner at Tommy Toys. Mr. Rotary Cliff Dochterman, past Rotary International President and member of the Orinda Rotary Club, will be the keynote speaker. Carolyn has taken on the duties of club secretary and PR chair.

The Chinatown Club has already provided services to the community, including:

• Serving 300 Thanksgiving dinners, arranging 50 Holiday Gift Baskets, and raising $1,000 for the Chinatown Beacon Center (the club only had 12 members at the time).

• Raising $16,000 (original goal was $1,000) and receiving a match from San Francisco #2 Rotary of $5,000 for Shelter Boxes sent to China.

• Serving dinner to children participating the Chinese New Year’s Parade.

• Distributing dictionaries to third graders at Gordon J. Lau Elementary School in San Francisco.

• Volunteering time and offering assistance to the Children’s Psychological Health Center (CPHC) founded by Dr. Gilbert Kliman. Dr. Kliman has developed a workbook educating caregivers on how to help children with psychological trauma, and he is currently helping the earthquake victims in China. Several members have helped in translation for publishing and video conferencing.

Carolyn enjoys working with the club members who are in various professions and age groups. Each brings different qualities and talents to the club with the same goal in mind - to serve the community.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
Tim Tikalsky, stockholder in our Walnut Creek office and member of the Board of Directors for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, recently participated in the Lindsay Wildlife Museum’s 14th Annual Golf Tournament. Tim’s son, Jeff Tikalsky, and RINA staff, Joseph Brunel and Jody Watson, made up the rest of the RINA team. The golf tournament was a four player scramble and RINA’s team placed well with a score of five under par. The featured guests this year were a red-tailed hawk and a barn owl.

RINA has been a Great Horned Owl Sponsor for the past four years and looks forward to the 15th Annual Golf Tournament.

Founded in Walnut Creek in 1955, the Lindsay Wildlife Museum “connects people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share.” The museum is one of the largest wildlife rehabilitation centers in the United States, treating nearly 6,000 wild animals annually.

Oakland Reads!
Oakland Rotary No. 3 has launched a city-wide book project, “Oakland Reads”, designed to help the children in Oakland’s schools develop early reading skills. Early reading proficiency is one of the key factors in educational success. Studies indicate that children who fail to read by age 9 (Grade 3) typically fall behind in other areas and rarely make up the lost ground. “Oakland Reads” will help address this critical need for childhood literacy by providing free books for children to take home during a crucial period in childhood development. This program is unprecedented in the Rotary world. When asked to share his experience with “Oakland Reads”, RINA Tax Stockholder and Oakland Rotarian Tom Neff advised: “I have been actively involved in the Oakland community for several years, and I can easily say that this was the most satisfying project I have been a part of. Seeing the looks on the kids’ faces when we told them the books were theirs to keep made it all worthwhile!”.

RINA Scholarship Fund
Lifelong learning has been a hallmark of RINA since the firm was founded in 1946. RINA founders Henry Rooney, Paul Ida , Bob Nolt, and Jack Ahern shared the belief that education was critical to success in business and in life. They supported numerous organizations which had educational missions in our communities, and that academic support is continued today.

To honor our founders and their commitment to personal development, RINA has established a scholarship fund at Golden Gate University. Scholarships will be awarded annually to students in the tax and accounting programs.