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Charles Marsala - Benefit Jan/Feb 2007 Article
Politics- More Than A Mayor
Atherton Mayor Charles Marsala reflects on community, connecting, and karma
Ten years ago, Atherton Mayor Charles Marsala was living in San Jose, struggling over the decision his life should take. After a meeting in 1998 with Silicon Valley philanthropist and cancer survivor Sheri Sobrato, he was inspired to restart his life as a politician and a humanitarian. He began working with the Atherton Arts Committee, and in 2002, won a seat on the Atherton city council. Three years later, he was elected mayor. Marsala recently sat down with Benefit to talk about his community, he causes, and the role of karma has played in his life.
Benefit: How did you get started in community activism?
Marsala: Back in 1999, I felt a sense that I should be involved in my town and give back to the community, but I wasn’t sure how to start. A friend has set up a meeting for me with Sheri Sobrato, and over lunch, I enamored with her commitment to help other. Having survived a brain tumor, she was working towards her credential as a therapist by counseling children with cancer. She said to me, “You don’t know it yet, but you have just met the right person.” It was absolute karma.
She asked me to join the board of the Cancer Support Center in San Francisco. Later, I got involved in her day camp for children with cancer. Two years later I moved to Atherton and because of my background as a wildlife and underwater photographer, I joined the Atherton Arts Committee (AAC). I soon realized how important nonprofits are to bridging the need between the financial resources of government and the needs of the community.
What causes and organizations do you support now?
Throughout the last decade, Sheri had introduced or sponsored me as a member to Laura Arrillaga’s SV2 group [Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund], the Knight’s of St. John, the National Foundation for teaching Entrepreneurship, and the Heart of Silicon Valley. She also helped me start the Stanford Delt Legends for Youth Programs Golf Tournament. As I worked with these groups, I was asked to join the boards for the Peninsula Volunteers and the Selby Education Foundation.
SV2 made a grant to “Yes Reading” and I was able to help them get grant to start working with challenged students at Selby School. The Knights of St. John recently gave $200,000 to the Peninsula Volunteers to redo their kitchen, which provides hundreds of hot meals to seniors in their homes. As part of the Mayors on Wheels Day, I got to deliver the meals and see the independence this program provides.
What do recall as your first act of charity?
When I went home to New Orleans I found a certificate from 1967 showing that I has raised enough money to adopt a child in Africa. In high school, I was youth chair of the March of Dimes. I was interested in this cause because my mother had tow miscarriages after I was born.
Speaking of New Orleans, we understand you are going back there to help out Hurricane Katrina victims.
I have been to New Orleans twice since Katrina. The first time I went to help my parents when they received their FEMA trailer. They had two feet of water in their house for two days and everything was ruined. Before I left, I ran into an Atherton resident who said he wanted to donate a truck to someone who had lost everything. I worked with the city council of Grand Isle Louisiana and we found a carpenter with three kids, who lived 100 miles south of New Orleans. He had lost his home. We presented his family with this truck.
What will you be doing this time when you go to New Orleans?
The Junior League of San Francisco and the Peninsula have organized 500 people from 33 states to go down for a week and build roughly seven homes, a school, and a park.
How do you balance politics and charity?
In our town we have a lot of people who are involved in philanthropy. Everyone on the council has his or her strengths and goes into the community to help meet its needs where government dollars are scarce.
Have you been able to motivate other to get involved?
There have been several times when residents asked, “How do I get involved?” The key thing is interaction. It’s not just writing a check. I think one of the best memories for me this year was delivering a meal to a woman in East Palo Alto. We had a great conversation and it was amazing how quickly we bonded. Experience like that give you a sense of the history of the town and that’s a large part of community- the heritage, the continuity.
Anna Allioto
Charlesmarsalamayor.com ~
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