Happiest Holidays!

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We want to wish you and your loved ones nothing but joy and happiness in the spirit of the season…

This year for our holiday card photo, we visited the El Capitan Hotel in the quaint and quiet Central Valley city of Merced and posed for some candid shots with their famous oversized nutcrackers. As you can see, we had a lot of fun with the photo shoot. 

We encourage you to stop by the El Capitan when you’re passing through town. And send us photos from your favorite holiday spots!

Over the River, Through the Woods

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AAA estimates that about 113 million people will travel for the holidays, with more than 100 million of them traveling by car. That’s a huge increase of 3.6M travelers over last year, and the latest sign that we’re growing more and more comfortable with post-pandemic living. But it could only take one viral surge to turn an entire industry on its head again. How are you getting to grandma’s house this year?

Giving or Getting?

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Around this time of year, the age-old question returns: Is it better to give than to receive? Sometimes, it depends on the gift — and who’s doing the giving!

CHIC (Pearl)

It’s no contest. Giving gifts is always better than receiving them. I usually have my holiday shopping done in June because I can’t help collecting things that my friends and loved ones would enjoy. It doesn’t need to be anything extravagant or expensive. The thought truly does count, as long as you put some thought into it. And the look on their face when they open the gift always makes you feel better than when you open another hand mixer from Aunt Joanie.

GEEK (Kevin)

Dude, who doesn’t like presents? They say it’s the thought that counts, but I’m the kind of guy who loves a good white elephant exchange. Everyone comes away with a gift, and more often than not, it’s something you’d never expect to use but ends up as an integral component of your life — like a new toothbrush rack or a bedazzled beer koozie. There’s also something about tearing into that first perfectly wrapped gift on Christmas morning. It smells like victory.

Pivotal impact

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Right here in Silicon Valley, the innovation capital of the world, thousands of foster youth are falling through the cracks. 75% of foster youth in Santa Clara County are performing below grade level, and 47% receive special education services — compared with 12% of the general population. Meanwhile, foster youth supported by Pivotal graduate from college at 10x the national average.

Do these numbers convince you to give?