FAQ
What has been The Butter Paddle's response to COVID-19? How is the Butter Paddle ensuring safety of volunteer staff and customers?
We remain open for business and our volunteer staff is working overtime to ensure that we can still keep supplies as accessible as possible for our Silicon Valley community. We believe in facing challenges together, we can do our part in providing the gifts that brighten loved ones days.
We are complying with the latest COVID-19 regulations put out by Santa Clara County. We are ensuring a safe distance and limited number of people allowed for store pickup at a given time.
Are all your products listed?
Not all products are listed online at this point. If you don't see a product that you know we carry, please let us know by contacting us here!
Is The Butter Paddle really a non-profit organization?
Yes, The Butter Paddle is a registered 501c3 organization. It has been owned and operated by the EMQ Auxiliary since 1967.
What does EMQ stand for?
The name EMQ (Eastfield Ming Quong) represents the merging of two children and family services agencies; Eastfield Home of Benevolence (founded in San Jose in 1867) and Ming Quong Presbyterian Mission Home (founded in San Francisco in 1874). Eastfield began as an orphanage providing shelter, care, and education for local homeless youth. Ming Quong rescued Chinese girls from slavery and prostitution in the alleys of San Francisco. Mirroring the history of the child welfare system, these agencies evolved from orphanages to residential treatment center agencies in the 1950s. The two agencies merged in 1987 and were later called EMQ Children & Family Services, and then EMQ FamiliesFirst. In 2016, EMQ FamiliesFirst became Uplift Family Services. Then in 2022, Uplift Family Services and Pacific Clinics merged to be one Pacific Clinics.
Over the past 150 years, these blended agencies, along with others merged over time and now named Pacific Clinics, have truly transformed its system of care for California's children and families.
How do you support Pacific Clinics?
All proceeds from The Butter Paddle Gift Shop are donated to Pacific Clinics. In addition, Members and our Children's Services Committee donate requested items on a monthly basis to the Family Shop, as well as purchase gift cards and items for gift baskets for children's events. Members also attend Pacific Clinics fundraising events.
We also collect donations for a Children’s Fund benefiting Pacific Clinics. Our Sustainers (members who are no longer active) provide donations several times a year.
What is the difference between The Butter Paddle and the EMQ Auxiliary?
The EMQ Auxiliary was established in 1934 to support the original Home of Benevolence. Over the years, the Auxiliary sought donations in a traditional fashion through periodic fundraising events. The Butter Paddle Gift Shop is owned by the Auxiliary. It was established in 1967 to provide a more stable funding source for donations to EMQ FamiliesFirst. The volunteers who work at the shop are all Auxiliary members. However, to separate store requirements from other activities, there is a Board that governs the store and a Board that oversees all other aspects of the Auxiliary.