We here in the Bay area know what it’s like to wait for looming disaster.

With each named storm we carefully watch its projected path charging our batteries and dust off our hurricane shutters.

Waiting for the oil spill to reach our coast is sort of like that.

On Saturday, a group of local mom bloggers teamed up with Hebrew National and TheMotherhood.com for a Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic to benefit local wildlife agencies to deal with the impending disaster.

At E.G. Simmons park in Ruskin, volunteers collected donations for Save Our Seabirds, Inc. while enjoying free hot dogs and beverages provided by Hebrew National. In addition to games and activities, kids could also make their own pine cone bird feeders to place in their backyards to help migratory birds that have already been affected by the oil spill.

“A lot of people are feeling pretty helpless and aren’t sure how to help,” said Caroline Jorgensen of Morningsidemom.com. She put the wish lists of S.O.S and the National Wildlife Federation on her blog which included household items such as batteries, beach and trash bags.

The picnics are part of a nationwide tour that has stops in nine cities across the country including Tampa, New York, Raleigh, and Orlando; each city choosing a local charity to benefit. "The Tampa mom bloggers rallied in an amazing way to help the Gulf Coast oil disaster efforts. And the work they have started has only just begun. The Tampa team truly made the Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnics even better,” said Cooper Munroe from the Motherhood.com. She notes that anyone can host their own picnic to benefit Gulf charities or those they find personally meaningful. “Events like these can bring local, smaller charities resources that they might not normally receive while trying to stay ahead of a potentially devastating event that may impact our region for generations.”

Pushing a stroller through the June heat one woman dropped several rolls of paper towel into the donation box. “If he were a little older I’d stay for the crafts, but I just wanted to drop these things off. It’s a great thing you’re doing here.”

--Tracey Henry