Article about Koshland Park and CommunityGrows Programs
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Have a Great Summer! Youths at Philanthro Event Page 11 August 2011 Brenda Lauer RN, Coming of Age Page 3 Young Gardener at Urban Farms Page 9 continued on page 2 By Danielle Clark W hen looking at the Western Addition Peace Wall that surrounds Koshland Park, it is hard to imagine all the time and emotion that went into the construction of the peace tiles. This wall, which is located at 300 Page St., is the result of working with at-risk youth from Megan Furth Academy – formerly known as Sacred Hearts Elementary School – and John Muir Elementary School. These children – participants of a pro- gram that taught nonviolence though art – were asked to illustrate tiles with pictures they believed represented peace. The artwork of these children, along with the unifying artwork of tile artist, Justine Tot Tatarsky, are what make up the walls of Koshland Park today, and represent the community’s com- mitment to peace since its installation on June 9, 2007. Peace has spread within the walls of Koshland Park now that the grounds which are located in the Lower Haight have been renovated and are served by the Community Grows program. Currently, Koshland Park is a mix of blooming flowers, architectural design and beautiful thriving garden plots. Community Grows Director Barbara Wenger approved the improvements that have been made in the park, which has made it a much safer place for families. This began in 1994, when the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group – HVNPG – began procuring grants for renovation, and the Western Addition Peace Wall was part continued on page 11 Julie McCoy B ack in 2002, the University of California at San Francisco – UCSF – contacted the Carl and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation based in Daly City for funding. Since one of the foundation’s goals is to support and contribute to education-relat- ed causes, the foundation agreed to give one-half million dollars to UCSF, which used the money to create a family business center on campus. The Gellert Family Business Center at UCSF now recognizes and supports family-owned and operated businesses with an annual award, explained Director Monika Hudson. In order to be eligible for the award, a family-owned busi- ness must have been in business 15 years or longer and have no larger than $7 million in revenue. In giving out the awards, the center looks at such things as whether or not a nominee has a family constitution, the beginning of a succession plan in place, what its operations systems look like, and its marketing and financing. The awards are given in May, during the National Small Business Week. Winners receive a certificate. Family-owned businesses can nominate themselves, or nomina- tions can come from the commu- nity. “We contact banks, etcera,” Hudson said. “We recognize this is a somewhat arbitrary process.” Many of the winners are not only family-owned and operated, but represent diversity. “You’ll see a lot of diversity just even in who the family is,” Hudson said. One of this year’s recipients was the San Francisco-based MOET Institute, an independent, continu- ing medical education and research organization that helps fulfill the training need of practicing physi- cians and physicians in training. The MOET Institute was launched by Zoltan Szabo, who is from Hungary, and his wife, Wanda Toy, who is Chinese American. “Our family is extremely hon- ored to have received this award,” said the couple’s daughter, Marshika Szabo, who joined the business in 2009, and who serves as an opera- tions and development manager, handling business development UCSF Gellert Center aids family businesses to develop and expand Koshland Park blooms after reconstruction Dr. Hudson at UCSF office - Photo by Mike McCoy. Contents Neighborhood News ........7 SF News Briefs ..................4 Community Voices ...........8 MarketPlace .....................12 Writers Lindsay Adams, Samantha Bell, Jessica Buchleitner, Marie Pauline Cabansagan, Danielle Clark, Kellie Ell, Lindsey Ellis, Malory Emerson, Julie McCoy, Midgett, Sarah Morgan, Monica Saich Cedric Moore - Publisher Gretchen Quandt - Editor Abby Zimberg - Designer Yelena Kisler - Backup Designer Fred Adrian - Delivery Manager Mike Griffin, Mike McCoy, Shawn Raissi, Ashley Thompson Photographers Peace tiles at the park by local schoolchildren - Photo courtesy of communitygrows.org.
Transcript
Have a Great Summer!
Youths at Philanthro Event Page 11
August 2011
Brenda Lauer RN, Coming of Age Page 3
Young Gardener at Urban Farms Page 9
continued on page 2
By Danielle Clark
When looking at the Western Addition Peace Wall that surrounds Koshland
Park, it is hard to imagine all the time and emotion that went into the construction of the peace tiles. This wall, which is located at 300 Page St., is the result of working with at-risk youth from Megan Furth Academy – formerly known as Sacred Hearts Elementary School – and John Muir Elementary School.
These children – participants of a pro-gram that taught nonviolence though art – were asked to illustrate tiles with pictures they believed represented peace. The artwork of these children, along with the unifying artwork of tile artist, Justine Tot Tatarsky, are what make up the walls of Koshland Park today, and represent the community’s com-mitment to peace since its installation on June 9, 2007.
Peace has spread within the walls of Koshland Park now that the grounds which are located in the Lower Haight have been renovated and are served by the Community Grows program. Currently, Koshland Park is a mix of blooming flowers, architectural design and beautiful thriving garden plots.
Community Grows Director Barbara Wenger approved the improvements that have been made in the park, which has made it a much safer place for families.
This began in 1994, when the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group – HVNPG – began procuring grants for renovation, and the Western Addition Peace Wall was part
continued on page 11
Julie McCoy
Back in 2002, the University of California at San Francisco –
UCSF – contacted the Carl and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation based in Daly City for funding. Since one of the foundation’s goals is to support and contribute to education-relat-ed causes, the foundation agreed to give one-half million dollars to UCSF, which used the money to create a family business center on campus.
The Gellert Family Business Center at UCSF now recognizes and supports family-owned and operated businesses with an annual award, explained Director Monika Hudson. In order to be eligible for the award, a family-owned busi-ness must have been in business 15 years or longer and have no larger than $7 million in revenue.
In giving out the awards, the center looks at such things as whether or not a nominee has a family constitution, the beginning of a succession plan in place, what its operations systems look like, and its marketing and financing. The awards are given in May, during the National Small Business Week. Winners receive a certificate.
Family-owned businesses can nominate themselves, or nomina-tions can come from the commu-nity. “We contact banks, etcera,” Hudson said. “We recognize this is a somewhat arbitrary process.”
Many of the winners are not only family-owned and operated, but represent diversity. “You’ll see a lot of diversity just even in who the family is,” Hudson said.
One of this year’s recipients was the San Francisco-based MOET Institute, an independent, continu-ing medical education and research
organization that helps fulfill the training need of practicing physi-cians and physicians in training. The MOET Institute was launched by Zoltan Szabo, who is from Hungary, and his wife, Wanda Toy, who is Chinese American.
“Our family is extremely hon-ored to have received this award,” said the couple’s daughter, Marshika Szabo, who joined the business in 2009, and who serves as an opera-tions and development manager, handling business development
UCSF Gellert Center aids family businesses to develop and expand
Exhale is a national organiza-tion based in Oakland that
provides support for people experiencing abortion – without bringing in the political, moral and religious debate. They oper-ate under the assumption that women are having abortions – and will continue to do so – regardless of any debate.
The topic of abortion heats up a conversation quickly, and for that reason information can be passed by or overlooked before opinions begin to dominate. An induced abortion is the termina-tion of a pregnancy. Healthcare providers offer different types of procedures. Induced abortions are legal procedures in every state. The availability of abortion providers varies from state to state, and states have their own jurisdiction surrounding laws for teenagers.
Research by the Guttmacher Institute shows one in every three American women will have an abortion by the age of 45. Teens account for fewer than two in every ten, and the vast majority of these teens are 18 or 19 years of age. At least 58 per-cent of women having abortions are in their twenties, and six in ten women who have abortions already have a child. Reflecting large inequities in contracep-tion, health care, education, and employment, women of color are much more like to have an unintended pregnancy, and are disproportionately likely to have an abortion.
Aspen Baker co-founded Exhale after her own experience with abortion. “I personally had a lot of feelings. A lot of the services that existed at the time were religious based, and sort of becoming an activist against the procedure was required. I didn’t feel your feelings should be politicized; this could be one area of the debate we could make some room around.”
Exhale is funded by commu-nity donations. By not present-ing judgments or morals, they aid women through talk therapy and community resources. They provide services, training and education to empower individu-als, families and communities to achieve post-abortion health and well-being. Exhale runs volunteer trainings twice a year, with one this upcoming fall. Baker says it is a competitive process, and they ensure the program is the right match for the volunteer. The accepted volunteers train for 60 hours before they graduate to be of service.
When asked how Baker would encourage women to get involved, she responded that if
you’ve had an abortion and want a nonjudgmental place, reaching Exhale will guarantee someone who will be on your side no mat-ter what. “Our volunteers are available to talk to you.” She continued, “A big part of what we do is create a safe space for people to talk because there’s so few in our political social world. When someone does experience an abortion, it’s hard to know who to talk to, and it’s hard for family and friends to know how to respond – how to say, ‘Oh, you’ve had that; let me listen to you, talk to you.’”
Spanish-speaking coun-selors are available every Wednesday, and counselors who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Tagalog are avail-able upon request.
“When it comes to abortion, people have a lot to say, but when it comes to personal experi-ence, people are often left speech-less,” Baker related in an online storytelling tool. “I was just was so ... shocked, sad, surprised by this total disconnection between how the political debate about abortion happened and then what I was actually feeling and experiencing.” Baker’s statement epitomizes Exhale’s mission to create a social climate where each person’s unique experience with abortion is supported, respected and free from stigma. Their agen-da is abortion peace, and they attempt to reach peace through listening and storytelling.
Exhale calls this model ‘pro-voice,’ and they are creating a movement through public edu-cation. Baker and other members of the organization travel around the country appearing on panels and creating forums for women; they stir the social media dia-logue by posting video, surveys and stories on their blog. They publish a bilingual magazine called “Our Truths – Nuestras Verdades.” Recently, their model set the tone of MTV specials regarding teen pregnancy, and the hotline was provided as a
resource for viewers. The phones rang off the hook.
“A poll came out last week that shows ‘pro-choice’, ‘pro-life’ terms don’t reflect the views peo-ple have,” Baker said. “Society can move past the conflict, past the war over abortion to a peace-ful dialogue. Women who have had them are not one woman; they don’t share one belief sys-tem; we all fall along a spectrum of values. We’re really wanting to engage the majority of Americans that have stories to tell.”
Statistics support that stories lead to peace. The Public Religion Research Institute published a study in June 2011 finding that knowing someone who had an abortion, or who had seen one of MTV’s recent reality shows about pregnant teenagers showed a positive impact on support for abortion’s legality.
Support was also found for awareness-shifting attitudes towards gay marriage. As accep-tance has grown for the gay com-munity, one is more likely to know a wonderful person who identifies as gay and wants the rights to marry. Pro-Voice oper-ates with a desire for the same outcome: If people discuss abor-tion experiences openly, every-one will understand they know a woman who has had an abortion, and will be less likely to condemn their choice, or attempt to limit their options.
Exhale’s mission grew through listening to the thou-sands of women and men who called the hotline, by listening and learning their needs. Similar to the dissonance Baker personal-ly experienced after her abortion, the public conversation about abortion was not lining up with the stories and needs expressed. The Pro-Voice campaign attempts to reconcile the two.
“It’s a position; it’s an approach that says our voices and experiences should be at the cen-ter of the debate, guiding philos-ophy, and always creating forums for women to tell their story and be heard. They can do that in private on our hotline. Wherever women show up and want to be, we want them to know, ‘We’ll be standing beside you.’”
More information can be found by visiting http://www.4exhale.org/ by reading more on the Web site, http://exhaleisprovoice.wordpress.com/, or by calling the Hotline: 1-866-4EXHALE.
Exhale and the Pro-Voice community want you to share – and to listen
Koshland Park continued from page 1
continued on page 3
of that reconstruction. In 2009, HVNPG changed their name to Community Grows and they have been expanding ever since.
Community Grows offers many programs, including: Let Us Grow Summer Camp; Gardening Classes with John Muir and Rosa Parks Elementary Schools; and Garden Workdays. These programs serve many of the area’s underserved high schools, groups and youth organizations. The Mo-Magic Summer Science Program, The Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens – B.E.E.T. Rangers – and the Seed to Mouth Program are also host-ed by Community Grows.
In the Koshland Park Community Learning Garden, the B.E.E.T. Rangers are hard at work learning how to grow and maintain their futures. The program offers its eight partic-ipants – all underserved teen-agers between the ages of 15 and 19 – knowledge that will help prepare them for jobs in environmentally friendly career fields. They also acquire other important job and interpersonal
skills such as lessons on how to create a resume and leader-ship training. In addition to the hands-on work the teens do in the garden, the B.E.E.T. Rangers are also provided lectures from guest speakers. There are over forty partners who work with the B.E.E.T. Rangers, including several farmers of Marin County and Bay Area farmers markets.
“My favorite thing to do out here in the garden is groom the carrots,” said Ezekiel McCarter, the B.E.E.T.’s jovial funny guy. B.E.E.T Ranger Quincy Smith-Frierson said he likes the lettuce and cherry tomatoes the best, and fellow B.E.E.T. Anija Gaino likes to prune the apple trees.
“Being part of the B.E.E.T. Rangers makes me face my great-est fears,” joked Terrie Kendrix after spending hours gardening alongside her friends in the pro-gram: “Earlier today there was a worm on my foot.”
“I’d just be laying around outside right now if I weren’t here,” said Lyric Lewis, a B.E.E.T. Ranger who was on the news recently for being awarded a
Group counselling session at the center - Photo courtesy of Exhale.org.
Brenda Lauer has kept herself very busy in her retirement.
A fast-talking native New Yorker, Lauer spent the first 7 1/2 years in Asia after her retirement. She now volunteers as a nurse at Clinic by the Bay in San Francisco, where she teaches two one-hour health workshops each month. Lauer found her position at Clinic by the Bay through a program called Coming of Age, where the retired or soon-to-be retired explore their talents and options for the future.
Lauer participated in an “Explore Your Future” workshop at Coming of Age last July. The workshops are designed to help people 50+ to focus on what they want to do – based on their val-ues, influences and interests.
“[Coming of Age] helps you envision what you want your life to be like,” said Lauer.
When members complete the workshop, Coming of Age pro-vides a talent coach to set and solidify some of their goals.
“I wanted to do a little more give back to the community,” said Lauer. “I want to do educa-tion and reach a lot of people in a different way.”
Lauer worked as a registered nurse for 29 years before retiring. She then traveled abroad as a vol-unteer on the board of a research facility in Thailand – where she reviewed proposed and on-going infectious disease research proj-ects. She spent 5 1/2 years in Thailand and two years in Japan before returning to the United States.
“I was fortunate actually, because when I stopped working I immediately went overseas,” said Lauer.
Lauer began working on the renovation of her home when she returned to the U.S., and
therefore didn’t feel officially retired until after this project was completed.
“I retired – I feel – after I fin-ished my house,” said Lauer.
Clinic by the Bay is located in the Excelsior District of San Francisco and is an all-volun-teer run free clinic that provides health care for uninsured and underinsured people of the com-munity. Clinic by the Bay pro-vides health seminars to educate the community on topics includ-ing diabetes, nutrition, stress management and men’s health issues.
The seminars reach the Excelsior and Daly City com-munities, many of whom are Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking immigrants.
“We’ve provided a lot of information,” said Lauer. “We are going back to nutrition because that is a major cause of many problems.”
Lauer said her experience at Clinic by the Bay has been a rewarding one. “The more you give, the more you get back; it’s very satisfying,” said Lauer.
Bonnie Lawrence is the communications manager for Coming of Age. Lawrence said Coming of Age encourages mem-bers like Lauer to explore the questions they might have about the future. Members and partici-pants of Coming of Age are mak-ing decisions such as whether to retire, whether to move, go back to school or change professions.
Lawrence said many Coming of Age members are looking for direction and simply need an action plan to realize their goals. “Life doesn’t go on forever,” said Lawrence. “You only have one shot, and maybe it’s time to think about what you want to do.”
Coming of Age has only been in San Francisco for a year,
and Lawrence said the program already has around 400 members and 1,000 subscribers to their newsletter. Lawrence said mem-bership to Coming of Age is free, and members receive discounted rates on workshops.
Coming of Age connects members with organizations seeking volunteers. Opportunities include working with children, with the homeless population, or working in community gardens or in clinics.
“We encourage people to get involved in the community and look for meaningful volunteer opportunities,” said Lawrence.
She also said many of the members become close friends and are able to network to share opportunities. “It becomes a sup-port group and resource sharing group,” Lawrence said.
With an already full retire-ment, Lauer plans to continue on the path of community service. Lauer said she is looking forward to fulfilling her goal of partici-pating in HIV/AIDS outreach in addition to the volunteer work she currently participates in.
“I am reading about how the HIV rate has grown in African American women. I didn’t realize it was growing and I feel there is something I can do in terms of teaching, to teach women how to protect themselves,” said Lauer.
When asked what she would tell other people of retirement age who are deciding what to do next, Lauer said she would tell them to plan ahead, not only financially but to actively devel-op hobbies and get involved in the community. “I would tell them to do what pleases them,” said Lauer.
Lauer said that Coming of Age helped her use the tools she had and solidify her goals. “The only reason I’m at Clinic by the Bay is because of Coming of Age. They did help me a lot,” said Lauer.
For more information about Coming of Age in the Bay Area, visit: http://www.comingofage.org/bayarea.
For more information on Clinic by the Bay, visit:
http://www.clinicbythebay.org.
Seniors
Setting new personal goals and assisting others in retirement years
Koshland Park continued from page 2
scholarship, “but here I’m learn-ing and my favorite plant is the chamomile, because it smells like skittles.”
This summer for the first time the B.E.E.T. Rangers will be paired with younger kids in a mentoring program, something in which they all seem eager to participate.
The Seed-to-Mouth program takes place across the street from Koshland Park in the Hayes Valley Apartments clubhouse. In Seed-to-Mouth, the children gather on Thursdays from 2-4 through July 28 to prepare and eat a well-balanced meal, and to learn about the nutritious value of what they’re eating. Their plates are adorned with such foods as collard greens, corn bread, and yams. It is evident that the cooking is being done well when all seven of the pro-gram’s participants named the
said, “One of my favorite foods is salad. I eat smarter now because I know better.”
Chris McAllister and D’Airioo Jordan admitted that their favor-
ite foods are still macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sand-wiches, but they like to have col-lard greens on the side.
“My favorite part about com-ing here is cooking, and talking, and eating,” said Mikayia, happy that she gets to share this experi-ence with her friends.
It is apparent that the chil-dren in these groups are grateful for what Community Grows is offering them, and they seem to enjoy participating as well, “They spend a lot of time on this,” said Garden Educator April Valentine, as she helped the children serve themselves. “These kids put a lot of thought and effort into their food.”
For more information on Community Grows and all Community Grows programs please visit their website: http://www.communitygrows.org.
collard greens as their favorite thing to eat.
Charles Johnson pointed to all the food on his plate when asked what his favorite was, and
From right to left: Maria Silveira, NP - Clinic Manager; Bonnie Schwartz, LCSW; Brenda Lauer, RN; Wendy Wu Huang, BSN PHN; Barbara Quinn, RN - Photo by Ashley Thompson.
B.E.E.T. Rangers preparing soil matrix for seed planting. - Photo courtesy of communitygrows.org.
The head of the San Francisco Arts Commission – SFAC – and Director of Cultural Affairs, Luis R. Cancel, announced his res-ignation in July, stating that he and his wife Regina Miranda, a contemporary dancer and cho-reographer, would be returning to his native New York later this summer.
“I thank the staff and Commissioners for the privilege of being their director,” Cancel said in a press release. “It has been a pleasure to serve such a passionate arts community, and you can rest assured that Regina and I will remember this city fondly.”
Gavin Newsom – the former mayor – appointed Cancel to the position in 2007, after Cancel had served as the executive direc-tor of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center in New York City’s Lower East Side.
Mayor Lee thanked Cancel for “his leadership of the San Francisco Arts Commission over the last 3 1/2 years. We wish him well and appreciate his work to increase awareness of the impor-tance of the cultural sector to our City’s economy.”
Cancel’s post came under fire this summer after it was revealed that he collected a paycheck for 71 hours this past April when he was on a trip to his wife’s native Brazil. Critics say he took unfair advantage of the system and was paid to go on vacation. Cancel said he was telecommuting and conducting meetings via Skype.
Regardless, Cancel’s time with the Commission produced many great things, including introducing Culture Wire, a SFGovTV program covering the arts in San Francisco; the com-pletion of the first Strategic Plan; and Cancel’s work in securing a $5 million deal to move The Mexican Museum to a perma-nent home downtown in the Yerba Buena cultural district.
“I always accept these posi-tions of public service fully understanding that one occupies the post for a short period of time, and it’s best to get things accomplished in the finite win-dow that is handed to you,” Cancel said.
The primary role of SFAC – which was established in 1932 – is to allocate funds to Bay Area artists, cultural centers and the San Francisco Symphony, as well as “integrating the arts into all aspects of city life.” The commis-sion recently moved into a new, larger office space in prepara-tion for their 80th anniversary in 2012.
Cancel was the first Latin American to head the New York
City Department of Cultural Affairs, and he was Director of the Bronx Museum of Art for 14 years. He holds a master’s degree in museum management, as well as one in arts administration, from New York University, in addition to a degree in public administration from Harvard.
Cancel’s last day was Friday, July 8. An interim director will be in place until Mayor Lee selects a new permanent director.
“I think [the] arts is one of the most positive things we do in the city,” Lee said. “I want to make sure the [San Francisco] Arts Commission finds some-body that not only they are satis-fied with from a personnel level, but who excites us in terms of art.”
Mayor appoints three new members to SF redistricting task force
Mayor Lee has selected three new members for the San Francisco Redistricting Task Force: Myong Leigh, Sonia Melara and Marily Mondejar. The nine-member team is in charge of rezoning the supervi-sorial district lines, which will most likely reshape the political landscape throughout the city for future elections. The mayor, the board of supervisors and the Elections Commission are each responsible for choosing three people.
Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census report. The 2010 census deter-mined that there are 805,235 people living in San Francisco, a 3.7 percent increase –or 28,502 additional residents – since the census in 2000. The population growth, however, was not evenly distributed throughout the 11 districts, according to the Office of the Mayor.
In accordance with the San Francisco City Charter, the Director of Elections must deter-mine if the current districts meet the requirements established by federal, state and local laws. If they do not, the board of super-visors is required to reconvene a task force to “redistrict” the supervisory lines.
“The census has shown the population of San Francisco [has] grown, and changes to our vot-ing districts must adequately reflect our communities and our City,” Mayor Lee said.
According to the San Francisco City Charter, all dis-tricts must comply with the U.S. Constitution, have equal popula-tions, and keep “communities of interest” in the same district, yet not redraw lines based on race or in an attempt to weaken minor-ity groups.
According to Lee, the three candidates were chosen because they “all will bring valuable community involvement and
experience to the Redistricting Task Force that will have lasting impacts on our residents and our City.”
Appointees are required to be registered San Francisco vot-ers who have voted within the last year; represent the “diverse population” of the city; have not contributed to a political cam-paign for more than one year; are not a “direct-hire” employee of an elected official; and have a general working knowledge of the city and its neighborhoods.
All three appointees have impressive resumes: Myong Leigh is a deputy superintendent for Policy and Operations in the San Francisco Unified School District; Sonia Melara is the executive director of the Rally Family Visitation Services at St. Francis Memorial Hospital; and Marily Mondejar is the presi-dent of the Filipina Women’s Network, a nonprofit profes-sional association for women of Philippine decent living in the United States.
The entire group will work with city employees and private consultants, while holding hear-ings to receive voter feedback in deciding how to redistrict the city to meet the legal requirements and needs of locals. District 6
in the South of Market, or SoMa neighborhood, also encompasses the Tenderloin, North Mission area, the Sixth Street corridor and Treasure Island. It has grown to become the largest district in the city, with some 24,000 new residents in the last decade. The task force will need to put 21,000 residents into a different district to make district lines fair and even. A final plan outlining the new districts is due to be present-ed to the board of supervisors by April 2012.
SF is greenest city in North America
In June, San Francisco was named the Greenest City in North America by the first North American Green Cities Index, beating out Seattle, New York, Denver and Boston – ranking above the other four of the top five cities named.
“It’s certainly an honor for San Francisco to be named the ‘greenest’ city in North America, and it’s great to get recognition for the good work San Franciscans have done,” said Mayor Lee. “I think there’s nowhere else on earth where you will find more environmentally involved resi-dents, businesses and visitors than in San Francisco.”
While many caregivers and senior homes focus their
time and resources on giving elderly clients physical care, a local group is devoted to helping nourish their minds.
Engage as You Age is an orga-nization based in San Francisco that focuses on pairing up seniors with “activity special-ists” – aiming to stimulate the minds of elderly clients with conversations, lessons and cre-ative activities.
Understanding that many seniors – especially those with Alzheimer’s or dementia – are in need of companionship and mental stimulation, the organi-zation works closely with the families of patients and acts as an auxiliary service to care homes by providing cognitive and social interactions.
“It’s a very grassroots move-ment that speaks to what’s miss-ing in the industry,” said Ben Lewis, the founder of Engage as You Age. “It just seems like common sense that seniors would need to regularly interact with someone with the same interests who could help stretch their minds.”
The group’s approach to providing mental support for seniors is threefold: weekly one-on-one sessions that last about two to three hours, with care-fully planned activities designed to stimulate the mind that may take place in the patient’s resi-dence or retirement home; facil-itated group discussions on a wide range of topics; and low-tech solutions that allow older adults to connect with their fam-ilies online.
The inspiration for Engage as You Age came from Lewis’ own experience in spending qual-ity time with a senior after he first moved to San Francisco. He regularly visited Anna, a 91-year-old patient confined to a retire-ment community and suffer-ing numerous health problems, holding long conversations with her about history – a subject they both loved. Eventually, Lewis found other people to visit and befriend Anna.
“She would come alive whenever we visited,” Lewis said. “It made a huge difference in her life.”
After Anna passed away, leaving some money to Lewis with a mandate for him to share with other seniors what he had shared with her, Lewis realized there was a “profound need” to reach out to the more than one million seniors in the Bay Area, and that this need tapped into both his interests and experi-
Engaging senior spirit to promote mental health and well-beingences.
As the organization grew, Lewis continued to try to find ways to help socially isolated and depressed seniors through social interaction.
“They tend to not have a voice, or they need help, but have a hard time accepting it,” he said.
Each of their sessions is
custom-designed based on the needs, interests and passions of the patient; no two sessions look alike. Activities could range from reading a book or newspaper and then critically discussing the content afterwards to painting or sculpting, or to going for a walk and enjoying the outdoors.
“People develop a rhythm, but we like to shake things up a bit every now and then by intro-ducing new activities,” Lewis added.
Activity specialists – who work with only one or two seniors at a time and are only asked to make a six-month commitment – are chosen very carefully and are matched with patients whom they could complement well in terms of personality and inter-ests. Because of this, Engage as You Age employs people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and many of them are professionals with years of experience in their given field.
All of the 250 specialists go through a thorough background check and are asked to write essays about what kind of people they would like to work with, in order to determine which patient could best benefit from interacting with them.
“We get to know them [employees] first and figure out their comfort zone,” Lewis said. “And it’s not just about interests; it’s also the personalities. It’s like trying to set up two of your friends. It creates a wonderful dynamic.”
One such example is Bridget Wynne, an employee who once worked with an elderly woman named Maimie. Wynne was a
rabbi who ran a nonprofit orga-nization that helped people get connected with Jewish life. She found Engage as You Age after reading about it in a news article.
Upon getting hired, she was matched up with Maimie, who was also Jewish and was then writing her autobiography as a Holocaust survivor. Because Maimie’s vision was failing,
Wynne helped edit her book and trace back her genealogical history – something she already did as a hobby.
“She had a fascinating life,” Wynne said. “I read the book chapters out loud to her and rounded up some of her family history. She was a really good writer.”
Wynne and Maimie’s collab-orative work resulted in Maimie’s writing getting published in a magazine and an anthology. “She expanded my sense of con-nection to history,” Wynne said.
Engage as You Age employ-ees are given numerous details about who they’ll be working with. “We have them work with someone who they genuinely believe they can help and con-nect with,” said Lewis. “We paint a vivid picture – then help them construct a game plan.”
Engage as You Age makes it a point to get to know each elderly person before finding a special-ist to work with them. They work with the families of seniors and gather as much information about them as possible.
“We try to get a snapshot of who they really are, even from years ago,” said Lewis. “Each person is different, so all our activities are custom-tailored to the individual.”
He added that the program has immense benefits for the seniors, which are “not some-thing that can be captured in data.” The biggest improvement is an emotional result, according to Lewis, as they become more evidently happier.
“Their face lights up when
you come in,” he said. “They look forward to visits. We give them something to think about, a different focus.”
Selma is an 84-year-old woman in a care home who is visited by employee Stacey Palevsky every week. Palevsky said that although Selma is more highly functioning than others in her facility, she is very lonely and has a serious need for social interaction.
Palevsky – a former journal-ist – regularly reads news articles aloud to Selma on a variety of topics she enjoys, such as poli-tics and women’s rights, and the two spend time in debate and critical discussion.
“It’s rewarding to know that I make a difference for her,” Palevsky said. “She has told me, point blank, that she loves and adores me and that I help her sleep better because she’s more stimulated. She told me I help her feel normal.”
The program’s success is also measured by the positive feed-back given by the families, as well as regular evaluations done by the activity specialists. Lewis requires detailed session reports from his employees in order to gauge the success of each visit and for continually developing best practices.
Not every session is a com-plete success, however. Lewis admitted that his specialists sometimes encounter difficult sessions when patients are not having their best day, or when family members place unreal-istic expectations on the visits. Nonetheless, Lewis feels that his approach mostly works because of all the positive responses he gets, and the changes he sees in each senior’s life.
The organization’s ultimate goal is to influence more Bay Area residents to care about cre-ating meaningful social interac-tions with the elderly.
“I’d like to see a culture wherein people are enraged that so many [older] people are slip-ping through the cracks and are very disconnected,” he said. “This is the bigger picture that I’m fired up about … it’s changed me.”
Palevsky agreed that there is a need for people to shift their thinking about the impor-tance of socialization for older adults. “We’re so willing to pay for medications, surgeries and housing to keep people alive and healthy, but those things do not make life worth living and don’t make you happy,” she said. “Happiness comes from the people around us … you can’t put a price tag on it.”
Elder enjoying book being read by an activity specialist - Photo courtesy of engageasyouage.com.
When it comes to thrift stores, Goodwill is at the
top of the game, but there is more to this household name than cheap clothing, knick-knacks and furniture. Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin plays an inte-gral role in environmental and social service work around the Bay Area.
It is no surprise that when you donate unwanted goods to Goodwill, you are partaking in an important environmental action by providing the oppor-tunity for recycling and reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. What you may not know is that Goodwill does more than resell donated items. They also provide oppor-tunities for reuse and if not, then they will be recycled. Each year, Goodwill recycles over 7,000 tons of electronics, computers, textiles, paper, cardboard, shoes, books, metals and plastics.
When all is said and done, 75% of all donated goods are reused, resold or recycled. According to Goodwill, this gen-erates over $21 million in rev-enue, which is 85% of the agen-cy’s annual budget. This in turn
allows Goodwill to provide job placement services to those who need it the most – immigrants, seniors, veterans, military fami-lies, youth and those with dis-abilities, criminal backgrounds or on government assistance.
In August of 2000, Terence Smith lost both feet to diabetes. He recalls, “I had to relearn the simple things that we all take for granted, like dressing, washing, and walking.” Once he regained these abilities, the next challenge was finding work. “Because of the large gap in my resume and
my physical disability, nobody wanted to take a chance on me,” Smith said.
After being referred to Goodwill’s Department of Rehabilitation Establishment Grant Program, things started looking up. The program pro-vides employment preparation, job placement and job retention services to people with disabili-ties. According to Smith, this allowed him to gain self-confi-dence and learn “how to con-duct myself in a job interview. I learned to convince potential
employers that I could do the job despite my physical disabil-ity.”
Before losing his job, Smith had a job in accounting. At Goodwill, he was directed towards accounting software classes that gave him a com-petitive edge in the workplace. Goodwill’s Finance Department was “impressed with his resil-ience, enthusiasm and enhanced skills,” and pursued him as a job applicant for a full-time position with Goodwill. Today, he is a revenue accountant at Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties.
Goodwill has an extensive list of services and programs for employment in the Bay Area. Since 2009, Goodwill Industries has also offered an employment program for at-risk youth called the RAMP Academy. The pro-gram is a six week intensive job readiness training program that is aimed at young adults ages 18-24 from the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.
The Bayview Hope Trucking Academy assists people in under-served community to obtain Class A and B licenses. Fred – a graduate of the school – recalls,
Goodwill provides jobs and rehabilitation along with reuse of goods
By Monica Saich
SFJAZZ is a world leading pre-senter of jazz and related
forms of music, giving over 100 performances each year. A des-ignated nonprofit, SFJAZZ wears many hats; booking and giv-ing performances and also help-ing with grants and foundation awards in the form of education activities.
Co-founded in 1983 by Randall Kline, SFJAZZ was origi-nally entitled “Jazz In the City” and was intended to “cultivate jazz as a living art form with a rich past” – a motto which the organization has certainly car-ried out.
As one of the only two major organizations in the entire coun-try that are dedicated to jazz music, SFJAZZ boasts the largest performing arts organization in the greater Bay Area. Marshall Lamm, of the public relations department, aptly summed this up when he stated, “The world listens to SFJAZZ, for we cel-ebrate jazz as a living art form built on a constantly evolving tradition.”
As an organization, SFJAZZ promotes a full spectrum of jazz music, starting with deep roots in the African American com-munity and extending many different expressions of the genre around the world. The organization books a variety of jazz ensembles, ranging from an
up-and-coming singer, Ambrose Akinmusire, to living legends such asTony Bennett.
“We nurture young musi-cians and foster young fans,” Lamm said. “We also encour-age a vibrant local music scene with our SFJAZZ summerfest and HotPlate programs,” he added. According to Lamm, SFJAZZ utilizes a variety of venues for their shows, ranging from the Great American Music Hall to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; there is definitely not a lack of space for the organization to book and perform shows.
SFJAZZ also has a deep con-nection to their subject, with jazz being one of the oldest forms of music in our nation. “Jazz is thrilling,” Lamm said. “It’s amazing, exhilarating and thought-provoking music that stirs emotions of all kinds, deep within the heart, mind and soul. Its influence is felt worldwide, upgrading the quality of all relat-ed forms of music.”
SFJAZZ is a rightful nonprof-it with a philanthropic outlook on educational programs here in the Bay Area. “SFJAZZ serves thousands of adults and youth in communities across the Bay Area, with a dynamic and inno-vative array of educational pro-grams in the concert hall, class-room, and community,” stated Lamm.
Lamm noted that many of these programs are free of charge and designed to help those with a passion for jazz knowledge. The programs are taught by all star jazz instructors themselves. An array of programs is featured in SFJAZZ’s repertoire, including the “Discover Jazz” series, “Jazz in the Middle”and “SFJAZZ High School All Stars.” Each program is different and is geared towards a specific age group within the community.
The “Discover Jazz Series” is among the most popular, accord-ing to Lamm. The course is said to be an in-depth look at jazz music in all of its forms and vari-ations. This course combines jazz
history, live performance and video. This course is designed to “offer the most distinctive jazz appreciation course available for adults,” Lamm stated. “We love for people to learn more about jazz and music as that helps to really tell the story of America and the world.”
“Jazz in the Middle” is a program geared towards mid-dle school students who have developed an early passion for America’s most soulful type of music. Developed in 2001, SFJAZZ partnered with the San Francisco Unified School District to address an apparent need for art education in many middle schools around the city. This
Jazz instruction enhances musical education for youthscontinued on page 12
continued on page 12
Donations flow through central reuse center for redistribution to Goodwill stores - Photo by Shawn Raissi.
SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra with Director Paul Contos - Photo courtesy of SFJAZZ Archives; SFJazz.org.
Summer 2011: Fillmore Plaza’s Summer Concert & Film Series; Reggae Festival
The Fillmore free summer concert and film series con-tinues at the center plaza at Fillmore and O’Farrell Streets. The Thursday night films and Friday night concerts begin at 7 p.m. The next three are: Aug. 6, Akeelah and The Bee, preceded by Handful Players; Aug. 14, Sila and the Afro Funk Experience;
and Aug. 20, I r o n M a n , preceded by Inf in8Sync and the Independent Artists Group/BYOA.
T h e n , on Saturday, Aug. 27, will be the F i l l m o r e ’ s first reggae Festival, in the center plaza.
National Night Out – Aug. 2, 5-8 p.m.
The Lower Fillmore Neighborhood Association – LFNA – presents news of National Night Out, an outreach program aimed to strengthen police and community part-nerships. On Tuesday, Aug. 2, law enforcement, government officials and Western Addition residents will meet to generate support for anti-crime programs and community activities. Food and entertainment will be pro-vided. National Night Out will be held this year at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center. Entertainment will be provided by Trash Mash-Up – a commu-nity art project.
Western Addition Health Fair and Backpack Giveaway – Aug. 13, 10-2 p.m.
School is almost in ses-sion again, and it is impor-tant that every student be prepared. The Annual W e s t e r n A d d i t i o n Health Fair and Backpack
Giveaway is an opportunity to help youths succeed in school by giving them the necessary supplies (pen, paper, notebooks, markers and backpacks). The free event is held at Ella Hill Hutch Community Center at 1050 McAllister, at Webster, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For additional information, contact Sheryl or Myke at 563.5207.
NoPa
NoPa Velo Bike Ride – Aug. 28, 10-2 p.m.
Grab your bike and hel-met for the NoPa Velo Bike Ride on Sunday, August 28. The bike ride begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to finish around 2 p.m. For informa-tion on the route and distance contact Lenore at 415.300.6744 or Rick at 650.714.7425. All levels of cyclists are welcome.
Japantown
September opening for new SFFS cinema site
The San Francisco Film Society - SFFS - will move in September to a new site at 1746
Post St., in Japantown near Webster Street. Leased from New
People Cinema, the new site will allow SFFS to present year-round films, events, classes, and discus-sions.
The 38th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair, Aug. 13-14
The annu-al Nihonmachi Street Fair will take place this year in Japantown on Saturday and Sunday, Aug.13-14, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Many nonprofit organi-zations participate in the fair, which celebrates the contribu-tions Asian and Pacific American communities have made to the Bay Area. Community volun-teers include several generations, ranging from the very young to the elderly, with a theme of inspiring others to give back to their communities.
This year's Nihonmachi Street Fair is dedicated to the people of Northern Japan and the many volunteers that are helping with the relief efforts.
More information can be found at http://www.nihonma-chistreetfair.org/.
Compiled by Sarah Morgan
Alamo Square
Divisadero Art Walk – Aug. 11, 5-11 p.m.
The Divisadero Art Walk fea-tures local artists, vendors, res-taurants, and businesses in the Divisadero corridor. The walk is held to promote local tal-ents and bring the community together. This month’s Art Walk is on Thursday, August 11 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The 28th Annual Alamo Square Flea Market – Aug. 20, 9-3 p.m.
T h e 28th Annual Alamo Square Flea Market p r o m i s e s a n t i q u e s , a r t w o r k , b o o k s , j e w e l r y , collectibles, household t r e a s u r e s and more on Saturday, August 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The flea market features local vendors of all cali-bers and an “Off the Grid” sec-tion for food and refreshments. Vendors will be located from Scott and Fulton Streets to Hayes Street.
Bayview Hunters Point
BAYCAT Course Registration – applications due Aug. 26
Nonprofit community media producer BAYCAT is holding registration for its free music production and digital filmmaking courses. The courses are open to ages 11 to 17. The Music Production course teach-es youth to make beats, record sound and vocals, and digitally edit audio tracks. The course meets every Tuesday and Thursday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., from Sept. 13 to Dec.8.
The Digital F i l m m a k i n g class allows stu-dents to work as a crew, and to go on-loca-tion to pro-duce episodes of BAYCAT’s “Zoom In” TV show, as well as to write/direct/edit their own video projects. This course meets every Monday and Wednesday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., from Sept. 12 to Dec. 7. Applications for the free BAYCAT courses are due by August 26. Apply online at www.baycat.org, or call 415.701.8228.
Japantown Peace Tower - Photo by Leland Fox.
Yoshi's on Fillmore - Photo by Leland Fox.
Design at Ella Hill Hutch - Photo by Mike Griffin.
Japanese Cultural Center - Photo by Ashley Thompson.
I am worth a million dollars in assets. I’m real clear when I
make that statement. How can I say I have a million in assets? I can. As a result, in the following areas in my life it is evident that I have them. My moth-er told me when I could first compre-hend these words, “You were the pret-tiest black child in the hospital.”
I was a very dark-skinned baby when I was born, so to use the term black was not an insult – it was just a statement. Like moth-
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Happy Birthday To MeWhen I applied for my first
counseling job in 1975 with adolescents, I was hired on the spot.
My smile: I know it is one of my best features and I share it as often as I can. I will look a person directly in their eyes. I received daily compliments. Some Individuals will respond that my smile has made their day.
Giving compli-ments: Most peo-ple respond with a
smile, or say “thank you,” while others might just look in shock. Sometimes I hear, “no one has ever said that me.” In my opin-ion, most people do not know their self-worth or assets. So it is difficult to give a compliment if you don’t know what your asset is in that department.
I am mentally astute and physically on top of my game; socially I have it going on. I am a very friendly and engaging per-son. Definitely a person you will not forget!
See the Oxford Paperback Dictionary and Thesaurus, Third Edition, 2009: Assets.
I will be celebrating two birthdays in August. On August 4, I will be 75 years old. August 22 is an anniversary of when I wrote my first column. I’m wealthy, healthy, silly and wise. As James Brown used to say, “I feel good.”
Mary Midgett is the author of “New York Flavor with a San Francisco Beat.” She is available to do presentations and seminars on social and family negotiations. She conducts workshops on parent-ing, self-esteem and social intimate relationships. She can be seen on You Tube and Facebook. Email her at [email protected].
viability of a particular program before implementation. The foundation does not leave these organizations behind, however; they also provide funding for implementation.
Program implementation funding is geared towards pro-grams in several areas: policy advocacy; community organiz-ing; leadership development; media; public education; and civic participation.
The foundation also funds collaborative work, including a partnership of two or more organizations united towards a common goal. It has done this through selective funding pro-grams – such as The Strong Field Project, stemming from a recent partnership with the Blue Shield of California Foundation.
In partnership with the Blue Shield of California Foundation, the Strong Field Project is a four-year effort aimed at building a strong, coordinated network of domestic violence service pro-viders in California. Blue Shield of California Foundation fund-ing will provide grants, train-ings, and other opportunities supporting a large amount of domestic violence organizations and leaders equipped to advance a stronger field. The project will develop the leadership skills of certain organizations and other crucial areas.
The foundation's Capacity Building program aims to improve a nonprofit's over-all effectiveness. The program includes the Spark Grant, with $5,000 for nonprofit consulting needs.
One level higher in the program is the Grow Grant, designed to support more com-plex projects in organizational transformation. Examples of which activities benefit from this type of funding include: strategic planning; organizational restruc-turing; fundraising training; and management and succession planning.
The Women’s Foundation of California understands that organizational change processes are often multiyear undertak-ings. This is why the foundation aims to provide support in any way it can.
During the past 30 years, the Women’s Foundation of California has built women lead-ers from all walks of life through their funding initiatives. These women have ventured on to strategically bend and shape their communities in countless ways. The changes we see in our California communities are likely to be a direct result of the foundation’s involvement.
er, like daughter; my daughter was also born very dark. But we both got lighter as the years progressed. Also, I pasted those words onto her when she was a baby.
Many of us don’t look at the following areas in our lives as assets, but will sometimes dwell on them as burdens. When I use the word “burdens,” I mean that we sometimes only see what we have to achieve, and how we are now using our assets. As a brief example, “I hate this darn job,” but not looking at your asset, which is the ability to do the job – typing or computer skills, or sharing particular knowledge about a particular issue. That is an asset.
Now that you have the pic-ture I will share my assets.
Verbal persuasion. I was sit-ting in a coffee shop in the Fillmore District. I asked a young man whom I didn’t know a question. He pointed out to another person that I did not know. When I asked for what I wanted, the end results were having the opportunity to write this column.
When I took a test to join the Women’s Army Corps – WAC – at the age of nineteen, I failed one of the tests. However, I had great references, and I persuaded the captain that I could be an asset to the corps. I was accepted.
When I arrived in San Francisco in August 1974, I applied for a teaching job the first work day in September. I persuaded the director that I was right for the job. I was hired on the spot.
By Jessica Buchleitner
One of their founders was nominated for a Nobel
Prize. One of their board mem-bers was named a MacArthur genius. They have over ten legis-lative wins to date. The Women’s Foundation of California is not just a breadbasket of funding – it is an organization full of relent-less advocates for social change.
The foundation has long provided funds for organiza-tions focusing on human rights, lesbian and transgender rights, environmental health, criminal justice work and campaigns to end violence against women. The foundation has crusaded in California communities to assist those frontline warriors who are working in these areas within widely diverse communities.
The foundation also awards grants to effective and innova-tive nonprofits, while also fund-ing organizations that work towards eradicating inequality and promoting systemic change by building grassroots strength, knowledge and connections. Preferred applicants to the foun-dation for funding include those focusing on gender, racial and human rights issues.
The Women’s Foundation of California focuses on four main categories in terms of determin-ing funding: general operating support; planning grants; project and program implementation; and collaborative work.
Past grantees see the foun-dation as being willing to help develop a potential that is frequently there in very low-income and rural communities. This includes rural communi-ties where women often do not have a voice and feel left out of the political process. These grantees see the foundation as being more than willing to "take a chance," but also being will-ing to offer real opportunities to these women.
General operating support for nonprofit organizations is usu-ally an area which many sourc-es of funding do not address. Underwriting the regular, ongo-ing costs crucial to an organiza-tion’s mission or function is one of the areas where the Women’s Foundation of California excels.
The foundation provides planning grants which help orga-nizations – particularly smaller grassroots organizations – define the scope, strategy, and roles and responsibilities of a program before it is implemented. Smaller organizations often lack the fore-sight to understand whether or not a particular program will be effective. Planning grants are necessary to help them thor-oughly plan and examine the
Funding communities for change
"My smile:I know it is one of my best features and I share it as often as I can."
Point Family – calls promptly at 10:30 a.m. to say she will be a little late. Five minutes later she arrives, coffee cup in hand, out-side her office at 1651 Quesada Ave., a modest yellow building tucked away in a row of adjacent houses.
“One of the beautiful things about living and working in your community is that every-one knows everyone; but the bad thing is that you can’t even walk down the street without having thirty conversations,” she said.
She added the last part of her statement with a smile express-ing that each and every one of those conversations is exactly why she lives and works in the community she does.
The Bayview Hunters Point district of San Francisco has been generally known as a dumping ground for the city. Although this area serves as an energy pro-ducer, it is also home to many toxic plants and waste dump sites.
To the area’s inhabitants, however, it is home to a proud close-knit community that refus-es to yield to the struggles it has been handed.
Miller, a Bayview Hunters Point native, began Hunters Point Family in 1997 – then called Girls 2000 – with the goal of providing a positive founda-tion for area youths, by trans-forming these young people from “high-risk” to “high-poten-tial.”
Today, this nonprofit offers many programs centered around education, career and commu-nity development. Urban Farms, one of the programs, provides participants with the unique experience of working on an urban organic farm.
“I was working full time at the mayor’s office and had just started Girls 2000. My son was 1 1/2 at the time, and I’d come home and just feed him junk. One day it just dawned on me that that’s what everyone in the community was doing,” Miller recalled.
So Urban Farms was born. More than a farm, the purpose of the program is to promote and teach healthy living. Participants learn to reconnect with nature and provide for themselves by working with nature’s rhythms and patterns. Every Thursday, workers distribute their organ-ic produce to families through the Hunters Point Family com-munity food pantry. They also sell their produce at the local Farmers Market.
“The seed we’re planting is self-sufficiency; growing food is not a skill we can afford to become disconnected with,” stressed Miller.
Additionally, Urban Farms provides workers with an occu-pational foundation. All par-ticipants are youths from the Bayview Hunters Point com-munity, with most being public housing residents. For many of these young people, working in the Urban Farms program was their first job experience.
Miller hopes that the objec-tive behind Urban Farms will continue to develop in her own community, as well as in the rest of San Francisco.
“One day we will have fruit trees in parks, so if a kid wants an apple he can just go get one. There can be enough food – healthy food – for everyone.”
This concept of providing healthy food for the Bayview Hunters Point community has led the Hunters Point Family to a new endeavor – the Get Fresh Juice Bar. In its final develop-ment, the Get Fresh Juice Bar will be youth-run and feature entirely “clean” food.
“No sugar, no white flour. All of those things that are making people sick – we won’t be using any of that,” assured Miller. “We’ll be using all natural ingre-dients – like maple syrup and honey as sweeteners.”
All workers will be trained to know the health benefits of every ingredient used. This way, they will be able to make edu-cated recommendations for their customers.
“A customer can walk in and say, “I have diabetes,” or “I have heart problems,” and our work-
ers will be able to tell them what they can choose to help that,” Miller explained. “It’s about using food as a source of nutri-ents and nourishment instead of eating just to be eating. We have some of the worst health in the area. We need to transform the way people relate to food.”
Aside from learning about healthy eating, the young people working at Get Fresh Juice Bar will be learning how to run a business, so that they may one day run a business of their own. The experience and skills they acquire – job training, business management, record keeping, and etcetera – will prepare them for careers in the future.
The Get Fresh Juice Bar is scheduled to open this summer in the Bayview Hunters Point area.
The Hunters Point Family – promoting healthy living with gardening
When asked why she does what she does, Miller’s smile was genuine. “I love my com-munity,” she stated simply.
After a beat, she went on, “Our community was destroyed in the 80s with drugs and weap-ons. I’m almost 40, so I can remember when our commu-nity was strong. We have the highest rate of heart-disease, diabetes, jail, homicide – and the highest number of homeless in San Francisco between the ages of 25 and 40 – black males. That’s a brand new statistic. But there’s a lot of love in our com-munity. There’s a big push to overcome. We deserve it.”And they truly do.
More information about The Hunters Point Family can be found on their Web site, www.hunterspointfamily.com.
SF News Briefs continued from page 4The study was commissioned
by the Siemens Corporation, and it was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist Newspaper, Ltd. The study compares 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on envi-ronmental performance and pol-icies. The nine categories include CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transportation, water, waste, air quality and environ-mental governance. The City by the Bay received top marks in six
of the nine categories, with waste as its strongest area, after being the first U.S. city to instruct resi-dents to compost and recycle their rubbish.
San Francisco also received second place in building struc-tures for its many green build-ings and energy efficient build-ing codes, second in transport and air for its low levels of pol-lutants, and second, as well, for the longest public transportation system.
“San Francisco is commit-ted to working toward a greener, healthier future for the city,” Lee said.
The report is based on 31 individual factors, including in-depth city portraits that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each metropolis, along with stressing environmentally friend-ly initiatives and projects – which other cities later incorporate into their own environs. The research also found a slight correlation
between wealth and environ-mental performance in the U.S. and Canada, but not as high as in Europe or Asia.
“I hope [residents] will all join me in jump-starting the green economy, eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels, elim-inating a significant portion of our CO2 emissions, and ensur-ing our sustainable future,” Lee said over Fourth of July week-end.
Gardeners at Urban Farms producing food for community pantry and local farmers markets - Photo by Mike Griffin.
The Out of Site Center for Arts Education is a nonprofit
organization that upholds a dedi-cation to provide and cultivate arts education for community adolescents. It is located in the Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside and Excelsior area – popularly known as the OMI/Excelsior Neighborhood.
The arts education pro-gram has been in existence for 11 years, and it has shared the campus of Lick-Wilmerding High School near Balboa BART/Muni station for seven years, and using the private school’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment has helped contribute to Out of Site’s overall success.
The primary focus for this reputable arts center is directed toward developing creative out-lets for youths through various art forms. Public high school students from grades 9-12 are exclusively targeted, as they are normally underrepresented in many mainstream arts education programs.
“We’re driven by the vision to provide arts education which is transformative for young peo-ple,” stated Beth Rubenstein, the Out of Site co-founder and executive director. She and her staff cater to the artistic needs of teenagers from eight different public schools in the city of San Francisco, including City Arts and Technology High School; Balboa; Lowell; June Jordan School for Equity; and Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School. “We want to give the public a chance to hear those voices,” she said.
A wide range of incoming students from various schools and neighborhoods reflects the diversity of the youth-oriented institute. Individuals from differ-ent cultural backgrounds possess-ing multiple learning styles inte-grate to form a collective body of artistic expression that sets a tone that radiates through the community.
Out of Site offers a myri-ad of arts classes, activities that Rubenstein has defined as “seri-ous fun.” Students regularly engage in after school programs and summer camps. Numerous public events are also presented throughout the year.
After school programs normally begin after 4 p.m., enabling individuals to commit to a semester of 2-hour classes for two days per week. Summer pro-grams are comprised of all-day intensive courses for individu-als during their break from aca-demic studies. Courses generally
include architecture and visual arts, such as photography, paint-ing and varied design projects. Performing arts activities involve dance and poetry/spoken word, as well as other movements of expression. All classes are free of charge.
Students are selected on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no limit to the number of classes that can be taken. Some individuals opt to experiment with various art forms, while others prefer to focus on one medium. Students are encour-aged to remain in the program for at least two years, but they are welcome to enroll as many times as they wish during their high school years.
In addition to helping teen-agers reach their creative poten-tial, Out of Site offers profes-sional development opportunities and mentorship programs for those interested in having long-term commitments in the arts. Passionate indi-viduals are given links with arts-related community resourc-es, jobs, and intern-ships.
Secondly, the pro-gram places emphasis on providing good role models for stu-dents who aspire to pursue their craft full-time, by hiring lead-
ing personnel that have impact-ed the community with their individual work and youth devel-opment history.
One example is former Out of Site faculty member, Myron Michael Hardy, who attributes the program’s educational struc-ture and its treatment of the instructors to his favorable expe-rience. Over the course of three years, the award-winning cura-tor and poet taught a series of poetry workshops for Out Of Site, including collaborative workshops in photography and poetry; formulaic poetry; poetry and percussion; field composi-tion poetry; and poetry and hip-hop.
“My experience was both positive and rewarding,” Hardy stated. “The autonomy that Out of Site gives its teachers
and the way it uses Project Zero as its framework – placing the students’ level of experience at the center of lesson planning – makes it an ideal place to work for the artist who has an interest in arts education and teaching in the community.”
Along with Harvard University School of Education’s Project Zero, Out of Site also incorporates several extraor-dinary educational standards originally constructed by the California Visual and Performing Arts School and the Community Network for Youth Development. Adopting these standards evokes new ways for students to form unique endeavors and positively influences the way their ideas are communicated.
Many former participants who have benefited from Out of Site’s after school and summer programs go on to earn scholar-ships to reputable art and design schools. Several artists return to the program as mentors, admin-istrative workers, teaching assis-tants and classroom instruc-tors. They may become part of the youth advisory board that recruits new faculty members for the program, as well.
Volunteer opportunities are also available and are particularly appealing to many parents of the program’s participants. Those who dedicate their time are often involved in event coordination, interpreting second languages, and contributing any personal skills that can be advantageous to the program.
Out of Site is an effort birthed by the Tides Center, a public community-driven organization. The arts program relies on the generous donations of various individuals and corporations. It is also partners with a mul-titude of respected institutions throughout the area.
More information about Out of Site can be found on their Web site at http://www.outofsite-sf.org/.
Arts center offers free year-round programs for high school students
Above: Students participating in summer program activities - Photo courtesy of outofsite-sf.org.
Out of Site art students in screen printing program - Photo courtesy of outofsite-sf.org.
The sounds of high heels and laughter fill the atmosphere
as hundreds of young people make their way to their favorite bar or club on a busy Saturday night in San Francisco. However, when I arrived at 435 Broadway – also known as Broadway Studios – this atmosphere sud-denly changed.
I was suddenly surrounded by teased hair, multicolored spandex pants, neon dresses, high top sneakers, more sequins than I have ever imagined – and yes, the infamous leather jacket and single glove. I walked into the foyer while viewing the loca-tion for red carpet photos, hear-ing the iconic 1980 classics, and observing a few people attempt-ing to do the robot, while others were talking amongst friends.
What sets this party apart from so many others on the same block is that everyone who attends is supporting a great cause simply by showing up and enjoying themselves with co-workers, friends, and hundreds of like-minded young profes-sionals.
This party was coordinated by Philanthro Productions, a volunteer-based organization that serves as a platform for young professionals to con-nect to charities and nonprof-its. Philanthro Productions supports these organizations by raising funds as well as by raising awareness, along with impacting future generations by using a fundraising method that few philanthropic organizations attempt. Founding members Andrew Geisse and Ian Lee came up with the idea for Philanthro shortly after graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles. Similar to many other young professionals, they were pouring money into the local night life when they formulated the idea to channel the thou-sands of dollars going into this industry for a good cause.
The purpose of Philanthro is to bring young professionals together, have a great time and raise money for great causes. One patron of the latest party with a “Saved by the Bell” theme mentioned how Philanthro joined the two things he enjoys most, “supporting charities and partying like crazy.”
The latest party was for a nonprofit called Refugee Transitions. Philanthro put on a two-part event with over 200 guests. The first part of the event was a movie screening of a story line connected with the mis-sion of the nonprofit, Refugee Transitions. The movie, called “Lost Boys of Sudan,” told the
story of three young refugees from Sudan who were making a transition to the United States. A board member from Refugee Transitions came to the screen-ing to discuss their mission statement, discuss the issues sur-rounding the work they accom-plish, and answer any questions from patrons. This intimate set-ting gave the attendees a way to connect with the nonprofit, as well as to see exactly what hap-pens when they donate money, and how they are impacting hundreds of people.
The second half of the event is the larger of the two, with Philanthro Productions putting on a huge “Saved by the Bell” party with a 1980s theme for their patrons. The young profes-sionals had a huge dance floor, a DJ, the TV show “Saved by the Bell” playing on a big screen, a full bar, and a great place to get together with like-minded individuals to enjoy themselves and raise money for Refugee Transitions. The entrance fee to the party is $20, and there are other opportunities to contribute at the parties – such as auctions, raffles, and donation stations, with 90 percent of the money from entrance fees and dona-tions going to the nonprofit.
Philanthro has helped many nonprofits – such as Real Options for City Kids – which serves youth in the Bayview Hunters Point district of San Francisco. Other nonprofits that have benefitted from Philanthro Productions include the Make a Wish Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Food Runners. Nonprofits are chosen by Philanthro Productions after an application process and ques-tionnaire. There are also inter-views called “passion pitches,” which give the nonprofits and charities the opportunity to talk to members of Philanthro about exactly what they do and who would benefit. It also allows
Philanthro to see the level of dedication, passion, and enthu-siasm in an organization.
There seems to be a common theme among patrons and mem-bers of Philanthro Productions, as hundreds of young people come together to connect with like-minded individuals.
Everyone in attendance loves to have a good time and to net-work with other young people to make a difference in their communities. As one member of Philanthro explained, “This is a place for fun people who care about doing good for the world to come together.”
Adam London, the president of the San Francisco chapter, also commented on the patrons of their event: “They have the same outlook on social aspects and business aspects ... these are young professionals who are conscious about making a differ-ence and having a good time.”
So the next time you are get-ting ready to go out on a Friday or Saturday night, consider look-ing up Philanthro Productions. Their event calendar is full of great ideas and ways to have a fun-filled night while helping those in need.
More information about Philanthro Productions can be found on their Web site, http://www.philanthroproductions.org/.
Young urban professionals raise funds with parties and good times
and marketing. “It is most espe-cially a testament to my parents’ 30-plus years of operating their own organization, which is quite unique as far as family business-es go,” she stated.
Szabo concluded, “I believe they succeeded where many oth-ers did not through a combi-nation of tenacity and fearless integrity. For my parents to have run an organization at their level single-handedly speaks to their extraordinary strength and dedi-cation to surgical education.”
Another award recipient this year was the Belvedere House – A bed and breakfast in San Francisco.
Winners in previous years have included Marcus Books, the oldest independent African American bookstore in the country, which was started by Raye Richardson and her hus-band Julian nearly 51 years ago; Tarantino Restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf, and Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito, which are owned by Tim and Will McDonnell; and BiRite Food Service in Brisbane, a food distributor to restaurants, hospitals, and universities that is operated by Bill Barulich, who serves as CEO, and Steve Barulich, who is president.
In addition to giving annual awards to family-owned busi-ness, the Gellert Family Business Center provides information to family-owned businesses that they can use. The center pairs USF faculty who are doing research on such issues as social media and business analytics with family-owned businesses.
The Gellert Family Business Center also provides USF stu-dents with an opportunity to work with family-owned and operated businesses that they might not otherwise have.
Additionally, the Gellert Family Business Center links with other family-owned busi-ness centers, including one in Monterey and another in Brazil. The center is awaiting a new Web site, and the goal is to provide a link to these other family-owned and operated centers on the new Web site, according to Hudson.
Without the support from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation, “We cer-tainly would not have the posi-tion or establishment we have,” explained Hudson. “We wouldn’t be here this long.”
“They have done a good job and continued to grow the pro-gram,” said Executive Director Jack Fitzpatrick of the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation. “The money was well-invested. The program has matured into something a lot more professional than it was in 2002.”
“An award is an honor,” said Karen Johnson, daughter of the Richardsons, and co-owner of Marcus Books. “It was nice getting it from a humanitarian source, like the Gellert family,” she said. Johnson has recently received a master’s degree from UCSF, and she added that UCSF students and faculty frequently come to Marcus Books, and the store has also had interns from UCSF. “It’s a good collaboration,”she elabo-rated.
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Youthful dancers enjoying Philanthro event - Photo by Mike Griffin.
nal records part of their main focus. In 2005, they started their Back on Track program, which provides felony drug sales offenders the opportuni-ty to gain employment, educa-tion and removal of their felony charge. The first of its kind, this program provides an exten-sive range of services, includ-ing: intensive case management; workshops; career advising; job training; education placement; mental health and peer support services. Participants are first-time drug offenders referred from the District Attorney’s office and the Family Services Agency of San Francisco. At the last report, 90% of the programs participants have not re-offend-ed. When compared to the State of California’s recidivism rate of 56% for felony drug convictions, the success of the program is self-evident.
“We take people’s discard-ed and unwanted goods, and we take society’s discarded and unwanted people,” said CEO Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez while speaking in Oakland at an employment forum in 2009.” We have to move from job train-ing and entry-level employment to transforming lives and creat-ing solutions to poverty, and we have to put the marketplace at the center of what we’re doing.”
“When I went out to get a job, I discovered that the training I got at Bayview Hope was just as good as the training many received at schools that charged many thousands of dollars. When the week of driving tests was over, I was one of the few who got hired.”
A computer skills training program helps bridge the digital divide by offering IT skills train-ing and refurbished computer to individuals. The Community Jobs Program, started in 1998, provides Welfare-to-Work par-ticipants with a 6-9 month work experience program at a com-munity nonprofit agency, help-ing low-income residents transi-tion from public assistance to self-sufficiency.
Any low-income or dislo-cated worker can benefit from Goodwill’s career develop-ment expertise at their One Stop Career Link Center in the South of Market – SoMa– District. There, they offer a wide range of services, such as work-shops; résumé help; preparation for the General Educational Development – GED – exam; and access to computers, phones, fax machines and copi-ers.
Goodwill Industries also makes hiring those with crimi-
program is free of charge and is an in-school program as well. The focus is to provide a much-needed connection for these children between common classroom curriculums and the arts – all while complying with government-mandated learning content and guidelines
SFJAZZ High School All Stars is quite obviously geared towards children in grades 9-12 and, “provides advanced train-ing and performance opportu-nities for talented young musi-cians in both big band and small ensemble formats.” High school students are selected annually by a seemingly competitive audi-tion process, who then receive an opportunity to rehearse and perform with top educators and artists in jazz music today. The High School All Stars program is a great way to immerse a seri-ous young student of jazz who is truly looking to develop, or already has a deep passion for jazz.
All of the aforementioned programs are important addi-tions to an already successful music venture here in our city. Although not a mainstream form of music in our society today, jazz does continue to inspire and motivate musicians and music lovers the world over. “All told,
more than one million people have attended SFJAZZ concerts and heard over 10,000 musi-cians grace our stages – includ-ing almost half of the National Endowment for Arts – NEA – Jazz Masters,” said Lamm.
All in all, this is an absolute-ly thriving art form here in our very own backyard, something we should be thankful for. After all, “Jazz is truly a vibrant art form and deserves a special place in our culture.”
More information about SFJAZZ can be found on their Web site, http://www.sfjazz.org/.
SF Jazz continued from page 6Goodwill continued from page 6
Guitarist Terrence Brewer with stu-dents for SFJAZZ in the Middle pro-gram - Photo courtesy of SFJAZZ Archives, sfjazz.org.
