Community Living Campaign

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

Volunteering & Giving Back

CLC and Other Organizations “Pivoted” To Meet the Challenge of the Pandemic

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Thanks to the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly (CASE) and support from the Department of Disability and Aging Services, a series of articles that highlight how 8 organizations transformed to meet the needs of their participants once the Pandemic changed all our lives.   Judy Goddess was commissioned to interview each organization and write a short narrative with pictures to tell the story of how each organization “pivoted” their programming and their outreach during Covid. 

Read about CLC here as well as all of the organizations profiled.

 

Honoring Beverly Ann Taylor

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Ms. Taylor has been such a strong and committed leader to San Francisco, with a history of excellent work in other communities through out her life.   Ms. Taylor fought hard to stay with us, but her time on this plain ended. Her obituary  that includes her life of service and advocacy for justice here.

Not long ago, Judy Goddess did the interview with Beverly which is posted on the Senior Beat Website. 

And an interview from 2020 with Beverly where she talk about growing up at  https://vimeo.com/682932784

 

 

 

TURKEYS ONCE AGAIN “FLY” TO GOOD HOMES

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For yet another year, and perhaps a year when needed most, the communities gathered in the Bayview, OMI, and at the City College Parking lot to distribute more than 5,600 turkeys and bags of groceries to seniors and families across their communities.   The events in the OMI, Bayview, and Park Merced on December 8 were organized by the CLC Food Networks, lead by Deb Glen and Chester Williams, with great support for turkeys and fixing from Glide.   The CLC  teams have been meeting weekly throughout the pandemic without missing a beat to bring healthy food and staples to over 230 households with older adults and adults with disabilities.  The Feeding 5000 event at the City College parking lot was organized by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) in partnership with the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition and other local community-based organizations hosted a holiday giveaway event called “Feeding 5000” on December 11 via a drive-through service at City College of San Francisco with strict COVID-19 safety procedures in place.  

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, one in four San Francisco residents were at risk of hunger due to income shortage. With an increased number of residents out of work, the number of people struggling to afford enough nutritious food is also increasing and the City’s nonprofit partners have reported a surge in demand for food. In this effort, SFDPH is joined by the African American Faith Based Coalition, SF New Deal, and Together SF to bring these greatly needed services to the community.    The San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition is a health and wellness collaborative of  over 21 churches in San Francisco. The Coalition is committed to advocating for the needs of the underserved African American community city-wide. Collectively, the members of the Coalition represent over 6,000 African American residents.  The Coalition was launched in November of 2016, to address high priority health needs identified in the 2016 San Francisco Community Health Needs Assessment.   The SF African American Faith-Based Coalition leveraged partnerships with a variety of food providers (Arcadio’s, Dixson Catering, Earl’s Organics, Glide Memorial, Pacific Agri-Products Inc., SF New Deal, TogetherSF, and SF Marin-Food Bank) to obtain high quality, meals and groceries.

This collaborative effort includes: African American Arts and Cultural Center, A. Philip Randolph, B-Magic, Bayview Rotary, Bayview Senior Services, Bayview YMCA, Community Awareness Resources Entity, Community Living Campaign, Delta Sigma Theta, Department of Aging and Adult Services, Dream Keeper Initiative, Five-Point, Hirsch Philanthropy Partners, HOPESF, Imani Breast Cancer Group, Inner City Youth, Mother Browns, Office of Education and Workforce Development, Rafiki Coalition, Recology, Regional Pacific Islander, Related Management Company, Requity/Peace Parks, Salesforce, Samoan Community Development Center, The San Francisco Chapter of The Links Inc, San Francisco City College, San Francisco Rec & Park, San Francisco City College Police Department, San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco Human Rights Commission, San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco Unified School District, Southwest Community Corp, Sojourner Truth Foster Family Services, Stand in Peace International, Taskforce, 3rd Street Youth Center, UCSF, Uniti Resources, and USF.  

 

 

 

Award Event Showcases Kindness

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The sixth annual Good Neighbor Award Event brought us together to celebrate the kindness and good work of some special neighbors.  If you missed the event or just want to relive, you can view the video of Good Neighbor Summer activities , meet the first round of honorees and the second round of honorees.   Or gosh, just sit back and view the event in it entirety.  

 

Snapshots from Good Neighbor Summer Activities

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It has been a good summer so far and we are delighted each time we see old friends and new acquaintances in person.   We have been walking, excercising, practicing yoga, doing improv, celebrating birthdays, visiting friends in hospitals and assisted living, honoring those that have passed, standing strong for justice and so much more. 

Here a some snapshots of summer activities from August  

And from July – stay tuned more to come. 

Resilience is Buoyancy and Showing Up, Nicky Says

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Resiliency is buoyancy. It’s like those buoys you see off the coast, battered by powerful waves in storms, but they just don’t sink. They stay afloat. And they signal to others the line between safety and danger.

Resiliency is one of the qualities we’ve come to admire and appreciate so acutely in the last year. As May is Older Americans Month, we’re spotlighting a couple of Community Living Campaign staff members who have done a great job of demonstrating strength and resilience and what that means.

Nicky Trasvina, one of our Community Connectors, felt that some of the best examples of resiliency are the often unseen, underappreciated essential workers. They continued to step up and keep San Francisco running while most of us were able to shelter in place.

Leaders Feeding Neighbors

Another great example of resiliency are community leaders, like the handful in the Mission who provided food to about 3,000 families each week.

“This continues as an amazing, tremendous undertaking by local leaders in that community, including Roberto Hernandez, Valerie Tolier, Tracy Brown, Ray Ponce and others,” Nicky said. “They created the space and tapped all their resources to get hundreds of pounds of food donated each week. It was such an abundance of food that would have otherwise gone to waste.”

She’s grateful for the opportunity to play a part in the operation, picking up leftover food supplies from donors to be distributed by other volunteers.

Nicky also sought ways to help neighbors and friends in small ways, like bringing them things they needed.

Acting generously also relieved some of the feelings of helplessness so many of us felt. So she also gave financially to some organizations she cares about, following the old adage to “put your money where your mouth is!”

Strength in Prayer

And through it all, one of her primary sources of strength has been prayer.

“Depending on prayer gives me a lot of strength,” Nicky said. “And I think this helps others. I think people appreciate it when they know someone is praying for them. So when I say I’m going to pray for you, I just stop and say the prayer right then.”

She’s also found more connection by reaching out to old friends, neighbors and former students since she was a college adviser. And not just by phone and text.

“It’s not unusual to find me standing out in my front yard talking to people who go by,” Nicky said. “I feel it’s part of my role in getting our neighbors connected. And it’s fun! I’m like the stereotypical old lady looking out through her blinds watching everything, but people like it!”

 

Read another profile of our Community Connector Laura Atkins.

More Than Books: Little Libraries Bring Neighbors Together

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Books transport us to another world — another time or locale, real or imagined.

And reading keeps minds sharp and help young minds get stronger.

Jim and Kathryn Rato

So what better way to build community, provide some escape while sheltering in place, and entertain and teach than sharing books?

Those are the goals behind the growing number of little libraries that Community Living Campaign has helped neighbors put up in their front yards around San Francisco. There are now 14 of these little libraries, where people can borrow books for free or donate books they no longer need — new or used — for others to enjoy.

Glenda Hope, in Cayuga, first read about the idea online and then began noticing them here and there but not in her neighborhood.

More Than Literature

“I thought it would be a great way both to share books but also to disseminate information about Cayuga Community Connectors,” she said. It’s proven to be both on her street, which sees a lot of foot traffic near the BART station.

One of our Community Connectors, Patti Spaniak, asked some other neighbors if they’d like to host a little library in front of their homes, and CLC and the San Francisco Public Library provided the libraries. Then, we bought art kits from Etsy and made it a neighborhood project to decorate the boxes before installing them.

Kiki DeKat and Tyler Davidson

For the box in front of Spaniak’s house, installed in 2018, they hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It included a community reading of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

“It was so much fun for all of us!” she said. “We had children and older adults. We also read some funny pieces and kids read from children’s books.”

Books in Chinese, Tagalog

As the number of little libraries grew, the donations poured in by the boxful. Our participants also picked up books from the library. Donations are not only in English but also in Chinese, Tagalog and other languages.

“We received such wonderful donations, including current best sellers and books in mint condition,” Spaniak said.

Besides swapping books, the libraries have proven to bring joy to those who witness visitors. A few senior neighbors near the little libraries said they love looking out the window and seeing the action. They like seeing someone timidly looking at what books are available or dropping off new choices for others to enjoy.

Thank-You Notes

Besides books, some people leave flyers about other activities or news in the neighborhood, Hope said. She even found some “thank you for this library” notes left in the box.

One said, “I have so enjoyed seeing what treasures I might find in this little library. I am moving away and will miss those finds.  Maybe I will be able to put up my own box. Thank you for doing this.”

Thank you to everyone who installed little libraries in front of their homes for the neighborhood to enjoy:

  • Ananda Joy Hart
  • Rachel Erb
  • Jane Murschen
  • Glenda Hope
  • Carmelita Lozano
  • Noserat
  • Kiki DeKat
  • Joe and Linda Litehiser
  • Christine Arena
  • Lorraine and Daniel Gromet
  • Jim and Kathryn Rato
  • Bob Cappa
  • Jacynth Roberts Family
  • Ana Manzur-Allan
  • Patti Spaniak and Tyler Davidson

Beautiful Neighborhood Project Brightens Cayuga

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One of the beautiful aspects of the pandemic has been seeing people’s creativity come out. In finding solutions and new ways to do things. Creativity in art and using our personal abilities to help others get through in so many small ways.

Community Living Campaign has continued beautifying neighborhoods while keeping everyone involved safe and healthy. One of those projects has been brightening up the stairway in Cayuga that extends Naglee Street.

Many neighbors have, over time, painted fun designs on the risers and most recently installed mosaics.

“During shelter in place, working on the stairway mosaic has been a bright light during dark times and an emblem of our resilience,” said Chris Dillon, a longtime neighborhood resident and president of the Cayuga Improvement Association.

It’s been quite the transformation from an unsightly, unsafe-feeling stairway , said Patti Spaniak, our Community Connector for the neighborhood. Older adults avoided using it even though it’s a great shortcut to Pacific Super.

Working closely with the Cayuga Improvement Association, we secured grants from Excelsior Collaborative Community Grants to paint a few murals. We got local seniors’ input on all the themes and installations. We scheduled community cleaning, hand-rail painting and weeding projects, often with the help of San Francisco Public Works. The Supervisor’s office also supported the project.

Seniors also painted the 30-stair risers, including some with scenes from Sponge Bob and Nemo that children like to try to find.

More recently,  the artist of the Kenney Alley project nearby, Kim Jensen, completed the mosaic project. The designs also reflect Demi Braceros, the artist who carved many statues in Cayuga Playground.

What’s more, other similar neighborhood art projects are being considered.

Toys and Books to the Rescue in the Mission

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The CLC participated in it’s first Holiday Toy Drive this year and collected so many toys and books that it took several carloads to deliver to the giveaway site!  The CLC seniors of Sunnyside and Midtown Terrace gladly stepped up to participate in the  Sixth Annual “All in SF” Miracle in the Mission toy drive.  “All in SF” is a Mission district car club that supports the community with two main events every year. Besides doing the Toy Drive they also do a back pack giveaway in August. The beauty of CLC’s participation this year is that it brought generations and communities together. The CLC seniors supported the younger adults who organized the toy drive for the children. It also united the Midtown Terrace and Sunnyside communities with the Mission district. We see 
the residents of the Mission district everywhere we go as we shop, order food and use other services provided by these brave essential workers. Yet because of the Covid, we have not been able to visit and support their Mission neighborhood businesses. This amazing toy drive brought us together for a wonderful experience of sharing, giving, and demonstrating our thanks to these workers and their children. John Gallardo of  “All in SF”  has already invited the CLC seniors to return for next year’s toy drive as Lead-Decorators in their original location at the John O’Connell school yard. The pictures below show some of the two thousand – plus children who came and waited in a four-block long line to enter the Mission Language and Vocational School site, a community landmark of the Mission. Please contact Community Connectors if you want to become involved in this very worthwhile ongoing mission in the Mission. 
Olivia Franco olivia@sfcommunityliving.org (bilingual)
Nicky Trasviña.  nicky@communityliving.org

 

5,600 Turkeys: Supersizing an Annual Tradition

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An extraordinary year called for supersizing an annual holiday tradition. Earlier this month, Community Living Campaign was among the partners that helped distribute more than 5,600 turkeys and full Thanksgiving meals.

“We know there’s food scarcity in the City, and that sometimes, life can get hard,” said the Department of Public Health’s Veronica Shepard, Coordinator of the main event.

She admitted that keeping the volunteers safe in this time of COVID was no easy task, but high priority.  For the past six years, San Francisco non-profits and faith leaders have come together to fund and organize this annual effort.

We all demonstrated that “the world is not as awful as it feels right now when we all help one another,” she said.

Volunteers and a coalition of meal program staff gave away the majority of the turkeys at the Cow Palace. Another 600 turkeys and fixings were distributed at the parking lot of Catholic Charities in the OMI with support from Glide.

Deborah Glen, Coordinator of the Community Living Campaign’s OMIHome Grocery Delivery Program, spearheaded the effort in her neighborhood. Chester Williams and crew distributed throughout the Bayview.

“This holiday tradition left volunteers with the knowledge they had brightened the holidays for so many struggling to make ends meet,” said Marie Jobling, CLC’s Executive Director. “A heightened COVID shutdown the day before the scheduled event was a worry. But what else could we do with more than 5,000 turkeys and fixings but find a safe way to deliver them — and we did!”

The San Francisco African-American Faith-Based Coalition and the San Francisco Department of Public Health sponsored the event, with more than 60 diverse collaborating organizations and faith communities delivering to seniors and families in need. Other funders include the Glide Foundation, the Cow Palace, Hellman Foundation, Salesforce, Fivepoint and  15 more donor organizations.


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