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

Resilient Neighborhoods: Miraloma Park, OMI, and Parkside/Sunset

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This month, we held a roundtable conversation with three of Community Living Campaign’s amazing Community Connectors. We heard from Deb Glen of the Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside (OMI) Food Delivery Network, Margaret Graf of Senior Power in Sunset/Parkside, and Darlene Ramlose of Miraloma Park Community Connectors. These leaders invited us to listen and learn about what Resilient Neighborhoods look like in virtual environment we are living under during this COVID-19 pandemic. The common thread among all our Connectors is their deep roots in their neighborhoods prior to the pandemic.

OMI Food Network Keeps Delivering Groceries Every Week

With the Shelter in Place Order for San Francisco residents, the OMI Food Network faced a number of challenges: most of the neighborhood volunteers are older adults vulnerable COVID-19, and the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center where they had been packing groceries was needed for childcare for essential workers. And of course, they needed to make sure they could pack and deliver groceries in a way that is safe for staff, volunteers and recipients.

Deb Glen (right) and her son DanteThe intergenerational OMI Food Delivery team, which includes two sets of parents and their adult children, has been working together for years. They adapted quickly to the new reality. They relocated outside to the parking lot of the local Catholic Charities. Deb and her team use a camper to store supplies, set up tables to pack the 80 grocery bags, and organized their weekly Tuesday food delivery to neighborhood seniors and people with disabilities. The dedicated group is continuing an effort started in 2009, delivering groceries, making weekly check-in calls, and creating connections within the larger community: from the volunteers who help pack and deliver groceries to neighborhood activities and other local resources. 

Miraloma Park Community Connectors Works Closely with Organized Neighbors to Help Vulnerable Residents

Darlene (left) with her neighborsMoving a few miles to Miraloma Park, Darlene stated that 32% of the residents have at least one senior in their household.  Darlene brings her background in working with older adults, nutrition, and emergency preparedness to her work in the community. Soon after she moved to the neighborhood, she got involved with Miraloma Park’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT). When the neighborhood organized with District 7 Supervisor Yee’s office to get funding for a Community Connector Network, Darlene joined CLC as  to help lead the network.

During this pandemic, Miraloma Park’s team of Community Connectors, NERT team-Block Champions, Miraloma Park Improvement Club members, and senior volunteers have come together – a combined force in making calls, sending emails, shopping for shut-in neighbors and working with Supervisor Yee in the SOS program to make Wellness Calls to seniors.  In addition, the Miraloma Park Community Connector members join in CLC’s Zoom-based exercise and other activities, and are still gathering (virtually) every week for Ukulele lessons. This month, Darlene will also be facilitating discussions on senior nutrition every other Tuesday. 

Senior Power Transitions from In-Person Meetings to Calls, Virtual Workshops, and Weekly Resource Updates

Margaret Graf (photo by Dr. Anna Chodos)Traveling west near the ocean in the Sunset/Parkside neighborhood, Margaret is one of our newest Connectors. An energetic longtime resident with an impressive career spanning nursing and law,  Margaret founded Senior Power about 18 months ago to address the lack of neighborhood resources for Parkside seniors (with 31% living alone). She has worked closely with People of Parkside Sunset (POPS)–the local merchant’s association– and District 4 Supervisor Mar to support the diverse population of older adults and caregivers in her community.  

With the start of the pandemic, Margaret had to shift from monthly meetings at the Parkside police station to a virtual presence. Her weekly newsletters have become a great source of information for local residents, with a selection of resources, reflections on the current crisis, and suggestions for activities neighbors can join from home. As part of this effort, Margaret investigated the variety of email service providers and taught herself how to send out regular emails to her list of neighbors (with regular mail versions for those who aren’t online). Margaret also sought out a way to connect neighbors to important COVID-19 information by organizing and facilitating a noon Zoom call every Friday with Dr. Anna Chodos, a UCSF geriatrician: Dr. Chodos Chats-Seniors & Coronavirus (Virtual). 

Resilient Neighborhoods Throughout San Francisco Rely on Older Adults

Throughout the City, there are older adults working with their neighbors to support homebound residents and build stronger communities. We invite you to join us for another Resilient Neighborhoods roundtable on Tuesday, June 16th, 3:30-4:30 pm.

Making Pen Pals

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For the past three years, Spring has ushered in the pen pal project at the San Francisco Friends School. It’s the time when 5th graders write letters to seniors attending CLCs community connectors programs. The students share tales of their travels, hobbies, favorite books (some surprisingly sophisticated) and families (pesky younger siblings are common). Then, like all good letter writers they ask questions.

Barbara Fugate from the Cayuga Community Connectors eagerly anticipates the childrens’ letters. She’s so eager, she usually answers letters from three or four students. “I write them back immediately. You never know when you might influence someone, and it’s good to hear what the kids are thinking. Anything that gets kids to read makes me happy.”

Later, we visit the school to tell their stories. Then, sometime in May, we return to see the short skits the students developed from our stories. “I told them about the ghost that lived in a house I rented. That made a good skit – sound effects and all,” Barbara said.

This year, of course, the coronavirus disrupted those plans. The visiting part of the program never happened. Nonetheless, many of us still made new friends. A young woman turned me on to “The Giver” by Lois Lowery; another shared that she had been reading “Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl” and I remembered how I felt when I finished that book.

Jono Gay, who turns 11 in June, and I talked for this story. Jono is an experienced pen pal, having participated in a pen pal program at his other school and occasionally writing his grandfather in Orange County. Jono decided to challenge himself by using an online translation program to write his letter in Chinese and English. Barbara hasn’t received his letter yet, but she’s excited to reply.

This year, knowing that seniors would be home for a very long time and wanting to cheer them up, Caren Andrews, the art teacher for the younger students asked the students in grades kindergarten – 4th to send a drawing to a senior. They had been “studying maps at school before SIP…that is why so many maps arrived with your mailing,” she explained.

For us, said Guybe Slangen, the SFFS Director of Community Engagement, it’s all about “care, connection, and community. They are opportunities for connections where we can show care to learn more about and share with others.”

Those values also hold true for their senior pals.


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Jimmye Bynum, Inveterate Socializer, St. Francis Square

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Jimmye Bynum was such a talkative, sociable person that one of her employers told her she should have been a lawyer. Her natural gift to engage with others led to choices that always seemed to benefit others, as well as herself.

“I always loved to talk and help people and maybe that’s why my life has been so beautiful,” said Bynum.

From dancing with pal Maya Angelou in the heyday of the ’40s jazz and blues scene in the Fillmore, to forming social and philanthropic clubs in the early days of her marriage, to joining every committee in her housing cooperative, Bynum is still talking, organizing and giving to others.

St. Francis Square Celebrates!
Earlier this year, the 92-year-old Bynum is busy co-chairing the celebration of a decade of organized community activities at St. Francis Square. Bynum and her husband bought an apartment in 1963, the year it was built – 299 units in 12 buildings around shared courtyards. Construction was sponsored by two unions with the aim of providing affordable home ownership, particularly for African Americans, who faced housing discrimination in many quarters.

CLC Supports Coffee and Conversation
The community activities were initiated 10 years ago by several residents, with the support of the Community Living Campaign (CLC). This nonprofit was created in 2007 to support grass-roots efforts to link formal health and social services with informal support networks for seniors and persons with disabilities.

“Ten years ago, Marcia Peterzell, a resident and friend of CLC’s director, Marie Jobling, approached me and said we have to do something for seniors and shut-ins here at St. Francis Square,” Bynum recalled. She and Peterzell started making telephone calls then gathered a group of 18 for monthly meetings they called Coffee and Conversation.

Neighbor to Neighbor
Bynum later started a weekly walking group. And, the committee organized a “Neighbor to Neighbor” program, soliciting volunteer residents who could be called on to give a hand: a drive to the grocery store or medical appointment, move a couch, walk a dog.

“Jimmye Bynum’s friendships, flyers, wisdom and steadfast commitment have provided the CLC program at St. Francis Square the foundation and on-going support it needed to grow,” said Marie Jobling.

Hosting Lecture Programs
The CLC committee at St. Francis hosts guest speakers, such as doctors, therapists and firemen, in the St. Francis Square social hall. “We even had a speaker talk to us about how to accept death more easily.” One of the favorite group sessions is when massage therapists volunteer their services to members.

Bynum and her pals, mostly women now, are looking forward to the CLC anniversary party on Dec. 6. This party will be particularly festive – with two kinds of eggnog, one spiked with Hennessey. “Those old ladies can drink,” said Bynum. The event will also celebrate this month’s birthdays.

Dancing with Maya Angelou
Festivity has always been a big part of Bynum’s life since her father moved the family from Oklahoma to the Fillmore District in 1943. A niece who had opened a restaurant on Sutter Street told him about jobs at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyards that were open to blacks. Once he was hired, Bynum’s family settled into life in the Fillmore.

“At that time Fillmore Street was alive with music and dance,” Bynum said. “My sister and I met Maya Angelou and became general friends. She could jitterbug!” Angelou and Bynum would meet for soda pop or ice cream and “talk, talk and laugh.”

Meeting Duke, Sharing Their Passion
At 18, Bynum met Warren “Duke” Bynum, eight years her senior, at the Brown Bomber Dance Hall in Marin County. “He was out of Chicago and most of his friends were boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Lewis.” They soon married.

Besides the love of dance, Bynum and Duke shared a passion for organizing social clubs that raised money for good causes. “With many friends, we went on trips and we held formal dances.”

For every trip or dance, the social club would tack on an extra charge that went into a pool. “One thing we did was raise money for a yearly $1,000 scholarship for a deserving youngster with high grades.” The scholarships were administered through local churches.

Finding St. Francis Square
When Bynum married, she and her husband moved to an apartment on Central Street. Every day, driving to work, they passed by the newly built St. Francis Square. It was affordable, it was in the neighborhood they loved and African Americans were welcomed. Her husband suggested they apply.

Once they moved in, they embraced their new community. They both represented their building on the co-op’s board. “The only time I left the committee work was when my grandson died when he was 42,” she said. He was one of two children of her only son, born in Oklahoma when she was 16. “I couldn’t cope.”

A Time of Good Jobs and Pensions
During her marriage, Bynum worked first in the garment industry and later in retail sales. “I was making the side seams of men’s jackets and coats, and then I had to hang the sleeves with no fullness. It was very hard.” Bynum was proud of her salary and loved her job and the working environment.

In the mid-’60s, when the clothing manufacturers closed, she found a sales job at the National Dollar Store in the Fillmore. “A Chinese woman taught me everything and advised me to work the required hours, so I’d get a full pension.” Bynum was there for 17 years and retired at 74.

With the Navy shipyard deactivated in 1974, Duke Bynum took some of the only jobs open to blacks at that time. “First he detailed cars, then worked as a doorman at the Mark Hopkins and finally as a Skycap for American Airlines, where he retired with a good pension,” Bynum said.

Her husband died in 2009. “We had 57 years of marriage and 40 beautiful years spent in St. Francis Square.”

Bynum had moved to San Francisco with six siblings, who have also passed away. Her son, Charles, and his son live out of the city, as do her two great-grandchildren, now in college.

“I’m all alone in the City now,” she said.

Well, not exactly.

She’s surrounded by all her friends in St. Francis Square. “I know everyone’s name,” she said. Having been on every committee in the co-op, she’s ready to slow down.
But not completely. “Now, I’m just going to stick with CLC.”

For original article, please follow this link.

Holiday Turkeys and Fixings Head for Good Homes

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The most recent San Francisco Food Security Report found that one of every three San Franciscans is food insecure. If you are food insecure, you sometimes run out money before you can buy the nutritious food you and your family need. This makes for hard choices between food and other necessities. San Francisco’s high cost of living is pushing more and more people on fixed incomes into food insecurity.  

CLC has weekly grocery delivery programs that brings nutritious food to  seniors and adults with disabilities in the Bayview, OMI and other southern neighborhoods. Once a year,  we are proud to help organize a special delivery of turkeys and fixings to  1550 household. It comes with happy greetings from their neighbors.  This is possible, first and foremost, with generous support from Glide Memorial, the S.F. Department of Public Health, and A. Phillip Randolph Institute.  

In the OMI, CLC Community Connector Deb Glen and her team along with Patty Clement-Cihak help organized distribution in the OMI and Cayuga.  In the Bayview, Veronica Shepard and her colleagues in the SF Department of Health, CLC Grocery Delivery Coordinators Chester Williams and Vernice Ross and members of HPUNITI for helping bring this special holiday gift to those in need.   Chester is also a member of the San Francisco Food Security Task Force, co-chaired by Paula Jones, DPH Director of Food Security.  This Task Force works to address food inequities by helping to strengthen the food safety net and expand access to food programs. Take a look at their most recent report here.

Take a few minutes to see the hard work of the people and organizations who are tackling food insecurity during the holidays and all year long.


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St. Francis Square Community Celebrates

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St. Francis Square Co-op was the first neighborhood network, inaugurated with the support of CLC and the Board of St. Francis Square Co-op.  The Community Living Campaign Committee of the Board and network members celebrated their first ten years with a special event on December 8th.   Early founders greeted many new neighbors and remembered those who have passed on who helped create the community ties.  Music, poetry and a visit from Supervisor Valli Brown highlighted the afternoon.  A photo collage brought back memories of activities over the past 10 years that helped weave community.    Take a look below…


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Cayuga Community Celebrates the Holiday in Style

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Cayuga Holiday Potluck is an annual community gathering rich with food, fun raffle prizes, music and of course, Santa.   Thanks to Patti Spaniak and all the leaders and neighbors who pitched in to make this a grand gesture of community living.   Enjoy the pics!


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Good Neighbors Gather To Celebrate and To Honor

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The Annual Good Neighborhood Event brought together an even bigger group of leaders on Saturday, June 8 as we gather at the ARC. Each year, staff and participants in each of the CLC programs picks a community member who has gone above and beyond to help their neighbors and provide leadership to the community. We are pleased to present this year’s list of honorees. They include:

  • Mary Crenshaw, Bayview
  • Deb Padilla, Cayuga Community Connectors
  • Esselene Stancil, Computers & Access
  • Marlene Olivencia , Inner Sunset Community Connectors
  • Reiko Hatakayama, Merced Extension Triangle Community Connectors
  • Evernease Cook, Midtown Terrace Community Connectors
  • Guido Van Rijn, Miraloma Community Connectors
  • Leroy Lindo, OMI Food Network
  • Judy Goddess, Community Catalyst
  • Rose Sharkey, St. Francis Square Network
  • Alice Guidry, Sunnyside Community Connectors
  • Michael S. Silver, Vision & Hearing Program 
  • Robin Evans, SF ReServe / Senior Beat 

See these and other “good neighbors” in the photo album below. 


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Robin Evans, SF ReServe Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Robin as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for SF ReServe Employment.

Robin was introduced to the Community Living Campaign by a mutual friend and CLC staff member. Passion for the mission keeps her involved.

The Beginning of Senior Beat
Through SF ReServe, Marie Jobling hired three beginning reporters to write part-time for CLC and neighborhood newspapers. The focus: items of interest to seniors. However, the dearth of newspapers and their monthly publication schedule limited their ‘beat’: thus sfseniorbeat.com was born.

First, Robin spent months just creating the website. Then followed the ongoing challenge of making the most of it, all the while nurturing the writing abilities of her eager but novice staff.

The Legacy Continues
Robin edits sfseniorbeat.com, the online newsletter that showcases the diversity, backgrounds, experiences, challenges, efforts and accomplishments of the City’s older adults.

Robin explains, “There is no one else who regularly and consistently publishes the kind of stories we have focused on. Our goal is to increase the diversity of our content and include more of the City’s neighborhoods.” She adds, “For now, we will concentrate on feature stories about older adults. We hope this will go some way toward broadening views of aging.”

Michael Scott Silver, Computers and Access Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Michael as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for Computers and Access.

Twice a week, Michael works at two of SteppingStone’s Adult Day Health Care Centers for seniors and people with disabilities. He tutors the residents for an hour each session, helping them to use technology. He starts with the basics and even shows them how to use social media.  Michael worked in the technology field but was unable to continue due to health issues. “Now that I am feeling a bit better,” Michael says, “I can use some of my free time to help others with their understanding of technology.”

Sherri Sawyer, who nominated Michael, says “Michael is very compassionate and patient when working with our participants who are mostly seniors, and often uncomfortable working with technology.  I appreciate the way he engages with the seniors. He is able to explain things in ways that our participants can understand. He is truly a gem.”

Alice Guidry, Sunnyside Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Alice as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the Sunnyside Community Connectors.

Patti Spaniak nominated Alice for the Good Neighbor Award for her help in establishing the CLC senior program at St. Finn Barr Church. “Alice was instrumental in getting the program started at the church. She continues to help us navigate and engage the community.”

Sunnyside Fun
Alice has been involved with the Sunnyside community for a number of years. She’s working on many projects that promote community involvement. “I like combining people with common interests in fun, and fulfilling activities,” she shares.

 Giving Back
Although Alice is very busy with her catering company, she still likes to volunteer. She believes it’s a chance for her to give something back to the community, and make it a better place. “Helping out with projects and being there for people who need a helping hand can make a real difference in people’s lives,” Alice states. “And it’s a good way to make new friends!”