2009 GGMG Charity Grant Winners Follow-Up

Child Abuse Prevention Center
Leah's Pantry (Founder's Award)
Rita da Cascia
The Village Project

From San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center:

"I am delighted to report on the good work made possible by a grant from GGMG.

Your support has made it possible for the Playroom to provide free child care and early interventions for vulnerable children and families. In the Playroom, children are nurtured and their parents are supported in their efforts to improve their lives. The Children's Playroom is a core program of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, and a vital part of our mission to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote healthy families and the mental health of children.

Thank you again for your support. We hope to partner with GGMG again in 2010 to bring this valuable service to at-risk children and families. Please let me know if you have any questions, and have a wonderful holiday season."

Sincerely,
Jennifer Milley
Associate Director of Development
San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center

From Leah's Pantry:

"We are so grateful to have received the 2009 Founder's Award and we are thrilled to have the chance to update the membership on how we've put it to good use. By the end of 2009, we completed our workshops at Hamilton Family Center and Compass Community Services (Clara House). Both of these workshops were made possible by GGMG Support. As expected, over 25 families participated in a comprehensive workshop series at their housing community. At HFC, the participants cooked a full meal in addition to activities, discussions, and individual goal setting around their health and nutrition. Specifics of our impact: all participants read ingredient lists more than they did before, 92% reported making specific changes to their diet as a result of their workshop, and all participants would suggest the workshop to someone they know. More specifics of our impact across all of our completed workshops (109 and counting!) can be found at www.leahspantrysf.org. We can't help but advertise one really easy way for GGMG Members to continue to help out Leah's Pantry. Shop at Whole Foods on Franklin (now through 4/11), bring your own bag, and choose to donate your nickel to Leah's Pantry."

Thanks in advance!
Adrienne Markworth, Founder/ED of Leah's Pantry, GGMG Mom
415-710-2729
adrienne@leahspantrysf.org
www.leahspantrysf.org

From Rita da Cascia:

"Over the last year, Rita da Cascia has continued to provide permanent supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless or marginally housed families living with HIV/ AIDS with dependent children and a concurrent substance abuse and/or mental health diagnosis. Specifically, clients received:

  • Intensive case management
  • Transportation to medical appointments
  • Childcare assistance
  • Activities coordination
  • Support groups
  • Direct emergency assistance to buy food, prevent utility shut-off, or pay back rent
With the $2,500 grant we received from the Golden Gate Mothers Group, Rita da Cascia was able to provide the children of our program with youth activities and transportation to medical/therapy appointments and field trips.

Population Served
Approximately 99% of Rita da Cascia's adult residents are women. We currently serve two adult male clients-both of whom are HIV+ and serve as a caretaker for children. Families must also meet the 'low-income' definition of 50% of the federal low-income standard (most families live on incomes of $800 or less per month). Our program served approximately 460 clients in fiscal year 2009 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009). Of clients served, approximately 56% are children. Racial demographics are as follows: African-American 45%, Latino 35%, White 20%.

Youth Activities
Children participating in the Rita da Cascia program received access to a variety of activities designed to improve their mental, physical and social health. For a person in general good health, stress is known to cause severe physical and emotional distress. For families affected by HIV/AIDS, the physical and emotional stress can be life threatening. Not only can the stress of dealing with the disease affect the physical health of HIV+ family members, but unhealthy emotional stress that is not confronted can also lead the youth in our program down dangerous paths that can result in incarceration, substance abuse, illness, and in the most tragic cases, death or suicide. As the children at Rita da Cascia witness the progression of a debilitating disease in themselves, their parent, and/or their siblings, it is essential to provide intensive intervention and support.

While art therapy activities are available to all Rita da Cascia clients, this aspect of our program has been most utilized in serving young clients. Our young clients face more obstacles in the first years of their lives than most people experience in a lifetime. They are forced to become brutally aware of life, death and hardship from an early age. Beyond the challenges of living infected or affected by HIV, these children have also been affected by the drug abuse, physical abuse and mental illness that was part of their lives before entering the program. As a result of these life circumstances, the children we serve are no strangers to fear, anger and despair, but lack the life experience to articulate or process their emotions. Art therapy in the form of drawing, sculpting or painting provides a vehicle in which they can explore their emotions and express feelings that might otherwise go unexpressed.

Our program also stresses the importance of fun in a young child's life. Children served by Rita da Cascia benefit from regular outings that show the kids new environments and offer them traditional childhood experiences. Our most popular outings over the last year were bowling, bike riding, and a day trip to a beach house. These activities offer the children an opportunity to socialize with their peers, have new experiences that positively develop their perception of themselves and the world. Most importantly, youth activities allow the children to have fun-something that can be overlooked when dealing with such intense adult issues as a child.

Transportation
The families served by our program are low-income and most cannot afford to maintain their own vehicle. While navigating the public transportation system is difficult for any family with small children, it is even more difficult for the mother's we serve who are also dealing with substantial health issues. Transportation is also a large financial obligation for families who are also living month to month. For this reason, Rita da Cascia assists clients who require transportation to critical appointments related to mental or physical health. Whether a support group or a medical appointment, our program works hard to eliminate unnecessary obstacles to receiving critical services and treatment. This includes children served by the program.

Conclusion
We are truly grateful for the support of the Golden Gate Mothers Group. Your grant has made it possible for the children we serve to improve their lives and face adult issues from their perspective as a child. In the midst of hardship and sorrow, they also had the opportunity to shine and recognize their potential as the future of our society. They learned to express themselves and share their experience with others. Most importantly, they got to create happy memories in their childhood. These experiences are truly priceless and will have lasting affects throughout their lifetime. We can't thank you enough for this support and hope that you will consider visiting our program, visiting with our staff, and seeing the benefits of your support first hand. We would also welcome any members who would like to volunteer their time. Volunteers are always needed to assist with our arts, tutoring, and social programming. "

From The Village Project:

"Thank you again for your much needed grant of $2500 to the Village Project. Your grant literally kept the doors open for the program this summer, allowing us to have the best summer camp ever!!!!! 29 kids attended. Though we had just a little funding, your support, along with the help of the YMCA Rec-Connect, the SF Boys and Girls club, Susan Chinery and Alice Koesterich, the kids had a wonderful and informative summer. Specifically, with your funding, we were able to pay the rent, send seven of our kids to Camp Mendocino for 10 days (three others were scheduled to attend, but didn't get their physicals in time), helped to pay for weekly field trips, e.g., Magic Kingdom, ice skating, bowling, San Jose Museum of Technology, the Palace of Fine Arts, the King Tut Exhibit, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, roller skating, the movies, and most of all transportation (MUNI) to and from the daily activities, e.g.,two days at the public library.

Additionally, our summer programming continued our literacy program, provided swimming lessons, arts and crafts, along with culinary classes (thanks to Ms. Susan Chinery), visits to the parks and neighborhood playgrounds. The kids also played kick-ball weekly with Rec-Connect. They also continue their weekly singing lessons, along with some attending theater classes. We performed in July, as a part of the Fillmore Center's Summer Movies and Concert series.

One of our goals is to strive to strengthen the family of our participants. Hence, we make sure the families of the Western Addition are served and are involved with The Village Project. This summer, we were able to sponsor a family luncheon, two family bar-b-ques, a back to school backpack give-away (thanks to Alice and the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services and the parents and friends of the program). We also co-sponsored 'Summer Carnival' with the YMCA. We continued our family outreach with a community Thanksgiving dinner and our 4th annual Inter-Faith Holiday Party at the Jewish Community High School. From December 26th through January 1st, we presented our 4th annual, 7 days of Kwanzaa Celebration. There were 9 events at 9 different venues throughout the City of San Francisco. The kids performed at 7 of these events. Please see links below:"

http://www.jazzheritagecenter.org/eventdetail.php?id=45

http://sfpublicpress.org/news/2009-12/kwanzaa-celebration-focuses-on-youth

www.sfbayview.com/2009/kwanzaa-2009/

http://www.sfgate.info/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/12/27/BARM1B9VH1.DTL&o=0

http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-12-27/bay-area/17461392_1_seven-day-celebration-kwanzaa-african-american-culture

Adrian Williams, Executive Director
The Village Project
415-424-2980


Complete List of Nominees

Asian American Journalist's Association: www.aaja.org
Child Abuse Prevention Center*: www.sfcapc.org
Crissy Field Center: www.crissyfield.org
Edgewood Center: www.edgewood.org
Friends of the San Francisco Public Library: www.friendssfpl.org
George Peabody Parent Teacher Association: www.peabodyschool.com/pta
GirlVentures: www.girlventures.org
Hamilton Family Center: www.hamiltonfamilycenter.org
Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California: www.auditoryoralsf.org
Holy Family Day: www.holyfamilydayhome.org
Leah's Pantry*: www.leahspantry.org
Little Jim Club: www.littlejimclub.com
Make-A-Wish Foundation: www.makewish.org
Project Night Night: www.projectnightnight.org
Rita da Cascia*
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities: www.supportforfamilies.org
Urban Services YMCA: ymcasf.org/UrbanServices
The Village Project*
Women's Initiative: www.womensinitiative.org

*2009 Grant winner

Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and promote increasing the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. AAPIs are underrepresented in newsrooms across the country, and often inaccurately represented in news coverage. AAJA's programs directly address those issues. AAJA's national student programs are offered to graduating high school seniors and undergraduate and graduate students. AAJA offers a six-day journalism training camp (J Camp) that brings together a multicultural group of high school juniors, sophomores, and freshmen to sharpen their journalism skills and explore newsroom diversity. AAJA offers national awards, ranging from $1000 to $5000 a year. AAJA also offers internships.
AAJA can be contacted via email at national@aaja.org or by phone 415-346-2051. More information can be found on the website, www.aaja.org

Child Abuse Prevention Center*
The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse, the promotion of healthy families and the mental health of children. The Center uses a three-pronged approach to address the problem of child abuse: 1) direct supportive services, early interventions, and assessments for at-risk children and families; 2) public education and advocacy to raise community awareness; and 3) service coordination and systems improvement at the local, regional, and state levels. Each year, the Center provides comprehensive services to more than 1500 families, educates more than 6000 elementary school children and their parents about safety, and trains more than 6000 mandates child abuse reporters.
GGMG members can become involved by volunteering in the children's playroom and at the respite care program to provide nurturing care to children while parents access services or take a needed break. Other volunteer opportunities are TALK line telephone crisis and counseling line for parents, career mentoring, and becoming a holiday helper who stuffs bags for the Holiday Toy Drive. Child Abuse Prevention Center can be contacted at info@sfcapc.org or at (415) 668 0494. Please visit www.sfcapc.org.

*2009 Grant winner: Grant will support the direct costs for the on-site children's playroom, including caregiver salaries and program supplies. The children's playroom provides drop-in care and a warm and supportive environment design to assess and address children's needs while their parents access services such as counseling and job search support.

Crissy Field Center
Crissy Field Center is a non-profit partnership between the Golden Gate National Parks Conservacy and the National Park Service. The mission of this organization is to encourage new generations to become bold leaders for thriving parks, healthy communities, and a more environmentally just society. Since its opening in 2001, the Center has served more than 750,000 youth and their families through field trips, public workshops, after-school programs, summer camps, and more. Its award winning programs are internationally regarded as innovative models of education for sustainability. As part of its commitment to engage people who traditionally had little, if any access to national parks, the Center has developed strong partnerships with schools and community centers in under-served areas and provides a majority of its programming for free or at low cost.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities for both individuals and groups designed to meet specific interests, skills, or availability.

Contact volunteer coordinators at (415) 561- 3013 or email volunteer@parksconservancy.org or visit www.parksconservancy.org.

Edgewood Center
The Edgewood Center focuses on severely abused and neglected children and their families. Their mission is to strengthen children, youth, families and their communities through service, training, advocacy and research. Edgewood is one of the largest Bay Area providers of community-based, school-based, and intensive services serving a diverse population of 5,000 children, youth and families in both San Francisco and San Mateo counties annually. In Edgewood's Residential Program, approximately 40 children ages 6-16 live, go to school and get intensive treatment and counseling. Edgewood also has numerous outreach programs which focus on finding and supporting at-risk children and families early so that neglect and abuse can be prevented in the bay area.
GGMG members can volunteer to cook weekend breakfast or dinner for the children in the Residential Program, do gardening in Gotcher Gardens, paint rooms, build furniture, food banking, administrative tasks.
Contact kristinek@edgewood.org or at (415) 664-7094. Visit www.edgewood.org.

Friends of the San Francisco Public Library
Friends of the San Francisco Public Library is a non profit member supported organization that advocates, fundraises and provides support for the SF Public Library and related literary and educational programs. Fundraising efforts to have lead to the renovation of 16 branch libraries, moving from four small, leased spaces to larger, city-owned buildings, replacing three branches with new buildings and one brand new branch in Mission Bay. Friends of the San Francisco Public Library is committed to funding a variety of library programming including programs for children and youth - from lapsits and Every Child Ready to ready to Read for younger children to SAT training workshops for youth.
Volunteers are critical to the fulfillment of Friends mission; opportunities exist in the two bookstores and sorting space, picking up donated books in branches, at our events (ie annual book sale), and on Neighborhood Library Campaign committees and on the Board of Directors. In addition, GGMG members can participate in the work of Friends by joining and/or making a donation to their branch fundraising campaign.
Contact information: (415) 626-7500 or email info@friendssfpl.org More information can be found on the website, www.friendssfpl.org.

George Peabody Parent Teacher Association
George Peabody PTA was founded in 2006 and has since been advocating for the children, teachers and staff of this Richmond school through fundraising and volunteer efforts. They sponsor community-building events, offer educational workshops for parents and engage parents and students in school beautification once a year. In addition, they have raised enough funds to supplement the District's shortfall for arts and music education, weekly PE classes, field trips and other school activities.
There are plenty of ways to get involved including volunteering at the annual Spring Carnival, reading programs, beautification day and networking.
For more information, please contact Willem Vroegh (principal) at 415-740-8480. More information can be found on the website peabodyschool.com

Girl Ventures
The mission of Girl Ventures is to empower adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths. Girl Ventures explores the self, community, culture, and the environment through outdoor adventure, creative arts, and group experiences. Since its founding in 1997, Girl Ventures has played a pivotal role in the lives of nearly 3,000 Bay Area Girls. Girl Ventures is the only outdoor adventure organization in California with an organizational value dedicated to explicitly serving diverse groups of girls.
Volunteer opportunities include: mentor an adolescent girl, participate on a summer program re-supply hike, serve on the GirlVentures marketing team, recruitment, projects, and fundraising. More information can be found on the website, www.girlventures.org.

Hamilton Family Center
Hamilton Family Center is San Francisco's largest homeless shelter, helping hundreds of families in times of crisis each year. Hamilton runs an emergency shelter, transitional housing, family residences, apartments, First Avenues Housing-First (program designed to quickly move families into permanent housing), and Project Potential (focuses on helping homeless children and youth).
For volunteer opportunities, please contact Lauren Gutierrez at lgutierrez@hamiltonfamilycenter.org or at (415) 409-2100 ext.120. Visit www.hamiltonfamilycenter.org.

Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California
The Hearing and Speech Center strives to give people the opportunities to reach their potential and lead lives unrestricted by hearing loss or speech difficulties. Programs include audiology, speech pathology, counseling, Auditory Oral School of San Francisco, after school enrichment programs, summer camp, family counseling, technology consultation and a transition program for youth which focuses on life skills and employment.
Volunteer opportunities are readily available at the Auditory Oral school. For more information, please contact Leslie Castellanos at 415-921-7658 ext. 45. More information can be found on the website www.hearingspeech.org.

Holy Family Day Home (HFDH)
Holy Family Day Home is the oldest childcare institution in San Francisco. Since 1878, HFDH has been providing early childhood education and career, housing and medical and counseling resources to their families. Quality early education is provided to low-income families so parents can work and the children's education and socialization is equal to more affluent peers when they start kindergarten.
Volunteer opportunities include planting and helping maintain the garden, classroom aides, lead art and music lessons, translation, fieldtrip aides and more.
For more information, please contact Donna Cahill at 415-565-0504 ext. 207. More information can be found on the website www.holyfamilydayhome.org.

Leah's Pantry*
Founded by current GGMG vice-chair, Adrienne Markworth, Leah's Pantry is committed to improving the lives and potential of people living in economically disadvantaged communities. Leah's Pantry cooking and nutrition programming empowers homeless and low-income children, adults, and seniors to make positive changes to their health and nutrition, as well as the overall health of their communities. Leah's Pantry provides culturally competent cooking and nutrition workshops for all ages, support of and participation in community-driven, food centered activities and events, and ongoing follow-up support of individual, family, and community pursuits of healthy lifestyles.
Different ways GGMG members can become involved: join the Board of Directors, volunteer as a workshop facilitator, volunteer with the fund development committee, and donate used kitchen and arts supplies for workshops.
Leah's Pantry can be contacted via email info@leahspantry.org or by phone 415 710 2729. Visit www.leahspantry.org.

*2009 Grant winner

Little Jim Club (LJC)
Little Jim Club is the oldest children's charity in San Francisco. Since 1894, its volunteers have helped support and fundraise for low or non-funded pediatric programs including neo-natal, Autism, feeding clinics, summer camps and surgery and procedure education at San Francisco children's hospitals. The programs service 16,000 visits a year.
To get involved you can volunteer in the reading program, for the Autism playgroup, holiday decorating and working at a fundraising event. For more information, please contact Kelli Donavan Fleitas at 415-205-3531.
More information can be found on the website www.littlejimclub.com.

Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is to grant wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Last fiscal year, this chapter granted 309 wishes, among the most wishes ever in a year. Fifty one of those wishes were granted to children residing in the San Francisco region. The organization requires more than 300 volunteers annually at fundraising events, assisting with set-up, guest registration, food service, auction monitoring, and check out. Other ways volunteers assist with events include corporate partnership, auction item donation, and financial support. For more information, email info@makewish.org or visit the website www.makewish.org.

Project Night Night
Project Night Night provides Night Night packages, free of charge, to homeless children from birth to pre-teen who need childhood and educational essentials to feel secure, cozy, ready to learn, and significant. Each Night Night package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children's book, and a stuffed animal nestled inside a canvas tote bag. Through direct partnership with shelters, Night Night Packages are in the hands of over 25,000 homeless children each year. GGMG members can become involved with Project Night Night by assembling Night Night packages. Members who wished could bring like-new blankets, books, and stuffed animals to donate and could take assembled Night Night packages to the shelters they serve. For more information, please contact Kendra at (415) 310 0360, via email Kendra@ProjectNightNight.org. More information can be found at www.projectnightnight.org.

Rita da Cascia*
Rita da Cascia is a nationally recognized program providing intensive case management for some of San Francisco's most vulnerable residents - women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. The program also has a small facility which shelters marginally housed single mothers and their children. Supportive services include case management and the provision of basic need items such as food, transportation, and child care. Rita da Cascia serves approximately 95 families and 130 children annually.
Different ways GGMG members can become involved: work with children through their art program, assist with homework tutoring once a week, lead yoga classes, and be a Saturday field trip chaperone.
For more information, please contact Ellen Hammerle at eHammerle@cccyo.org or at (415) 202 0933.

*2009 Grant winner: Grant will support intensive case management, transportation to medical appointments, child care assistance, activities coordination, support groups and direct emergency assistance to buy food, prevent utility shut-off or pay back rent.

Support for Families of Children with Disabilities
Support for Families is a parent-run San Francisco non-profit created to ensure that families of children with any kind of disability or special health care need have the knowledge and assistance they need to make informed choices that support their child's health, education and development. Support for Families was parent-founded in 1982 as an organization offering free peer support, information, education, resources and referrals to families with special needs children. With the belief that children with disabilities develop and grow best when the family can guide care through collaboration, the organization offers support to all families and has translation services available. Volunteer opportunities include office work, child care, help at Parent Professional workshops, fundraising, help at the Information and Resource Annual Conference. For more information, please contact Hilary Bothma at 415-282-7494 or hbothma@supportforfamilies.org. More information can be found on the website www.supportforfamilies.org.

Urban Services YMCA
Urban Services YMCA provides the social services piece of the YMCA. Since 1995, they have provided resources and support for families to become self-reliant, for residents to reclaim their neighborhoods and for children of all ages to succeed in academics. Over 20,000 San Francisco kids and families receive food, clothing, counseling, after school programs and mentoring through Urban Services each year. For more information, please contact Development Director, Manuel Rodriguez at 415-561-0631 ext.115 or mordrigu@ymcasf.org More information can be found on the website: ymcasf.org/UrbanServices.

The Village Project*
The Village Project brings together resources and programs to enhance the well being of children in underserved communities of public and subsidized housing developments. The program includes an after school academic enrichment program and a summer enrichment program for children ages 5 - 14. The Village Project implements activities in an inclusive manner for children from neighborhoods traditionally lacking mentorship and services. The project also exposes children under 14, and their families, to unfamiliar cultures, activities and places.
Different ways GGMG members can become involved: volunteer to implement a reading literacy program, be a field trip chaperone, provide transportation for summer field trips, tutor in math and science, and offer administrative and legal help. The Village Project accepts donations of: books, school and art supplies, computers, toys/games for children 14 and under, healthy snack foods, and theater/sports/event tickets.
For more information, please contact Adrian Williams at awilliamsassoc@yahoo.com or at (415) 424 2980.

*2009 Grant winner: Grant will support the afterschool and summer enrichment program for children ages 5-14.

Women's Initiative
The Women's Initiative provides San Francisco's low-income women with skills and opportunities to create, own and run businesses in their communities and build financial literacy. For 20 years Women's Initiative has been teaching their micro-enterprise program to low-income women, single mothers, women of color, welfare recipients and women with disabilities so they can reach financial independence and help revitalize their communities. Finance, IT, marketing, research, sales and networking are taught over 22 sessions in English or Spanish where women learn business management and workforce skills. Graduates are offered ongoing support, asset management and loans to start their businesses. GGMG members wanting to get involved can teach a class, do outreach, plan and fundraise activities, offer translation services and more. For more information, please contact Sarah Light at 415-641-3489. More information can be found on the website www.womensinitiative.org.