We’re clearing space to receive another 500 pairs of new shoes from Chrome later today. Our homeless veteran guests really appreciated the ones they gave us to give away on Veterans Day. It’s great to have even more to give away to the rest of our guests. Thanks!

Compassion and goodwill abound here at St. Anthony’s this week as thousands of hand crafted scarves  have been received.  And  now Pricewaterhousecoopers and Macy’s have been busy volunteer elves helping us wrap, write handmade cards, and organize all our scarves for giving out on Christmas Day.  Wow!  We are inspired by the generosity of our community!

If you were at Renegade Craft Fair this weekend, you surely got some of your coolest Christmas shopping taken care of. And you may have seen or contributed to Renegade attendee’s scarf collection for St. Anthony’s- beautiful greens and browns, soft whites and warm reds- lovingly knitted and packaged and ready to be distributed on Christmas to guests at St. Anthony’s. Thank you Renegade! Thank you Knitters!

When St. Anthony’s staffers coined the phrase “knitting is the new smoking”, they had no idea the impact of their brace themselves for the new year, St. Anthony’s is preparing as well by stocking up on donations of food and clothing that will be in even greater demand in the new year. St Anthony’s 23rd Curbside Holiday Donation re-opens on Saturday, December 18th, 2010 until December 24th. St. Anthony Foundation staff and volunteers, wearing easily identifiable red jackets, will take delivery of food, clothing, and monetary donations at curbside, so donors won’t even have to leave their cars. Donated items are distributed free of charge to San Francisco’s most needy residents.

Among the most cherished items that will be collected are hand-knit scarves which will be given out to Dining Room guests on Christmas Day. To date, over 5,000 scarves have been received from 20 states. The curbside donation drive opens on Saturday, December 18th at 9am, where clean, cared-for warm clothing, canned or dried bulk foods, and monetary donations can be dropped off to St. Anthony’s “donation valets”. As more and more people turn to the 60-year old non-profit for basic necessities as a result of the current economic crisis, the support from everyday citizens is needed, welcomed, and appreciated.

For 60 years, St. Anthony’s has offered a gateway out of poverty through a network of life-sustaining services. By addressing immediate needs such as hunger and clothing, as well as long term needs such as employment, drug and alcohol addiction, and physical and mental health, St. Anthony’s supports people in need as they pursue training, work, sobriety, and purpose. St. Anthony’s does not accept any federal, state, or local government support. We are entirely funded by private donations. (more…)

The IRA Charitable Rollover passed. This afternoon, the President will sign into law The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. This bill restores the IRA Charitable Rollover for 2010 and permits its use in all of 2011.

If you own an IRA and are over age 70½, you may transfer up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to St. Anthony Foundation because we are a qualified charity. You may not have taken your 2010 required IRA distribution and may reduce your income taxes with an IRA charitable rollover. Even if you have taken your required IRA distribution, you still may find the IRA charitable rollover a very convenient way to make a year-end gift. Thanks very much for your support. (more…)

We are very close to reaching our goal of 2,500 hand made scarves to give away this Christmas.  If you have sent yours in thank you from the bottom of our hearts and if yours is still on your kitchen table please send it in!

Volunteers from Mercy High School in Burlingame helped us distribute Chrome shoes by unpacking them. Chrome, makers of the amazing shoulder bag with the seat belt buckle on the strap, gave us a huge number of shoes to give to veterans on Veterans Day. Now we get to distribute the leftovers to our regular guests. That’s easier to do with the shoes unboxed and the size marked on a piece of masking tape on the heel of the shoe so we can put them out with the rest of the shoes. Thanks for the shoes and thanks for the help!

Sixty years is long time for an organization to keep moving forward, particularly a nonprofit that was started from a place of pure heart from a Franciscan friar in 1950. St. Anthony’s has gone through many growth spurts over the years, and to mark the time that we are moving into, balancing the outgrowth in services in the clutches of a challenging economy, we were blessed to befriend an amazing design and branding firm that helped us come up with a new image to better reflect who we are and the work we do. Check out one of our new banners, designed by Merkatos Moore, featuring long time volunteer coordinator Barbara. (The Safeway Foundation and Bank of America paid for the banners production and installation-thank  you!)

Yesterday we had a chance to reflect on all we have to be grateful for. With the tempatures dropping, having a warm coat was definately at the top of my list. Today, there is a great way to extend that feeling of gratitude and abundance- in between trips to the kitchen to make a turkey sandwich, or getting ready to get your shop on, walk to your closet and pull out the coats that haven’t been worn in a year. And then, while giving thanks for your abundance, bring those coats to the One Warm Coat drive next to Market Bar at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, so that your coat can be given directly and freely to a person who is facing the cold right now. Your generocty will be very, very appreciated!