We’ve got 3 days to collect another 1,178 pairs of socks. On Saturday, a volunteer group is putting together  2500 gift bags, one for every guest who comes to the Dining Room on Christmas Day, and every bag needs a pair of socks: new, preferably men’s crew or trail socks.

The San Francisco Security Traders, the Girl Scouts, and the Ladies of the Consular Corps got us off to a great start with almost 600 pairs. People are still bringing them in to Curbside, where we meet cars and unload your donations of food and clothing. (Drive up to 105 Golden Gate at the corner of Jones and volunteers will unload for you.)  We’re just slightly more than half-way to the goal.

Any socks received at Curbside will go to the bags. Any socks left over will be divided among our programs.

Three days before the day before Christmas. Fewer than 400 pairs a day will fill those bags. They’re easy to find, inexpensive to purchase, light to carry. Thank you for whatever you can do. Thanks for sharing this post on Facebook and wherever else you can. Happy Holidays.

Christmas Curbside Donation Drive Starts Next Weekend:

Saturday, December 17th – Saturday, December 24th!

St. Anthony’s 24^th Annual Christmas Curbside Donation Drive begins on Saturday, December 17^th. 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.

Your donation of NEW SOCKS, clean and ready-to-wear clothing, canned and dried foods are all much needed and appreciated! And if you’ve been working on hand knit scarves as holiday gifts to our guests, bring them in!

WHEN: December 17th-24th, 2011 – Weekends from 9-3 & Weekdays from 8-6

WHERE: St. Anthony Foundation - 105 Golden Gate @ Jones

NEEDED ITEMS:

Clothing
We need all kinds of clothing for men, women, and children – our most critical needs are for the following items:

Socks, Shoes
Underwear
Winter coats
Jackets
Hats

Monetary Donations

St. Anthony’s is happy to accept cash or checks for donation during Curbside and is prepared to issue receipts onsite for tax purposes.

ITEMS WE CANNOT ACCEPT:

Empty clothes hangers
Knick knacks
Used toys
Children’s car seats
Furniture
Medical equipment
Dirty, stained or torn items
Books and magazines
Exercise/sports equipment
Housewares
Computers, electronics

If you have any questions about donations, please call us at (415) 241-2600.

And in case you’d like to volunteer and join us for the holidays, call the St. Anthony Holiday Line at 415-592-2829. We look forward to seeing you!

St. Anthony’s 24th Curbside Holiday Donation Drive kicks off on Saturday, November 19th. 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.

Your donation of turkeys, clean and gently worn clothing, canned and dried foods are all much needed and appreciated!

WHEN:
November 19th-24th AND December 17th-24th

• Weekdays from 8-6
• Weekends from 9-3

WHERE:
St. Anthony Foundation
105 Golden Gate @ Jones

NEEDED ITEMS:

Clothing
We need all kinds of clothing for men, women, and children – our most critical needs are for the following items:

Socks, Shoes
Underwear
Winter coats
Jackets
Hats

Monetary Donations
St. Anthony’s is happy to accept cash or checks for donation during Curbside and is prepared to issue receipts onsite for tax purposes.

Other
We also need these items:

Shopping bags – with handles
Blankets, comforters, sleeping bags
Luggage, bags, backpacks
Toiletries – new only, please
Towels, washcloths
Stuffed animals – good condition only
Children’s toys – new only, please
Strollers – in good condition
Canes – not crutches, walkers, wheelchairs

Items We Cannot Accept
Empty clothes hangers
Knick knacks
Used toys
Children’s car seats
Furniture
Medical equipment
Dirty, stained or torn items
Books and magazines
Exercise/sports equipment
Housewares
Computers, electronics

If you have any questions about donations, please call us at (415) 241-2600.

And in case you’d like to volunteer and join us for the holidays, call the St. Anthony Holiday Line at 415-592-2829. We look forward to seeing you this holiday season!

The Israeli Consul General and the entire consulate staff volunteered at St. Anthony’s Dining Room today. In fact, they closed the office to do it. They not only helped serve today’s meal, but also prepped tomorrow’s Schuman Meal, one of five special meals St. Anthony’s serves annually that involves gourmet ingredients and a star entree. We definitely needed the extra hands.

The consulate staff took to heart Dolores’ request to greet guests and exchange a smile. They were compassionate and flexible when a guest was taken ill. And they stayed a long time afterward to ask questions. We’re looking forward to their next shift.

St. Anthony’s Dining Room has 40 unexpected volunteer slots this Friday, September 16. We’ve had a cancellation by a large group. That’s 40 people, needed Friday. You need to arrive at 8:45 in the morning and stay until 12:45.

Sign up by yourself, come with your family (children must be at least 13), come with your church group or social club, come with a group of your co-workers. (But do sign up. We can’t accommodate surprise volunteers.)

Your group doesn’t need to be 40 people. It can join a group of groups to serve meals, pour water, and pick up trays for two and a half hours, after a crucial orientation.

If you’ve never volunteered at St. Anthony’s, this is rare a chance to get a feeling for what it’s like, scope out how it would work for a team from your organization or company, or decide if you’d like to be a regular, without waiting for the next orientation.

Call Dolores at 415-592-2704.
Call Celina 415-592-2728.

It’s an experience like no other. Give us a call if you can.

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the largest series of 5K runs and fitness walks in the world. The Race not only raises awareness, celebrates breast cancer survivors, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease, it also raises significant funding for the fight against breast cancer.

This year some of that funding goes to St. Anthony’s Medical Clinic to help low-income women in the Tenderloin get one-stop breast health visits: mammograms, gynecological exams, cervical cytology. Anything that women in particular need to watch to stay healthy and whole.

Women who come to St. Anthony Medical Clinic for healthcare often have to choose between a doctor visit and a day’s work, between a sick child and their own health. St. Anthony’s will make it easier for women by holding quarterly women’s health days where women can take care of many examinations and tests all at once. A woman who misses one women’s health day to meet other needs can try for the next event.

If you join the Komen Foundation in the Race for the Cure in San Francisco, you help St. Anthony’s, and over a dozen of our community partner organizations, in the fight against breast cancer in low-income women.

You can sign up at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure web site at www.komensf.org

Komen SF Race for the Cure
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Embarcadero, starting and finishing at the Ferry Building

St. Anthony Medical Clinic will thank you. We thank the Susan G. Komen Foundation for supporting low-income women in the Tenderloin.

A couple of days ago, I was speaking on the phone with someone who is interested in becoming a regular volunteer with us: “I really want to make a difference!” he said. I  am one very lucky person to be in this position of individual volunteer coordinator, because as wonderful as that single statement is I hear versions of it again and again as folks become volunteers!! And like many of us I imagine, I hear statements like “I just don’t know what the world is coming too!” I hear versions of this often, too. And at times, I speak versions of it myself. I am so fortunate to meet so many people who will do whatever they can to really make a difference, no matter “what the world is coming to.” When one is around a community of people who feel so motivated and caring, you just can’t help but feel hopeful and caring, no matter what the odds. Odds are too that when we want to make a difference for the better in the lives of many, that’s going to make a healing and wonderful difference to those making an effort to serve. In these times of such uncertainty and struggle, my heart goes out to each and every volunteer for sharing yourselves in service here at St. Anthony Foundation. Viva la difference, indeed!

St. Anthony’s Dining Room, also called the miracle on Jones Street, is the only free meal program in the city of San Francisco that serves a warm meal 365 days a year.  At almost 3,000 meals per day, we serve over 1 million meals per year. For many, the Dining Room is their main source of food. Some of our guests have shelter, some homeless, some have families, some are all alone. Some are employed, some not. Some have a college degree, some never finished grade school. But the thing that all of these people have in common is their need for a meal. And that is our job. To provide all those in need, regardless of their life situations, with a warm meal that was made and served with love. And much of what makes this all possible are the thousands of volunteers that give their time to serve. We have almost 500 regular volunteers (some of which have been serving here for over 25 years!), and almost 10,000 people who volunteer with their school, work, or church.

Sean Chester, a summer intern who spent a lot of time volunteering in the Dining Room as well as some of St. Anthony’s other programs, remembers “my work in the Dining Room included being a bus boy, serving food, directing servers, and eating food. Among all the work and action, I made an infinite amount of friends that inspire me, believe in me, and respect me. I soaked up the experience, embraced the memories, and had such an amazing time.” Theresa Martin, another intern who spent one day/week volunteering in the Dining Room said “The relationships I’ve formed with the guests in the Dining Room, the volunteers and guys from the [Fr. Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program], and the other interns have been awesome. I feel like I have been welcomed into the community at St. Anthony’s and become a part of the family that it is. For that, I am grateful.” Much like Sean and Theresa, our volunteers often get more out of the experience than they gave. They find themselves embraced by the community here at St. Anthony’s, and quickly feel like they are part of the family.

So we would like to thank all of our volunteers, whether you have been here once or one thousand times. Your work has left a lasting mark on our Dining Room and the thousands of guests who call it their home.

If you or your group (school, company, church, club, etc.) are interested in volunteering, click here.

Every year, the Tech Lab has the honor of supporting a Jesuit Volunteer.  ”Jesuit Volunteers are called to the mission of serving the poor directly. They work for and with people who are homeless, unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled” (JVC).  For the past year, the Tech Lab has been honored to have Jesuit Volunteer, Julie Arcaro, work with us.

Julie has been a vital asset to the Tech Lab.  Through her work teaching classes, preparing class schedules, coordinating volunteers, and providing support wherever needed; Julie has played a major role in the day to day functioning of the Tech Lab.  Her humor, light personality, and work ethic will be missed in the Tech Lab.  Please take the time to wish Julie the best of luck as she moves on from the Tech Lab in the following month.

The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hello!  A lot has happened since we last wrote.  We’ve continued learning in the JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy) classroom at St. Anthony Foundation.  We looked at the distribution of wealth nationally and realized the large gap between the classes.  We also used the game of JENGA as an analogy to the real world and its structure of laws and rules.  It became frustrating when rules changed and we didn’t have control over the powers that be.  Friday we discussed the different types of service in our society.  Today, Tuesday, we began talking about advocacy and how to get involved either on a legislative level or by the power of assembly.  Today we had the opportunity to meet Sean Elsburnd, an SI graduate and now the District 6 supervisor.  It was interesting to hear him speak about the city’s government and see city hall.  This past weekend we traveled to Santa Cruz for a mid-trip retreat.  We reflected and spent time at the beach.  We spent Saturday night at a hotel, and our group continued to bond and have more fun!  It was really nice to do some laundry at the local Laundromat.  Sunday we went on a nature hike and swam in the river there as well. On 4^th of July we walked to the Ferry Building and watched the city fireworks.  Yesterday we also went to Grace Cathedral and took some time to reflect and pray.  We walked down a labyrinth there.

We have kept up our nightly reflections and focused on a variety of topics including charity, justice, service, solidarity, community, and faith.  Our reflection discussions have been vital to this trip.   We are continuing to challenge others and be challenged.  The tenets of living simply, acting justly, community and spirituality continue to be very prominent in our everyday encounters.