To kick off the season of giving, St. Anthony’s will launch our 24^th annual Curbside Donation Program.  Each year, St. Anthony’s relies on the generosity of people all over the Bay Area to donate clean, cared-for warm clothing, canned or dried bulk foods, and monetary donations.  Our donation valets, clad in bright red jackets, will gladly greet donors curbside at St. Anthony’s to receive donations.

This year, St. Anthony’s would like to send a special thanks to our friends at the Institute on Aging.  What began as a small gesture of generosity several years ago has grown exponentially through the tireless efforts of their staff and supporters.  We are blessed to have the IOA as members of the St. Anthony community and we wish them hope and happiness this holiday season.

Curbside donations begin tomorrow at 9 A.M.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Many years have been like this, I remind myself.  Every Thanksgiving the clothing donations start pouring in, flooding the basement of the Free Clothing Program to the rafters by the start of the new year.  Through spring and summer our volunteers and staff draw from this reservoir, sorting clothes for our guests.  Sometimes in the fall they hit bare concrete, and the basement echoes, empty.  This is one of those years.

Our guests won’t go without – for a while.   We have a stockpile of sorted clothes to give away, but critical items, such as mens clothes, will run out quickly.  Our volunteers,  including job training participants,  need a steady supply of donated clothing to keep them working.

As we wait in hope for the blessings of Thanksgiving to rain down upon us and our guests,  please help tide us over. Consider cleaning out your closets early this year.  Consider running a clothing drive at your work,  school,  or place of worship.   Consider how much your gift of clean, gently used clothing will help those in need.

Gospel music video: “Open the floodgates of heaven. Let it rain!” (new window)

For more information about holding a clothing drive, please contact:

Ty Hilkert at thilkert@stanthonysf.org or (415) 592-2801

Thanks for all you do for us and our guests.

One of my favorite things in this life is pulling clean laundry out of the dryer, and slipping my cold feet into a pair of snug warm socks.  There’s really nothing quite like it.  Torrential downpour and chilly wind in the city’s dismal winter months makes the experience that much more rewarding.

As we prepare for the holidays, and gear up for what is traditionally the busiest time for St. Anthony’s, we take note of these items like socks that make a big difference in such a small low-cost way.

Imagine if instead of out of a drawer or dryer, the socks you were sliding on in the morning were the same wet ones you braved the rain in last night, and for the previous few days for that matter. Many of our homeless guests at St. Anthony’s are on their feet and perhaps don’t have a place to rest and recharge. A clean new pair of socks are not an accessory or afterthought, they are a piece of refuge and reenergizing that we can offer to make that day better.

You can be a part of that refuge, bring in clean new socks for guests at St. Anthony Foundation.  Or hold a drive with friends, coworkers or church groups and gather socks to bring in for our Curbside Donation Drive.

The cover of Vogue Italia Magazine September issue highlights what is being called “Homeless Chic”. I’m not sure where to begin addressing this terrible oxymoron!

Clothing worn by most homeless people is dictated by necessity; size, color, season, compatibility with other garments, and even personal taste hardly ever factor in to what is worn. To suggest that dawning second hand, mismatched clothing could be the “next big thing” in fashion is down right degrading to say the least.

At St. Anthony’s Clothing Program our guests and clients can pick out brand new or gently used clothing in a store like environment. This gives our guests the opportunity to pick out clothes that will fit them, be part of a matching outfit, and even give them the ability to express their own style. The ability to dress cleanly and appropriately is just another component of restoring dignity St. Anthony’s offers to poor and homeless San Franciscans.

That was quite the heatwave last week. Trying to get ready for work amid the 80 and near 90 degree heat, I realized I owned nothing even seemingly professional that would suffice in that weather.

Looking beyond my own needs, and comforts I thought about our guests at St. Anthony Foundation. So often, especially in our moderate San Francisco climate, we only think of the winter as a time to be concerned about clothing, about shelter, and the effects of severe weather.  However, homelessness and poverty do not discriminate based on the season.   St. Anthony’s services, especially our Clothing and Housewares Program, Social Work Center and Free Medical Clinic, are just as busy during the summer months.

Guests that come through the Clothing and Housewares Program are looking not only for work clothes, but for clothes that will protect them in weather on either side of the thermometer.  Summer months present health concerns of their own as well. Dehydration, heat stroke and malnourishment are a few of the health risks that the Clinic sees during these months that if left untreated can develop into critical health problems.  And, in these hotter months, utilities, rent and food do not get any cheaper.  Our Social Work Center, is still just as busy helping connect guests to the supportive services they need to maintain their benefits, access emergency food, and find housing.

Although images of charity in our minds may be focused on snow falling and holidays, in reality we can all find ways to help year round to bring more stability to those in need.

A closet full of clothes and not a thing to wear. That’s how I feel sometimes when getting ready to start the day. I can’t say I dress well, or that I have any semblance of fashion, but I know what I like and it works for me. I have my “work” clothes and my “street” clothes, My “gym” clothes and my “bedtime” clothes, my “lounge around the house and do nothing” clothes and my “I really need to do laundry” clothes. Sometimes I make three or four costumes changes a day.

And still I have “nothing to wear”.

Then I think of how many of my friends and acquaintances in The Tenderloin only have one change of clothes. Doing laundry is often not an option and neither is carrying around bags of dirty clothes. Many homeless San Franciscans simply wear clothing until it wears off their bodies.

So I take those clothes that no longer suit me and give them St. Anthony Foundation’s Clothing Program or St. Vincent De Paul’s Vincentian Help Desk. I feel environmentally responsible in that my clothes will be worn by someone who needs them, and won’t be taking up space in a landfill somewhere. No longer a fashion victim, my poor sense of style, weight gain and sweaters I received as Christmas presents now place me in league with philanthropists and environmentalists alike! All by giving these gently used garments that I dismissed as “nothing” a second chance.