This holiday season has been very good to the Free Clothing Program thanks to generous donors committed to spreading the word about our need for coats and setting up Donation Drives in their workplace, apartment buildings, schools, etc.  Every year we partner with One Warm Coat and are the recipients of donations from Coat Drives from all around the Bay Area.  One Warm Coat is a non-profit organization which started in San Francisco in 1992. Their goals are to develop and nurture the volunteer spirit in caring people everywhere; to make it easy to help those in need in local communities; and to provide tools and resources to help volunteers organize coat drives, publicize their events and connect with local Agencies to distribute donated coats.

We started off this year’s One Warm Coat drive the day after Thanksgiving with an on-site drive at the Ferry Building. With the help of the Girl Scouts and their Troop Leader Gaycia Parks, we collected almost 1,000 coats for men, women, and children!  From there we have had over 20 companies and individuals organize One Warm Coat drives for us including Burlington Coat Factory, The Container Store, 7-11, which conducted a 50+ store Bay Area-wide coat drive, and Mochi Media to name a few.  We were also incredibly impressed and uplifted by the number of high school students that started drives in their schools and with friends and family.

Candace Diamos collected so many coats that her father Barney, who also does a lot of work in his own community with homeless veterans and seniors, had to drop them off in one of the biggest pick-up trucks we had ever seen.  Madison Castagnola not only did a coat drive in her school, but also gave a presentation to the entire student body about homelessness and the work we do here at St. Anthony’s. It was so successful that even a class of kindergarteners donated children’s pajamas that they wrapped as holiday presents.  Her little sister Riley has promised us that she will be president one day.  We’re still trying to convince Madison to put in for Secretary of State. And Jasmine Jaciw started Project Jazzy J with the goal of collecting 2,015 coats by the time she graduates in 2015. In only a few months, she had already collected 227 coats.

The tremendous outpouring of support has allowed us to distribute a bit of warmth and comfort to many of our guests. In December alone we were able to give out over 600 coats despite being open for only three weeks that month.

As we’ve all come to know, it is always winter in San Francisco. As Mark Twain famously said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” So don’t forget that we accept coats year round!  Men’s coats are especially hard for us to keep in stock.  If you are interested in conducting a coat drive please contact Morgan Moore at mmoore@stanthonysf.org  or check out our website for details: http://www.stanthonysf.org/?q=donate/donate-clothes

 A huge thank you to One Warm Coat!  Also to all those individuals that organized Donation Drives for us.  We rely exclusively on donations to run our program so if you have one warm coat that you would like to go to someone in need, please think of us!

In photo: Madison Castagnola (far right) and her mom, Bernie Castagnola (2nd from left), drop off clothing for St. Anthony’s guests during this year’s holiday Curbside donation drives.

Morgan Moore is the Volunteer Coordinator at St. Anthony’s Free Clothing Program.

As we see year after year at St. Anthony’s, the abundance of gifts from people in the Bay Area is truly awe inspiring. If you’re a return donor to curbside, you’ll notice many changes this year as we are operating out of our temporary Dining Room at 150 Golden Gate Avenue. In addition to the new location for drop-off donations, we are asking for a specific list of essential items for our guests.

Please bring donations of food, hygiene items, new socks, and hand-knit scarves and hats specifically during the Curbside Donation Drives. Please help us to fill this critical need by focusing on donations of these items for 2012. All other donations are accepted throughout the year, Monday-Friday from 8am-4:15pm at our Free Clothing Program at 8th and Mission.

2012 Curbside Dates:
Saturday, November 17th – Thursday, November 22nd
Weekends: 9am-3pm; Weekdays: 8am-5pm

Saturday, December 22nd – Monday, December 24th
All days: 9am-3pm

Stay tuned as we announce details on activities, entertainment, and spreading holiday cheer to our guests through musical performances, gift bag giveaways and tree decorating. And thank you to the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Nothing but Treble for joining St. Anthony’s on December 22nd and 23rd to bring holiday music to our guests.

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!

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!

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!

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…)

And what a holiday donation drive it was. The Ramallah Club kicked off the giving spree on the first day with 96 turkeys.  Eighteen young people from The Joint Youth Ministry came all the way from San Jose with 26 bags of clothing which some of them spent their day sorting and bagging while others unloaded donations from people driving up to our doors with food and clothing for our guests.  We received a record 1163 turkies over the week before Thanksgiving and hundreds of deliveries of clothing and toiletries over Christmas week.

Our friends heard our cry for socks. More than 3,000 pairs, in every size, color, and pattern, with plenty of plain but very warm crew socks and work socks to fill Christmas gift bags for all the guests who came to the Dining Room. Gymboree donated hats, chocolate, bags, and labels that said “Happy Holidays” and put the bags together. The Palace Hotel came through with 2800 mineral washes for the bags and cartons of other useful gifts for St. Anthony residential programs. The Hilton and other hotels gave shampoo and lotion. And Jane and John Doe just kept giving and giving and giving.

Anything that didn’t go into a gift bag will be given to our guests for months to come, as the rains continue and the cold grows sharper. This is how the 5,000 get fed. And clothed and healed and living better, safer lives: when people of good will are not too afraid for themselves to open their hands and share what they can.

At St. Anthony Dining Room we are a buzz preparing a Christmas feast for 4,000 of our friends, family and community here in the Tenderloin.

And we could not have done it with out you. Your response to our call for food and socks means that every guest who comes on Christmas will get a delicious filling meal and a gift bag with socks and other necessities. The cans of food, peanut butter and tuna are filling our pantry shelves which will help fill the cupboards of seniors and families in need.

Your support makes a difference this holiday season, and in the year to come. When you make a gift to St. Anthony’s you make a change in someone’s life. Whether it provides food that day, groceries for that month, doctor visit for an uninsured child, or life-changing recovery and job training, you can know that your support is a gift that meets real needs.

Thank you for reaching together with St. Anthony Foundation to extend this season of hope to all.

Gymboree was here on Monday to fill 2200 bags with 2200 warm hats and 2200 chocolate bars they brought for our guests. They completed 1,000 bags with socks and travel shampoo donated by others, as well. The Palace Hotel has now donated 2700 bath gels to add to each bag.

WE STILL NEED 1200 NEW SOCKS, TRAVEL SHAMPOOS AND TRAVEL LOTIONS BEFORE DECEMBER 24.

Men’s crew socks or other warm socks are the best; women can wear them, too. (But new women’s and children’s socks won’t go to waste at St. Anthony’s.) Travel shampoo and lotion should be unopened.

If you’re thinking of doing a drive, if you’ve haven’t opened the shampoo or lotion you picked up on your last trip, if you’re shopping at a drug store or chain store for something else and can buy a few travel size shampoos or lotions or a package of new socks, please bring them over to 150 Golden Gate Avenue and tell the Front Desk Guy (Eric or Darren or Jerry) that they’re for gift bags.

Or you can wait until December 19 – 23 and bring them to Curbside, our special holiday donation drive. Just drive up to 119 Golden Gate (other side of the street from the offices). Volunteers will be waiting to take them in and give you a receipt.

Sign up to work Curbside, and you may end up filling bags yourself. Contact Alina: 415-592-2737 or atrowbridge@stanthonysf.org

I only wish you could be here to see how our guests react. Thank you in advance.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA The sound of revving engines will be a call to start carving turkeys on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 when the Hells Angels come to St. Anthony Dining Room to help out for one of St. Anthony’s biggest days of the year. And on Thanksgiving Thursday the historic nonprofit will serve more than 3,500 turkey dinners to the poor and homeless; even Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is stopping by to lend a hand.

“With the economy in the state it has been the last 2 years, we anticipate many more people will be spending Thanksgiving at St. Anthony’s,” noted St. Anthony’s Interim Executive Director Linda Pasquinucci. “We are very thankful that more volunteers and donors are coming through the doors as well, because we have never needed them more.”

In conjunction, St. Anthony’s 22nd annual curbside donation drive is kicking off on Saturday November 21st 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 59-year old non-profit for basic necessities as a result of the current economic crisis, the support from everyday citizens is needed.

For 59 years St. Anthony Foundation has provided free, life sustaining support for the poor and homeless. St. Anthony Foundation’s programs help heal individuals and families by providing a gateway to solutions to poverty, including a Dining Room which serves 2,600 meals every day, an Employment Program/ Technology Lab, Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program, and a Free Medical Clinic. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money, and is entirely funded by private donations.