Reno D. and friends just donated almost 8,000 pounds of turkey, along with a cash donation. Happy Holidays, Reno!

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 month of October is a beautiful time in our beloved city- the days are bright and sunny, but with a fall crispness that makes me think of … Mission Street Foods shiitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup! If you haven’t tried this sublime treat, tonight is your lucky night, AND you can support St. Anthony’s at the same time.

Mission Street has a brilliant restaurant model of taking over another kitchen (Lung Shan restaurant) a couple of nights, bringing in guest chefs, and giving a portion of the profits to local non profits. So in honor of the Feast of St. Francis, MSF is donating to St. Anthony’s on Thursday. Check out the full menu:

Olive dirt with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomato, tatsoi, basil oil – $7

Roasted cavalo nero kale with boudin blanc, bacon, mustard, pickles – $9

Fermented black bean short rib with parsley root puree, horseradish, mustard green – $10

Black pudding with seared scallop, hashbrown, tarragon – $10

“Blackened” pork belly, goat creme fraiche, cucumber, cilantro on flatbread – $7

Lung Shan’s Vegan Delight: shiitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup – $5.5

Grass jelly with mascarpone pavlova, caramelized lychee and banana – $6

We’ve been so encouraged to see our friends stand by the poor when they are feeling the crunch themselves. They tell us that if they’re having trouble now, they know our guests must really be struggling.

Here are some easy ways you can help St. Anthony Foundation meet urgent needs in hard times.

Sign up for a small monthly gift. Click here and sign up for a small electronic gift which can become a regular, painless part of your home budget.

Match your gift with your employer. If you work for a company or corporation, find out if they match employee gifts to non-profits. Get a form from your Human Resources department and enclose it with your donation to St. Anthony’s.

Invite St. Anthony Foundation to your work place giving kick-off. Talk to your work place giving organizers and ask them to invite a speaker from St. Anthony Foundation to make a presentation at the event.

Throw a house party for St. Anthony’s. Invite friends, members of your church or congregation, or members of your club or professional association to your home.  Get materials and giving envelopes from St. Anthony Foundation. Serve food. Enjoy yourself and your company.

Do a sock drive or toiletry drive. Our guests always need new socks and personal care products. Always. Collect new socks, new toothbrushes, or unopened travel shampoo, lotion, and bath gel from your friends or co-workers. Deliver them to our Clothing and Housewares Program at 101 8th Street (@ Mission).

We’re fortunate to have such determined friends. Because of people who think like this, we really will get through hard times. Together.

OK, I can’t say this strongly enough- if you haven’t had a chance to eat at Mission Street Food on Thursday or Saturdays, do it. Yes, there are lots of other folks who are charmed by love of the delicious food that supports non profits, so you may have to wait a bit, but trust me, its worth it. And I’m not just saying that because MSF just donated $564 to St. Anthony’s from their Thursday night meal. Its that I love the epicurian mojo that Chefepreneur Anthony Myint brings to the table, along with guest chefs like Chris Kronner, who created delicious and amazing appetizers for St. Anthony’s green building dedication last October (and also made an all night cameo at MSF on Thursday).

Last month I went on a rather lengthy vacation, in two different countries. My hotels became home base between my sightseeing expeditions. When I returned home I was always greeted with a freshly restocked supply of toiletries, whether I needed them or not. After my quick San Franciscan scoff at how wasteful a practice this was, I remembered this was not uncommon for hotels. I left the bottles of unused products in the bathroom and tucked away the unopened containers in my luggage to donate later to St. Anthony’s Clothing & Housewares Program.

There are only a few places left in San Francisco where homeless or marginally housed people can shower. These facilities often don’t provide hygiene products for their guests. Lugging around full sized containers with the rest of one’s worldly possessions is hardly practical, and so is paying the same price for a travel sized one. That’s why so many of our volunteers, staff and donors bring these travel sized products to St. Anthony’s.

You can donate these items at our Clothing & Housewares program at 101 8th Street, at the corner of Mission Street, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Please pull into the parking lot, come to the door and ring the bell for assistance.

Every day I am reminded how important community is, for everyone. Besides the static community, the folks that help define your neighborhood or social groups, the folks that we visually or socially regard as being “like me”, there is the fluid community. The folks that could be pinch hitters or extended acquaintances, from one or six degrees of separation, but who contribute in almost seamless ways to your life. The community of give and take, of sharing resources, of supporting and being supported, in an invisible web rather than a tangible lifeline.

On Saturday I went to have dinner at Mission Street Foods, the innovative restaurant that happens twice a week in the Mission. Every night they donate the restaurant profits to a non profit, and on Saturday St. Anthony’s was the appreciative recipient.

The food was delicious – I had a broccoli rabe and avocado rice bowl that was sublime, and velvety mushroom dumplings in a vegan broth that had the elegance and simplicity of a perfect pearl. I had never met Anthony or Karen before, but hungrily stabbing a piece of brocolli rabe with my fork, I felt really appreciative of their vision. A handful of folks I know had dinner there to support St. Anthony’s. When we conferred later, we all agreed how good it felt to support a place that was making an effort to support food related non-profits while serving fantastic food.

These are the times to pool our resources, strengthen our connections, and support the folks we feel like are making a difference. Mission Street Food made that really easy.

This Saturday, February 28th, Mission Street Foods at 2234 Mission Street will be donating their profits to St. Anthony Dining Room.

Find out more at the Mission Street Foods’ website.

I went thrift shopping for a coat this weekend, and ended up with 2 track jackets. The store reminded me of St. Anthony’s clothing and housewares program, where clients can get free warm clothing in a store like environment, and be treated with respect.

But what I should have bought was a hoodie. Hoodies are great, they are comfortable and comforting and these days come in all kinds of fly designs, and when it gets cold you can pull the hood over your head and keep your neck and ears warm. Maybe thats why St. Francis’ habit had a hoodie. Thats why our guests appreciated the hoodies that The Hoodie People collected for St. Anthony’s during their holiday drive. And thats why we appreciate The Hoodie People.

http://www.hoodiepeople.com/blog/2009/01/26/