Presidio Hill Service: April 2016

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Glide Values Resonate With PHS' Mission

We strive to be a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.

225,000 people will be nourished through SF Food Bank programs

Our mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. It's a huge job that's only gotten harder as our community struggles with a prolonged period of economic distress and record numbers of people are pushed to the point of hunger.

Tenderloin Street Retreat 2016 - What holds us separate? What keeps us separated? As we walk the street, what still connects us?

We believe that when we walk the streets, the life around us is a mirror, reflecting back to us our humanity, our frailties and our strengths. When we look with compassion upon others, we find compassion within ourselves, for ourselves and for others. When we acknowledge the strengths of those around us, we acknowledge the incredible worth of all of us.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Young Activists Reflect

I chose to serve at Glide, Faithful Fools, and SF Food Bank. I decided to experience it a second time because I liked it a lot last year. However, I didn’t feel like I got enough out of it last year and I wanted to see if I could experience new things I hadn’t last year. I wanted to meet new people and observe the people and experiences on the street. I met new volunteers at the faithful fools, new people in the Tenderloin, and went to new places in the TL.

The work we have done for these three days is important. It serves hungry and homeless people. The work that we have done not only benefits people in need but it also benefits us. It provides new experiences and helps us better realize our place in the world.

We are separated from the people in the Tenderloin. We have a barrier related to class between us. We have better education, money, and job opportunities. Wealth will always keep us separated. It is very difficult for people with very little money to change their economic class and rise above their situation. We are still connected because we are all human. We all have somehow shared similar experiences at some point. We all can share something whether it be related to race, gender, sexual preference, or interests.

~ Jay

I chose to serve at Glide, Faithful Fools, and SF Food Bank because I wanted to help people that are in need of food, shelter, and care. It helped me be aware of how lucky I am and how I should be grateful that I have a roof over my head and a hot meal everyday. The work we have been doing for the last three days is important because it helped lots of people. We packaged rice - which went to lots of different schools, churches, and non-profit organizations. I have bonded with people in my challenge week group by talking to them and cooperating with them.

~ Amir

I feel that doing Glide, Faithful Fools and SF Food Bank, will greatly help the less fortunate. One way that I think about it is that doing something that only takes three days will have a great, positive affect on people's lives. Another reason I enjoy working here is because not only do we help the less fortunate, but we also get to spend time with friends. One way I have made new friends was when we were assigned groups in the Faithful Fools street retreat. I wasn't put with anyone I would usually hang out with, but I ended up having a lot of fun, and I to know people in the other grades a bit more.

~ JP

I have helped my community by serving others who are food insecure. I have learned to put my self in other peoples’ shoes at the street retreat. I have also helped package food for those who need it at the food bank.

The work we have done for the past 3 days is important because I was able to interact with people from a different background and I got to serve my community. I felt connected towards the people I served and found that they are really fun to talk to.

I chose to help at Glide, SF food bank and Faithful fools because I wanted to help my community and serve those who need it. I was looking for a new experience and a new challenge and this challenge week really helped me connect with new people and experience things I hadn't experienced before.

~ Fatima

In the past few days, I have been able to observe a community that was much different than the one I am used to. The stereotype of the Tenderloin being a dangerous place had disappeared as I was welcomed into the community. Seeing others who are less fortunate made me reflect on my life and made me think of how I should be grateful of it.

Helping the community had been a great experience as I had been able to give back. Helping people who are homeless and are food insecure made me feel good about myself.

Experiencing this with my friends and peers had been fun. Not only did we help the community, but we also did it together. We cooperated with each other, especially at the Food Bank when we made sure each box of rice were exactly 15 pounds. By the end of the day, I was very tired and felt very sick, but it was worth it. I was able to enjoy myself and be able to say that I have helped my community.

~ Kharisma

The work we have done these past 3 days is important because we have done a lot of work, and most of that work benefits and helps other people. On the first day, we walked around the Tenderloin, and we got to see what it was like there and we didn't have any help from adults when we were walking around. I think that we all got a little more empathetic for the people who live there and eat art Glide and St. Anthony's. On day 2, we went to a food bank and helped bag 1 pound of rice into each bag. It was really fun - especially my job, scooping rice into bags - and I learned more about how food banks help people who don't have a lot of money. We also walked around San Francisco a little bit and we got to see a bunch of different neighborhoods. Today we are all going to Glide again, but this time we are there to volunteer. This will give us a look into how people are affected by Glide, and how it helps them. We will get to serve people food, and we will also eat some of the food at the soup kitchen. I chose to serve at Glide, Faithful Fools, and SFM Food bank because I like to help people, and these organizations need volunteers to help them help people in need of help. SFM Food bank needs volunteers because they need help getting food like rice and pasta into bags, which they give to families who can't afford that much food. Glide needs volunteers to help serve the food to the homeless, and to help them prepare lots of things. Faithful Fools wants volunteers so that they can get donations, and so that people are more aware of the places where there are people in need (I think). In conclusion, this is why I think the work we have done is important, and why I chose to serve at the places that we have visited.

~ Hana

I think it is very important to help our community with serving and volunteering at places like glide. Also to help the part of the community that maybe we don't experience or are educated about that part of our community like the TL or maybe a soup kitchen or somewhere where lots of people are food insecure. The work we have done for these 3 days is important because we helped lots of people and we got to experience different things like when we went to faithful fools. We got to walk around the TL and see another side of it and get to have a head on day as a regular child in the TL Also we got to make a lot of rice for the S.F food bank and we got to see the process of how the food bank distributes and how they get the food were every they need it to be. Also at glide we get to serve people and children that are food insecure and get them a real healthy meal.

~ Tia

I connected with the Tenderloin community. Many people are friendly and just want to say “Hi.” Doing the street retreat was very mind opening to me because I used to ignore them. But I had many conversations with good people and that helped me understand that they are equal rights same as everybody.

The work I have done for the past three days is important because I got to explore and understand a community that I have never understood before. I also helped package food to be sent to soup kitchens, St. Anthony's, etc. But the most important thing I have done these days is communicating and being a part of the community.

~ Nicholas

I find it imperative to help feed the food insecure and the homeless - since a quarter of SF fits in that category.

What holds us separate what keeps us separated what still connects - It’s the past generation telling us that homeless people are dangerous and what still keeps us connected is that we are all human.

~ Nika

Wednesday I walked the Tenderloin and observed the people who lived there. Then reflected on what we saw and what we thought. On my adventure through the Tenderloin I actually ate at Glide. On Thursday My group and I went to the SFM Food Bank and volunteered. We packaged rice that was going to be delivered to schools, churches and soup kitchens. On Friday we are going to volunteer at glib instead of being a guest. So now we can see both views at glide. The work we've done for these past 3 days is important because we are giving back to the community.

~ Anthony

PHS Students, Families and Friends Make the World A better Place

Quality Foods at Glide

Making a Difference One Sandwich at a Time

Today at Glide I learned many things, I learned that not all of the people that eat there are homeless. Many of them are homeless, and live on the streets. The majority of the people that do come to Glide live in a house but they are food insecure, meaning they can not afford to buy food. Glide is a great place to go if you’re food insecure. At Glide, my favorite part was working in the Coffee House. I wasn’t in the kitchen chopping up food or just putting some food on the tray. In the coffee house, I had to give people trays of food. What really surprised me was that most of them were actually polite. I would have thought they were going to be rude. Today I made a difference because I helped prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Charly. We were skilled and used two loafs of bread in less than a minute that is about 40 sandwiches. Since we were working so fast we were able to make more sandwiches than we were supposed to, which was pretty amazing if you ask me. I am looking forward to volunteer at Glide more often so I could help make a difference in the world.

~ Aracely

Glide Day Two February 5, 2015

PHS students showed up for and work three shifts at Glide's meals programs today. They arrived at 6:45 am and served breakfast to more than 450 Tenderloin residents. Students sat with staff and clients and enjoyed the foods they had previously served for breakfast. Students went on to report for their second shift doing food preparations. They had a blast collaborating as they prepared bagged lunches, whipped peanut butter and jelly, made salads, wrapped fried chicken, and cleaned up the kitchen. They rushed off to their third shift serving an amazing fried chicken lunch to grateful guests. Students closed the day by meeting with Reverend Dr Karen Oliveto and Kristen Growney Yamamoto, Co-Executive Director at Glide. Together they reflected on their day of service and set intentions.

Street Retreat 2014 - Making a Difference for People Struggling with Hunger and Homelessness

Our project day was spent taking on the complex issues of hunger and homelessness. We served at San Francisco’s world famous Glide and participated in a street retreat with the renowned Faithful Fools. We became one of the 4,000 plus people from all over the world that have made street retreats since July of 1998! We started our day at 6:45 am serving people living in San Francisco’s infamous Tenderloin in Glide’s Daily Free Meals program. Giving was a transformative experience. The Glide meals program needed us and each day requires 60 volunteers each day in order to fill the breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts, 364 days a year. Our food service shift at Glide was 7:00 am through 9:00 am. Once we finished serving breakfast we participated in a daylong street retreat, where we worked at knowing more about the people we served and the remarkable neighborhood that these people call home. The retreat began at 9:30 am as we gathered with song and reflective readings. After introducing ourselves, sharing what had brought each of us to the retreat and the hopes and expectations that each one brought, an orientation to the layout of the day was given and then we set out onto the streets for a number of hours. We were shadowed by experienced adults who had previously participated in and facilitated retreats. There was nothing that anyone of us was supposed to do except trust that we would be led to that which is ours to encounter in the day. In the afternoon, we regrouped to share our experiences and close with a tea. The daylong street retreat offered an opportunity for all of us to bear witness to our own experiences and life story as it relates to what we encountered as we spent a day walking and exploring the streets of the Tenderloin. We entered into the street retreat not knowing what we would encounter and with a lot of apprehension about what it would be. From that place of not knowing, students discover what there is for each of us to know. This made it possible for each of us to begin to “discover our common humanity.” Myths about this neighborhood and the people we support were shattered. Our own stories were revealed to us. We began to see the light, courage, strength and creativity in the people we encounter. While moving through the day, students and adults were asked to be conscious of what came up from within - attitudes, judgments, fears, assumptions - about who is in the streets and why some people are homeless, especially at a time when we are being told that the freedom and privileges of the United States are envied around the world. What was it we saw and heard and felt as we had conversations with individuals, walked through the streets, sat on a bench in the U.N. Plaza, or in a drop-in center, stood in a food line waiting for a meal, became tired or had to go to the bathroom and confronted signs that say, “rest-rooms for customers only”, or “no loitering”? We shared the richness of the experience as it was reflected through the voices of those who had gone into the streets with us. We treasured sharing this experience.

PHS Pledges Support to Glide Meals Program

By Isabel Schroedel

I first started volunteering at Glide Memorial Church on a field trip in sixth grade. I had a great experience there, and it felt really good to be helping people in need. I decided to volunteer with Glide’s Free Meals program for my Bat Mitzvah community service project, and have continued to volunteer regularly since then, as well as helping out in the volunteer coordination office. Once I became aware of how essential volunteer assistance is to the organization (every meal requires 20 volunteers – that’s 21,900 volunteers a year!), I realized that having more student participation would be extremely beneficial for Glide, as well as provide students with an invaluable learning experience. I approached Todd near the end of last year about starting a Glide Committee at PHS to help arrange more volunteer trips.

Since then, with Todd’s help, I have gotten together a group of students and approached Scott about our plans to organize more frequent volunteer trips. The PHS faculty has been very supportive in our efforts, and, after working very hard organizing during the first semester, we had our first trip to Glide in January. Our first trip was a big success; everything went smoothly, and everybody seemed to have a great time. It was very exciting to see all of our hard work pay off, and we are in the process of organizing more trips for the rest of the year.