San Francisco, CA. The Latino Community Foundation (LCF) is an organization whose goal is to unleash the power of Latinos in California. In response to COVID-19, the organization launched an initiative called Love Not Fear Fund which is focused on protecting Latinos from the economic burden of the pandemic. LCF raised around 1.5million dollars for the fund which was then distributed in three phases. In the first phase, the fund provided immediate relief to 47 Latino-led organizations. For the second phase, LCF gave out grants to organizations whose goals aligned with their own: building civic and economic power and investing in economic opportunities for Latinos. The third phase of the fund focuses on civic engagement and building lasting power to enable systemic change for Latinos.
Central Valley, CA Giving Circle (Pre COVID-19) Picture taken from https://latinocf.org/
Chelsea Lopez the foundation’s Program and Administrative Assistant described the foundation as “a group of individuals who want more for the Latino community because they deserve more”. In addition to the Love Not Fear Fund, LCF has also founded Giving Circle Networks across California. Latino Giving Circles are groups of individuals who come together and chose which Latino-led organizations they want to donate to. Through these Giving Circles, LCF has developed the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country. “At the Latino Community Fund we are really trying to expand the definition of the word “philanthropist” so that anyone can be a philanthropist”, Lopez explained.
The Latino Community Foundation also focuses on politically mobilizing Latinos. This year they started a movement called “To Resist We Must Exist #Census2020” to encourage Latinos to fill out the census. As a result, 2020 saw record numbers of Latinos in its Census reports, which is an incredible accomplishment for the Latino community.
San Francisco, CA. During COVID-19 restrictions the nonprofit serving veterans, Swords to Plowshares, had to adjust several group-oriented services, especially permanent housing. Development and Communications Director Colleen Corliss stated that Swords to Plowshares faced a “huge challenge” in making sure veterans received the benefits they needed while adjusting to CDC guidelines. “We immediately had to cancel all of the congregate meals that we serve in our housing sites,” Corliss said, “and yet we still had to feed people which creates a lot more work and money to prepackage every meal for every person, for 500 vets.” This November, Swords to Plowshares and Prubechu served over 200 Thanksgiving meals to homeless veterans throughout the SF area (seen above).
Swords to Plowshares was first established in 1974 by a group of six veterans who were growing concerned that the Veterans Administration (VA) was not appropriately addressing the issues returning soldiers faced like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other debilitating conditions.
There is evidence that the VA had turned away a Vietnam veteran with undiagnosed PTSD for decades when he attempted to reach out for help. Corliss added that veterans were often denied their full benefits only because they had a less-than-honorable discharge from their military service.
The lackluster economy of the 70s, minimal benefits handed by the VA, and the divisive cultural shift Americans had for Vietnam vets caused them to struggle even more in adjusting to a new life after the war.
Veterans needed support and validation that “the military service caused some trauma, and the Department of Defense caused some suffering,” Corliss said.
Swords to Plowshares started as a safe community for veterans before being officially recognized by the VA in 1976 as a nonprofit organization formally representing the benefit claims of veterans.
Swords to Plowshares then started to provide a range of services in the coming decades to veterans that include legal support, financial advice, and housing assistance.
“Primarily, our [permanent housing] residents are seniors,” Corliss said, “all of them are formally homeless and all of them have one or more disabilities.”
As the 2020s began, the nonprofit would have to start making major adjustments to its services when the pandemic began to endanger the lives of millions of Americans.
Veterans and their families who are in the middle of transitioning to permanent housing are typically placed temporarily in hotels for a few days to a couple of weeks. However, due to the pandemic, they have been forced to stay in their hotel rooms for several months due to the slowed process of getting permanent housing.
Mental health services were another challenge as Swords to Plowshares had to cancel all group-oriented meetings which is a major part of supporting veterans with mental health issues.
Currently, Swords to Plowshares has figured out how to continue supporting veterans with “a ton of new food partners, building up our emergency housing program out of nothing, and making those folks in hotels are getting on-site case management.”
Despite Swords to Plowshares’s successes in making the necessary changes to function in the pandemic, mental health for veterans continues to be an issue due to the current limitations on group meetings.
“It’s been sort of a creativity game of what can we do to make sure that people aren’t isolated and actually engaged in the community without actually violating any of the public health placed orders,” Corliss said.
One of the major goals of Swords to Plowshares in the coming years is to find an “in-between” with normal senior living facilities and their permanent supportive housing units for veterans. Several veterans are unfit for traditional senior living facilities due to substance abuse issues, mental health needs, and other problems that require special assistance.
“In the city, there’s no such thing as a boarding care facility anymore because of greed, they’re no longer profitable,” Corliss stated, “that’s our biggest priority right now because three-quarters of our residents are seniors.”
If you would like to help Swords to Plowshares to continue providing veterans with all of its immense services, click here to donate.
From Swords to Plowshares:
We are a community-based not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to supporting nearly 3,000 homeless, low-income and at-risk veterans in the Bay Area every year. We offer employment and job training, supportive housing programs, permanent housing placement, counseling and case management, and legal services.
San Francisco, CA. Palomacy Bird Care Coordinator Jill Shepard (seen above) discusses the organization’s root beginnings and why pigeons and doves make great pets for those looking to adopt a new friend.
Elizabeth Young, the founder and director of Palomacy, volunteered at San Francisco Animal Care and Control in the mid-2000s and monitored the small animals that came in like bunnies, guinea pigs, and pigeons.
“She would see these big white pigeons come in and they were put in the back of the kennel so nobody saw them,” Shepard said, “and they were later euthanized because nobody really knew what to do with these pigeons.”
Most of the birds that would be admitted to Animal Control were the U.S. native King Pigeons. These birds are popular as meat products as it only takes 4-5 weeks to fatten the young pigeons before slaughter.
The ones that are taken away from slaughterhouses generally do not understand how to fend after themselves due to their domesticated and young nature. They will often starve as a result unless taken into shelters.
“There are over 300 breeds of domesticated pigeons that can’t live in the wild,” Shepard said, “it’s like releasing a puppy in the forest, they don’t have that DNA.”
Young wanted to focus her volunteer efforts on rescuing pigeons and doves after her experience at the animal control and adopting her first king pigeons.
“There was this parrot rescue group in the bay area called ‘Mickaboo’ and so she asked for their help,” Shepard said, “and that’s how it got started.”
Young would dedicate her spare time between jobs caring for rescued pigeons and doves in her own department at Mickaboo called Mickacoo.
Shepard first got involved with Young’s work in 2011 when the director decided to split off from Mickaboo and found her own organization called Palomacy.
“Every day is different,” Shepard said in consideration of the regular routine of Palomacy, “it’s all over the place.”
Shepard’s days can be consumed with all sorts of activities including reading through adoption or foster applications, making sure the birds’ needs are met, and transporting sick pigeons to The Medical Center for Birds in Oakley, CA.
Shepard discussed how pigeons are considered monogamous animals, and after they are about 5-6 months old, they live with a mate for life. Pigeons are “particular” about their mates and Shepard will often spend her day doing “pigeon matchmaking” to find the right pairs to live with each other in and outside of the rescue.
2020 has been an interesting year for several nonprofit organizations and Palomacy has missed out on continuing its educational outreach programs that help bring more positive attention to the birds. Despite this slight setback, Palomacy has been able to stay open strictly following CDC social distancing guidelines.
“We’re actually adopting more out than we ever have, so our numbers are pretty high with adoptions,” Shepard said.
The bird care coordinator credits the increase of adoptions to people staying at home and finding out about Palomacy themselves.
The organization runs entirely from its donations and will continue to accept new rescues to find more loving, safe homes for life.
“They’re not disposable animals,” Shepard stated, “they are very emotionally driven, they’re smart, they’re one of the few species that can self-recognize in mirrors, they’re very emotional birds, they love love.”
From Palomacy:
Palomacy (a Community Initiatives project) is a volunteer-powered, donation-funded rescue for domestic (unreleasable) pigeons & doves in the San Francisco Bay Area. Palomacy provides avian vet treatment, foster care & adoption services locally & consultation & referrals all over the country. Started in 2007, Palomacy has directly saved the lives of more than 1,000 birds & assisted countless others.
San Francisco, CA. The San Francisco Arts Commission announced that Ralph Remington has been appointed as the new Director of Cultural Affairs. (Photo credit, Photo by Aminda Villa) Remington will bring decades of leadership experience in the arts and a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion to the San Francisco Arts Commission. He was hired by the City following a comprehensive search led by the Arts Commission with the announcement on November 6th. He will begin in January 2021.
The Director of Cultural Affairs leads the administration of the San Francisco Arts Commission and directs citywide cultural activities in all aspects of the arts through programs, special projects, grant making, and policy-setting initiatives. The Director reports to the 15-member, mayoral-appointed Arts Commission, which is responsible for the Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Cultural Equity Grants and other funding, SFAC Galleries, public art, art vendors, and seven cultural centers.
The nonprofit San Francisco Arts Commission is working hard to help nonprofits stay afloat. Mission: The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy.
While we encouraging everyone to #stayathome this holiday season, the commission also wanted to share some of the artwork that has been recently installed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
San Francisco-based artist Gay Outlaw’s bold, geometric sculptures, located in the South Courtyard at Terminal 1, take inspiration from both architecture and nature and incorporates color and texture in playful and surprising ways.
The San Francisco Arts Commission is committed to creating a city where all artists and cultural workers have the freedom, resources and platform to share their stories, art and culture and where race does not predetermine one’s success in life. We also acknowledge that we occupy traditional and unceded Ohlone land. Fueled by these beliefs, we commit to addressing the systemic inequities within our agency, the City and County of San Francisco and the broader arts and culture sector. This work requires that we focus on race as we confront inequities of the past, reveal inequities of the present and develop effective strategies to move all of us towards an equitable future.
San Francisco, CA. Minds Matter San Francisco (MMSF) is an education nonprofit that transforms the lives of low-income high school students with demonstrated motivation by broadening their dreams and preparing them for college success. (A recent enrichment included the skydiving expedition, pictured above.)
The organization raised $347,877 on October 7th, during its virtual fundraiser.
Founded in 2010, 100% of alumni have been accepted to 4-year colleges, and 97% are on track to graduate from college within 4 years. Students – compared with similar peers – are 25X as likely to graduate from a selective college that prepares them for career and beyond.
Minds Matter San Francisco (MMSF) was also recently named “2020 Top-Rated Nonprofit” by GreatNonprofits, the leading website of user reviews of charities and nonprofits. The organization noted the achievement in October.
Target demographics: Low-income high school students who are the first in their families to go to college.
Direct beneficiaries per year: 224 mentees (current and alumni)
Geographic areas served: San Francisco
Programs: Our students participate in a rich set of programs including young professional mentorship, academic planning programs, MMSF-supported summer college programs for high school students and SAT & ACT instruction.
Minds Matter San Francisco aims to help high school students with demonstrated motivation from low-income families achieve their dreams of attending college.
San Francisco, CA. HandsOn Bay Area is offering Virtual Volunteering programs. The program is a volunteer-driven response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. While volunteers may need to be physically apart right now, they can still engage in meaningful virtual engagements that support our community. These shared experiences bring volunteers out of their isolation and mobilize them to a greater good.
There are often opportunities to volunteer as a family.
The organization is offering five reasons to participate:
Team-based virtual experiences that benefit the community and help teams connect
Easy and high impact done in a day projects for volunteers
Curated experiences that align with your team’s interests and meet a community need
All project scoping, planning, and execution will be handled by our team of professional non-profit volunteer managers to ensure a high-quality volunteer experience
Connect with your community and make a real difference
Another program is “Digital Dialogues”. It is a facilitated discussion between volunteers, community leaders, and HandsOn Bay Area staff that centers the issue areas affecting our communities. Possible topics include:
Disability Justice
Hunger & Homelessness
Race Relations & Police Brutality
These virtual convening spaces are dedicated to sharing, learning, and critically reflecting on the social issues that matter to each and every one of us. Organizers encourage you to bring your passion for a better world and a commitment to your community.
From HandsOn Bay Area:
We connect companies and people with high-quality volunteer projects through our extensive network of local nonprofits and schools in need.
We help companies — including Google, Salesforce, Levi’s and many others — create customized volunteer events to make their employees happier and better serve society.
And we offer hundreds of volunteer projects each month to anyone who wants to help, covering all the causes people care about.
In 2017, we mobilized over 25,000 volunteers, resulting in more than 76,000 hours of service to more than 280 schools, parks and nonprofits across the Bay Area. Our volunteering projects meet critical community needs including education and literacy, youth development, health and aging, homelessness, the environment and more.
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