2020 has been a year like no other. We have all been impacted in one degree or another by an unprecedented health emergency, the most divisive election of our lifetimes, and a nationwide reckoning with the ongoing legacies of racial injustice. However, even amid the uncertainty of these days, there is one thing GLIDE’s community can rely on come November: A chance to once again gather at the Annual Holiday Jam—a much-anticipated evening of celebration, storytelling, music and beloved community benefitting GLIDE programs and services. This year, in keeping with the times, the Holiday Jam will be going virtual! And while we won’t be gathering in one physical space, you can bet it will still be a night of powerful connection and a night to remember.
Here are 7 reasons why you should join us to Rise Up for Change at the 2020 GLIDE Holiday Jam!
1. It’s for a good cause! Attend this year’s Holiday Jam and you’ll show your support for an organization that has been transforming lives for nearly 60 years, showing up every day for the most vulnerable in our community. GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals program is among our most well-known, offering three free meals a day to anyone in need. But did you know that GLIDE operates a whole range of integrated support programs? We provide daily access to healthcare and harm reduction resources, offer counseling to those struggling with substance use or violent behavior, and operate a center dedicated to the needs of vulnerable children and families, to name but a few of our additional services. As one of the premier human services agencies in San Francisco, GLIDE is a cause worthy of your support!
2. GLIDE has continued to offer vital services throughout 2020 and needs your support now more than ever! In the face of the upheavals and uncertainties of the last 10 months, GLIDE has repeatedly stepped up, adapting services to reach more people in need, and expanding advocacy efforts to drive the systemic change that strengthens our communities. Since March, GLIDE has provided up to 15,000 meals a week. We’ve also increased mobile outreach—providing meals, water, health information and screenings, hygiene supplies, and harm reduction services to unhoused and extremely-low-income people at encampments and through partnering community-based organizations across the city. Since July, we’ve offered free COVID-19 testing on site twice a week to help ensure the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable community members. Join us on November 19 and support an organization that truly Walks the Walk, even in the most desperate of times.
3. The Holiday Jam will be a party to remember! GLIDE will welcome an incredible array of musical artists to the 2020 Holiday Jam for a night of brand-new and best-of performances. Between them, our artists boast a huge haul of Grammy Awards and nominations, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Gold and Platinum records, and multiple top ten–selling singles and albums! Join us as we groove to the powerhouse talents of India.Arie, Joan Baez, Lisa Fischer, Michael Franti, Goapele, Tom Johnston, Ledisi, and D’Wayne Wiggins. And of course the renowned GLIDE Ensemble and The Change Band!
4. The Holiday Jam is part of San Francisco’s rich history! Friends and supporters have been gathering to raise funds for GLIDE every November for over 20 years. It has become a San Francisco tradition for Co-Founders Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, and more recently President and CEO Karen Hanrahan, to welcome a host of artists, poets, comedians, and political changemakers to the Holiday Jam stage—while GLIDE family and staff enjoy the show, dining on GLIDE’s famous fried chicken and sharing in the spirit of unconditional love and community. Past attendees include Robin Williams, Maya Angelou, and Bobby McFerrin, to name but a few!
5. Watch the GLIDE Ensemble perform for the first time in 10 months! For six decades the GLIDE Ensemble and The Change Band have brought together those with disparate spiritual paths and life circumstances to sing of liberation, truth-telling, love and hope. Serving as one of the most elemental pillars of the GLIDE community, they have been a feature at every Holiday Jam, and this year will be no exception! Adapting to current public health protocols, the GLIDE Ensemble have recorded a brand-new song, virtually, and will premiere it on November 19! You won’t want to miss this special moment!
6. Post-election, join us for the perfect opportunity to reflect, recharge, and reaffirm our commitment to a more just and equitable world! In one of the most polarizing elections of our time, in the midst of a dark period defined by divisiveness, struggle and fear, millions of voters took to the polls to choose a new path. While it is clear that distrust and divisions remain across our polarized country, it is also clear that we must come together, irrespective of our differences, to begin the restorative and hopeful work of healing. We have much to do to reach that light at the end of the tunnel and there is hard work required in order to reconcile communities, restore social trust and to make meaningful and lasting progress on racial justice. Now is the time to come together to voice our shared values, to celebrate this time of renewal, and to Rise up for Change!
7. The GLIDE Holiday Jam is FREE to all attendees! We want to spread the joy of the Holiday Jam far and wide this year, so we are throwing open the virtual doors and making this incredible program FREE for all! All we ask is that you RSVP ahead of time by visiting out www.glide.org/holidayjam. Of course, we would also gladly accept donations and sponsorships in order to fund our vital work! The dollars you give go directly to providing services for individuals and families in dire need.
The 2020 GLIDE Annual Holiday Jam: Rise Up for Change will take place on November 19, at 7:00 pm (PST). Visit www.glide.org/holidayjam to RSVP today!