Holiday Jam brought GLIDE’s community together for a night of music, celebration, and support, support for the important work of helping every San Franciscan escape the cycle of poverty. Host Kristen Sze, news anchor at ABC7 News, set the tone with flair: “We’re turning up the music, turning up the love, and turning out for this community.”
The opening acts
The Glide Ensemble and The Change Band kicked things off with a rousing start, featuring musicians Janice Maxine Reid and Ashling Cole. Son de Fandango then performed a beautiful ode to Mexican culture, their strumming syncopated by the rhythm of traditional dance.
Then Destani Wolf took the stage in a shimmering gold dress. One part of her set was a song so newly written it hasn’t been released yet: a call to shine your light that rippled through the hall.
The CEO addresses the crowd
Rev. Dr. Gina Fromer, GLIDE’s President & CEO, brought the room to its feet. “Sometimes love comes in the form of a demand for change at the ballot box,” she said, to deafening cheers.
She celebrated the election’s historic firsts and reminded everyone of what GLIDE has always known: representation matters. And she issued an urgent invitation: if you haven’t volunteered, come volunteer. “Just because we’re in a blue wave doesn’t mean it’s going to change overnight.”
Honoring a shero
Rev. Dr. Gina called Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi her shero, praising the tenacity and love she has shown our community. Mary Glide, Chair of the GLIDE Foundation Board of Directors and great- great- granddaughter of Lizzie Glide, then presented Speaker Pelosi with the second annual Lizzie Glide Spirit Award.
Speaker Pelosi left the room with a reminder of what holds us together: “Our diversity is our strength. Our unity is our power.”
A tale from the front lines
We also watched a video that showed Journey Home case manager Chazz Medeiros at work. Journey Home is a newly launched program at GLIDE, that helps people experiencing homelessness reunite with the families and communities waiting for them outside San Francisco. In its first four months, GLIDE’s program completed 341 reunifications– and case managers like Chazz followed up to make sure people were thriving in their new homes.
Thinking about what the blue wave carries
Minister Marvin K. White, fashionable as always in a gold snakeskin blazer, invited the crowd to look beneath the surface of the moment. “A wave is what happens when something that would not move finally has to,” he said. He closed with a prayer for those the waters have left behind: “Tonight, O God, help us to receive the shipwrecked and the waterlogged.”
Generosity from the floor
Guests answered the call with open hearts, giving gifts from the floor ranging from $250 to $50,000, above and beyond their tickets.
A grand finale
Patti LaBelle closed the evening in blue satin with sleeves like angel wings, making the house shake with her soulful crescendoes. It was a fitting end to a night of joy and resolve, and a reminder that the work continues. If you haven’t volunteered yet, Rev. Dr. Gina’s invitation stands: come join us.