communications – Page 13 – GLIDE – San Francisco: serving the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco since 1963

History

In April 2018, the GLIDE Center for Social Justice led a group of 85 people on a pilgrimage to the opening of the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

This journey was more than a visit; it was an awakening, deeply affecting each participant with our nation’s history of racial injustice.The images we saw and the stories we heard not only agitated us but summoned us to ask hard questions. Motivated by this experience, we returned home to San Francisco to deepen our collective justice.

This year, we are embarking on our fifth Pilgrimage to Alabama, a deliberate move toward healing the deep-seated wounds of racism and economic inequality, and specifically, examining their impacts on healthcare and mass incarceration.

This journey unites practitioners from UCSF, participants in GLIDE’s Men in Progress program, and members of the GLIDE community. It aims to expand our understanding of Black history, foster empathy across diverse lived experiences, and empower us to use our positions of influence responsibly to drive meaningful change.

Follow along with us:

You can follow this journey through our social media channels (@GLIDEsf) using the hashtag #PursuingProgress as we head out of SFO on Saturday, February 17. We will send updates through our GLIDE enews. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here (scroll down to the signup box at the bottom).

Finally, we will produce a five-minute video on this transformational work, #PursuingProgress, which will debut in the spring of 2024.

Vision

Our history and our future are so intertwined, it is worth considering that in many places around the country Black History is currently under attack. Books that shed light on our collective pasts are being removed from libraries.

Academic classes that examine our history and its role in our current society are being canceled, de-funded and re–written. Teachers can be fired for sharing some of our most critical stories.

CBS recently dedicated a stand-alone page to expose current instances of disturbing racism happening around our country. And the premier of Ava Duverney’s movie Origin, a spectacular and loving interpretation of the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, has been shared and amplified across cultures and around the world.

The Hebrew word תשובה / teshuva, which is often translated as ‘repentance’ appears in daily and High Holy Day liturgy. A better translation of the word would be ‘to make amends.’ As Americans, we have never made teshuva for slavery on our soil. We’ve never had a process of Truth and Reconciliation as South Africa did after Apartheid. This is a poignant invitation to repair or heal America as we know it today.

We view the opening of this Legacy Museum and Memorial and GLIDE’s recurring Pilgrimages as important steps in an American Teshuva Project. It is a journey of truth-telling that we must engage in if we are ever to heal the festering wounds of slavery.

Part of this enduring Teshuva work necessitates a constant and persistent pursuit of equity and fairness in the American healthcare and criminal justice system.

The journey to Alabama strikes at the heart of our work at GLIDE – radical truth telling, unconditional love, systems change, and the striving of a more equal, just world. As a member of the GLIDE community, you are an essential part of that work. We look forward to sharing this experience with you.

GLIDE welcomes Naeemah Charles as our new Senior Director for the Center for Social Justice.

Naeemah is a proud San Francisco Bay Area native with a lifelong passion for social justice. She brings over 10 years of high-level experience in public policy, community organizing and government affairs. She is a political veteran that uses her expertise to uplift and advocate for social justice causes.

Most recently Naeemah worked at Childrens Council of San Francisco (CCSF) as their Senior Director of Public Policy, where she co-founded the SF Early Care & Education Advocacy Coalition, secured millions to expand child care access in S.F & push forward innovative child care policy for San Francisco families.

Prior to CCSF, Naeemah worked for Planned Parenthood Northern California, the SF Democratic Party and was a Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow.

Naeemah is a hobbyist and enjoys the arts and movement. She spends her free time as an avid practitioner of Ashtanga yoga, occasional water color painter and dedicated dog mom to her mini poodle Meadow.

Please join us in welcoming Naeemah to GLIDE!

#GlideForward

GLIDE staff were treated to a special presentation by President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer inside Freedom Hall this week where she spoke about her research into Black women who emerged from poverty and transitioned into executive positions.

Black women are significantly underrepresented in corporate America. 67% of executive leadership positions are held by White men, compared to 1.4% by Black women. This is no accident, according to Dr. Fromer, who emphasized that Black children living in poverty grow up to be adults living in poverty 92.7% of the time.

Given the low percentage of Black women in executive leadership positions, Dr. Fromer’s research studied two central questions:

1) How do Black women perceive the factors that may have contributed to their emergence from poverty into executive positions?

2) How do Black women perceive the role of resilience in emerging from poverty into executive positions?

Dr. Fromer’s research aimed to shed light on the value of practitioners who work in leadership development on antipoverty strategies. It also provided insights for leadership development and what childhood factors affect opportunities and outcomes for Black girls living in poverty.

As part of her research, Dr. Fromer interviewed nine Black women who were born into poverty and later were able to grow professionally and move into executive leadership positions.

Dr. Fromer concluded that Black girls are resilient and aspire to lead but many are mired in inter-generational poverty, and few can break out of their economic conditions.

Five key themes emerged from Dr. Fromer’s research for how to improve the prospects of black girls raised in poverty. These include experiencing a sense of community, the building of strong family ties, awareness of economic status, Black mothers and fathers who can show greater elevated self-esteem, confidence, and an appreciation of self along with a drive for change.

Black girls and Black women share a common bond of resiliency, and to work on anti-poverty strategies means devising ways of helping Black girls overcome their own bleak circumstances.

This means showcasing examples of Black women who have overcome their own economic challenges to attain roles of executive leadership. Dr. Fromer’s research outlines several recommendations, including:

Investigate further the factors Black executives leaders believe contributed to their leadership journeys
Further examination of the impact of Black role models on the leadership development of Black girls
The use of focus groups with Black women executives to share their stories

In the context of individual resilience theory, Dr. Fromer’s research concluded that Black girls growing up in poverty who felt a sense of safety in their communities, were exposed to Black teachers, and remembered positive aspects of their childhoods were able to move forward toward positive leadership outcomes as adults.

Dear GLIDE Community,I am honored to celebrate this Black History Month with you – or as we refer to it at Glide Memorial Church, Black Futures Month! While we recognize February for Black History, every day is Black History. One month a year is not enough!Our history and our future are so intertwined, it is worth considering that in many places around the country Black History is currently under attack. Books that shed light on our collective pasts are being removed from libraries. Academic classes that examine our history and its role in our current society are being canceled, de-funded and re–written. Teachers can be fired for sharing some of our most critical stories.These attacks not only tamper with the way our past is understood; they are an attempt to take power over our futures. Black History is not just something that happened to other people generations ago; it is the lives we lead and the communities we share every day.As we celebrate Black History Month and honor the struggles and journeys that brought us to this place, please commit some of your own personal energy towards uplifting these stories we call Black History. Read a book that someone is trying to prevent you from reading. Go see the new movie Origin, a spectacular and loving interpretation of the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which examines the ways that hateful ideologies have been shared and amplified across cultures and around the world. Ask your friends or neighbors to share their personal stories of challenge and perseverance, or offer your own story to someone who will listen.And by all means, please join us at GLIDE for the many opportunities to celebrate Black History Month this February together:

Dream Keeper Initiative: This month we launched our 2nd round of the Dream Keeper Initiative Grant. The Dream Keeper Initiative (DKI) is a community-driven fund with the goal of reinvesting into San Francisco’s Black communities across a number of different activities, events and programs. As a proud participant in the Dream Keeper Initiative, GLIDE will support low-income Black San Francisco residents who have experienced intergenerational violence due to systemic racism. GLIDE aims to further our mission of breaking cycles of poverty and ensure that new investments – including in youth development and economic opportunity – are accessible to San Francisco’s families who are most in need. Learn more here.
Black History/Future video series: A new video interview series will feature the voices of our African American community. They will offer their personal stories of growing up Black in America, the learnings that were passed down to them from generations past, and share what Black History Month means to them. We will be releasing these weekly. You can view the first story of Ken Ward, our Social Media coordinator, here.
Sunday, February 11th, Tenderloin Black History Walking Tour at 1:00 pm. Participants are invited to enjoy a short film screening of “Reparations Conversations at Glide Memorial Church 2023,” filmed by Don Bowden (Tha Don), in GLIDE’s Freedom Hall. Afterward, at 1:30 pm, Del Seymour, founder of Code Tenderloin and GLIDE Board member, will showcase and share a piece of Black history in the Tenderloin. The tour will begin and end at Glide Memorial Church at 330 Ellis St. RSVP for the tour and film screening here.
Saturday, February 17th – Thursday, February 22nd, The 5th Annual Alabama Pilgrimage. The Alabama Pilgrimage is an immersive, experiential learning program of GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice. The pilgrimage seeks to tell the truth about American history, highlight inequities in health, economic, and criminal justice outcomes, articulate connections between slavery and mass incarceration, and interrupt current, incomplete narratives about oppression, crime, and punishment. This year, 50 participants from UCSF, GLIDE, and our Men in Progress Program will travel to Alabama together. The goal of this trip is to heal the wounds of enduring racism and economic inequality in San Francisco and beyond, and commit to concrete steps that promote racial justice in the future. You can follow along with our sojourners through the hashtag #PursuingProgress on social media and through our Love and eNews series.
Sunday, February 18th, Justice Sunday. Join us after services at Glide Memorial Church to help distribute blankets and hygiene kits to our neighbors, engage in justice advocacy and register to vote. Services begin at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Learn more about the Celebration and events after here.
Sunday, February 25th, 1:00 pm – Soul of Justice Hybrid Movie Screening about the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson. Thelton E. Henderson graduated from Berkeley Law in 1962 – where he was one of just 2 Black students in his class – and was the first Black attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In the Deep South, he protected voter rights alongside everyday citizens and visionaries like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the federal bench, where he has championed transformative justice for nearly four decades. View the 57 minute film, by Bay Area filmmaker Abby Ginzberg, followed by a panel discussion hosted by Naeemah Charles, Senior Director of GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice. The film will screen in the sanctuary and online. Learn more and RSVP here.

Our work at GLIDE to create pathways out of poverty, fight systemic injustice, and transform lives is never ending. Thank you for being part of our shared history, and for working with us to alleviate suffering and build a radically inclusive future.With gratitude and love,

Dr. Gina FromerPresident & CEO

Dear members of the GLIDE community,

I am writing to share an article published in the New York Times that describes GLIDE’s approach to Harm Reduction in a few short sentences. In its brevity, the article did not fully capture our core belief in a personalized approach to treat substance use disorder (SUD). This approach includes introducing safer drug use habits, complete sobriety, and everything in between. It includes the needs of drug users and non users alike with the goal of creating safer, healthier communities for everyone.

At GLIDE, we believe Harm Reduction promotes health across a broad continuum. We are resolutely committed to address a public health crisis that has taken more than 800 lives from us in 2023 alone. We do this every day with people who need help navigating the complex journey of SUD. Addiction is a disease. We strongly believe the best way to treat a disease is through data-driven and effective public health interventions.

Under the leadership of our Chief Programs Officer, Lillian Mark, and our Director of Health Access, Michael Discepola, we are working hard to expand our services. We recently added additional testing and treatment programs in our new Service Hub located in the outdoor area next to 330 Ellis Street. Our Health Access program, including our Harm Reduction work, embodies our most core values of unconditional love and radical inclusivity.

Our Health Access and Programs teams are hard at work building out a comprehensive set of services to address the overdose crisis. We recently added additional testing and treatment programs in our new Service Hub located in the outdoor area next to 330 Ellis Street and we are re-introducing our Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) support groups for our community.

Our message is simple.

For anyone who walks through the doors at GLIDE – we see you, we love you, your life matters, and we will accept you exactly as you are.

To fight the overdose crisis, we have more work to do, and we won’t stop until we see this crisis abate.

With love and gratitude,

Dr. Gina Fromer
President & CEO

January 27 is recognized globally as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.

At GLIDE, we solemnly commemorate a dark chapter in human history. Six million innocent lives were tragically taken by hate, discrimination, and bigotry in the Holocaust.

This video serves as a tribute to the survivors, a reminder to never forget, and a plea for a world without hatred.

We invite you to join us in reflecting and sharing stories from our GLIDE family. Our goal is to create a world where love and compassion conquer hatred.

#HolocaustRemembranceDay #NeverForget #GlideCommitted

GLIDE is proud to have recently been given a Platinum rating – the highest from Candid (formerly Guidestar). This recognition is only bestowed on organizations with the highest financial transparency and accountability standards.

This award from Candid is a testament to GLIDE’s commitment to our community via program offerings and how we track and measure our impact as a social justice organization.

In 2023, only one percent of U.S.-based nonprofit organizations have been recognized with the Platinum Seal.

To earn the Candid Platinum Seal, nonprofit organizations must meet a rigorous set of criteria, including:

Providing complete and accurate information about their mission, programs, finances, and governance on Candid
Sharing their strategic priorities and information about their impacts
Being open to feedback and engagement from the public

For fiscal year 2023, 78 percent of our spending were directed to client services, assistance and support, including personnel and workforce development (which together comprised 61 percent of our spending). The remaining 22 percent of our expenses were for administration and technology enhancements.

Through its Finance, Investments and Audit Committees, GLIDE’s Board of Directors has exemplified prudence and diligence in fiscal oversight throughout the past fiscal year. In fiscal year 2024, we aim to enhance client services further by gaining efficiencies in other areas.

We hope that the Platinum Seal will instill high trust and comfort in our donors and supporters, knowing that their gift will go directly to those who need it most.

On a bright sunny day this past July 6, a crowd of people packed into the lobby at 330 Ellis Street, spilling out onto the sidewalk in both directions. Members of the Glide Ensemble belted out tunes while a cadre of elected officials, city leaders, and GLIDE staff eagerly gathered behind a long red ribbon.

With the gusto of a major milestone moment, the audience counted down the final 10 seconds to commemorate the reopening of our indoor dining services. Our Meals team cut the ribbon, signaling the moment in which our services transitioned back inside our building, marking GLIDE’s full return to on-site programming.

Seconds later, clients began streaming into the lobby and, for the first time in over 1,200 days, they enjoyed a delicious hot meal of GLIDE’s famous fried chicken in the comfort and community of our indoor dining room.

2023 was a momentous year for GLIDE. In addition to carefully laid out plans to reopen all of our direct-service programs, we began the implementation of a bold strategic plan, GLIDE Forward. This plan defines our next 60 years of service, building on the success and vision of our legendary founders, Reverend Cecil Williams and the late Janice Mirikitani.

One of the hallmark achievements of 2023 was the arrival of Dr. Gina Fromer, our new President & CEO. During the search process, Cecil recognized Dr. Gina as the future soul of GLIDE and a person who “knows what it will take to move GLIDE forward.”

While Dr. Gina was new to GLIDE, as a sixth-generation San Franciscan, GLIDE was not new to Dr. Gina. Several decades back, Gina was a young mom raising three boys on food stamps in the Bayview.

She came to GLIDE as a client to help make ends meet, and was taken by the kindness and unconditional love she received. Decades later, Gina walked through those same doors as our new President & CEO with a vow to “make sure, as CEO, the door never closes to moms like me.”

2023 Achievements

Cecil’s passing of the baton to Dr. Gina was the capstone of several exciting achievements across the organization, a few of which are highlighted here:

GLIDE honored Cecil Williams’ enduring 60 year legacy at our annual Holiday Jam on Nov 9. The Jam raised over $2.5M in donations to GLIDE.
The Glide Memorial Church introduced a new mission and vision to guide our future work as a radically inclusive faith community.
The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) led 85 participants on our 4th annual Alabama Pilgrimage to confront the impact of centuries of systemic racism in the United States. The CSJ team also successfully led the Hunger Action Coalition, a state-wide advocacy effort that resulted in the investment of $500 million dollars towards anti-hunger initiatives. Currently, one in five Californians are food insecure.
Our finance team dedicated themselves to increasing the transparency and efficiency of our financial systems, resulting in the recognition of a Platinum level rating from Guidestar.
GLIDE’s Center for Applied Learning and Impact (CALI) launched new analytic methods to improve our data collection and evaluation, allowing us to make more informed, evidence-based, and client-driven decisions.
Our Janice Mirikitani Family Youth and Childcare Center received the Impact Award from the Golden State Warriors in recognition of GLIDE’s outstanding commitment to community empowerment.

2024 Objectives

As GLIDE builds on the momentum from 2023, we are launching bold, ambitious plans in 2024:

We will return to Alabama in February for the 5th annual pilgrimage for racial justice with a group from UCSF and Men in Progress, GLIDE’s court-mandated batterers intervention program. On this trip, we will focus specifically on how systemic racism affects generational poverty, incarceration, and healthcare disparities.
We are thrilled to host a new Power of One Auction this spring. After an incredible 24 years of partnership that raised over $50 million for GLIDE, Warren Buffett will pass the torch to Marc Benioff as the new host.
We are reopening our historic Women’s Center in a newly refurbished space on the first floor of 330 Ellis Street, and look forward to further building community and providing support for our all female-identifying clients.
The Center for Social Justice will launch our inaugural Social Justice Academy, an exciting new initiative to catalyze the wisdom and expertise of people challenged by systemic inequities. The paid 17 week fellowship will provide education on community-based research, community organizing, and advocacy to uplift marginalized voices, center the wisdom of our community in policy circles, and empower individuals with the tools to drive social change.

Looking Forward

In the final Church Celebration of 2023, Cecil Williams’ spoke to a packed Church and said, “You’ve got to keep going, keep living. Love is here and now, and it is time to act.”

We invite you, our GLIDE community, to act and to be a part of this movement – 60 years in the making and growing stronger – as we continue our legacy of unconditional love and radical inclusivity.

Dear Friends,

As we pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am holding two ideas in my heart. The first is that Dr. King is celebrated and remembered in a mainstream Federal holiday, that his teachings are widely accepted and his legacy is cherished. The second idea is that his life’s work was–and continues to be–both critically necessary and deeply radical.

The same can be said for our work here at Glide. As we celebrate our 60 years of service in this beloved community, we are both a respected institution in the fabric of San Francisco and we are a radical and disruptive force fighting for inclusivity and justice. We know our work is not complete; and we are committed to being the love and hope and change that we want to see in our community.

Sometimes it feels like the winds are at our back. We are working side by side with political and civic leaders, and they are our partners in the struggle to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty, addiction and marginalization. And sometimes it feels like we are charging into the wind, facing blowback and resistance as we fight for racial justice, spiritual healing, food security and physical safety for our neighbors who are most in need.

Either way, we are buoyed by the teachings of Dr. King and we will never stop fighting and moving forward toward our shared goals. I am so excited about all of the things we are doing through our Glide Forward initiative to expand Glide’s services beyond our home in the Tenderloin and across this city as we continue to strive for the radical inclusivity that Dr. King and our own Rev. Cecil Williams helped us to imagine.

Please join me as we come together to build a beloved community through unity, service, and transformation. There are several opportunities to honor Dr. King’s legacy by working toward a more just and equitable society, where everyone is valued and respected.

CELEBRATING MARTIN LUTHER KING AT GLIDE:

Day of Service at GLIDE:

Date: Sunday, January 14

First Church Celebration: 9:00 AM

Take Action: 10:00 to 1:00 Sign Letters, Petitions, Voter Registration and Education

Second Church Celebration: 11:00 AM

Community Service: 1:00 to 2:30 PM Trash pick-up and distribution of items needed by our homeless neighbors. Please click here to register for the event.

March with GLIDE for the annual MLK March:

Date: Monday, January 15

We also hope you will join us on Monday, January 15th at the annual MLK march at Yerba Buena Gardens. Each year we march in celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The march begins at 11 am at the San Francisco CalTrain Station (at 4th and King) and ends at Yerba Buena Gardens. After the march, join us at Yerba Buena Gardens for a spoken word and civil rights program at 11:45 am, hosted by Minister Marvin K. White, along with a performance by the Glide Ensemble.

To march with Glide Church, please arrive at the corner of 4th and Townsend between 9:45 and 10:30 am and look for the GLIDE signs. RSVP to receive additional information about the events. You can also reach out to Freddy Martin, our Congregational Life and Community Engagement Manager, at fmartin@glide.org or 415-674-6168 to learn more about how you can get involved.

We celebrate Dr. King’s legacy on this particular day in January, but our work is never done. The opportunities to be involved at Glide are endless and I hope you will continue to fight and to celebrate with us in this new year.

Warmly,

Dr. Gina Fromer
President & CEO

We are thrilled to welcome Gwendolyn Cornwell as GLIDE’s new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Gwendolyn has lived in Northern California for over 25 years. She brings over 20 years of HR experience working for community-based non-profit organizations. A graduate of Notre dame de Namur, she earned her master’s degree in counseling psychology and has dedicated her career to serving mission oriented organizations.

Most recently Gwendolyn worked with Children’s Council of San Francisco (CCSF) for six years as their CHRO. In this role, she managed the Union relationship and led the strategy for talent management, benefits, compensation, and HR operations. Prior to CCSF, she spent four years as the Director for the Ann Martin Center and eight years as the HR Manager with California Institute of Integral Studies.

Gwendolyn is a mother of two and when her kids were younger, she spent many years traveling across the country as a proud hockey and soccer mom. When not working, you can find her spending time with her three young grandkids, hiking outdoors with her charcoal lab, or retreating to Southern California to visit family and friends.

Please join us in welcoming Gwendolyn to the team!