communications – Page 15 – GLIDE – San Francisco: serving the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco since 1963

2023 has marked a major milestone for GLIDE on so many fronts, including a return to community that has uplifted the Tenderloin and all of San Francisco.

Beginning in July with our return to indoor dining service, we’ve since expanded our Legal Clinic services, to both online and in-person; we received a $1M check from the state of California to support our infrastructure needs; our Center for Social Justice helped secure $950M to fund the Universal School Meals program for the state of California, and we heralded the arrival of our new President & CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer.

But if it’s one event that our beloved supporters anticipate more than anything, it’s GLIDE’s premiere annual Holiday Jam in November. This year, we are celebrating Cecil William’s 60th anniversary at GLIDE!

This will be a night filled with a star-studded cast of inspiring musical artists all led by our Mistress of Ceremonies KQED’s Priya David Clemens.

Thursday, November 9, at 7:00 pm (PST).
Visit www.glide.org/holidayjam and get your tickets today!

Why should you attend this year’s Holiday Jam? Read on!

Show your support by making a difference in someone’s life! When you support GLIDE, you are at the forefront of giving people a chance at recovery and turning their lives around.

While GLIDE’s Free Meals program is among our most visible, we also offer a plethora of support by means of such actions as rental assistance, providing on the street harm reduction techniques to combat mental illness and drug addiction, and establishing the Janice Mirikitani Family Youth and Childcare Center (FYCC) which offers low-income families educational resources to help stabilize their lives.

As a human services agency, GLIDE is at the forefront of a mission to break the cycles of poverty and marginalization. When you support GLIDE, you participate in a movement rooted in empowerment and recovery.

Holiday Jam Entertainment!

This year’s Holiday Jam will showcase a superfecta of artistic power unlike anything we’ve presented before.

Legendary songwriter, composer, and producer, Valerie Simpson will perform a tribute to her music ( highlighting many of the songs composed in collaboration with her late husband, Nick Ashford).

GLIDE was lucky enough to snag masterful blues guitarist, producer, composer, philanthropist and founding member of multi-platinum rhythm and blues group, Tony! Toni! Tone!, D’wayne Wiggins.

Activist and prolific R&B and soul visionary, Goapele will perform some of her most stirring music to delight her fans.

And rebel soul singer Martin Luther McCoy rounds out the star-studded line-up who will be performing his distinct blend of jazz funk fusion music.

San Francisco’s varied and colorful history includes the Holiday Jam!

Friends and supporters have been gathering to raise funds for GLIDE every November for over 20 years. In San Francisco, the Holiday Jam is a tradition hosted by Co-Founders Rev. Cecil Williams, Janice Mirikitani, and now our new President and CEO Dr. Gina Fromer. Artists, poets, comedians, and political changemakers come together to perform.

GLIDE family and staff enjoy the show, eat GLIDE’s famous fried chicken, and celebrate love and community. Past attendees included Robin Williams, Maya Angelou, and Bobby McFerrin, to name but a few!

For 60 years, the GLIDE Ensemble and The Change Band have united people with different beliefs and life situations to sing about freedom, honesty, love, and hope. Led by Musical Directors Vernon Bush and Zoe Ellis, the Ensemble has teamed up with a “who’s who” of notable musicians such as Sammy Davis Jr., Leonard Bernstein, Marvin Gaye, Bono, Bobby McFerrin, Maya Angelou, and Joan Baez.

Since its humble beginnings on Christmas Day, 1966, with just 10 singers and jazz legend John Handy, the GLIDE Ensemble and Change Band has expanded to over 100 voices and eight musicians. Don’t miss out on this special performance!

GLIDE’s Holiday Jam is the premiere event to celebrate GLIDE’s service in San Francisco and supporting our programs and breathing life to those who’ve fallen through the cracks but are looking to get back up again.

Let’s honor Cecil Williams and his incredible legacy of social and civic activism!

The 2023 GLIDE Annual Holiday Jam: Keep On will take place on Thursday, November 9, at 7:00 pm (PST). Visit www.glide.org/holidayjam and get your tickets today!

Volunteers are an essential life source for GLIDE. Our meals program could not function to serve all our clients without them. The COVID-19 pandemic saw an alarming decline in GLIDE volunteers and something needed to be done to stem the flow. GLIDE looked to Meals Navigator Diane Truong. Diane went into action by recruiting a dedicated dozen senior volunteers in the local Asian community, a few of whom were former GLIDE clients themselves.

Since 2020, this tight-knit group of volunteers have been coming to GLIDE five to six times a week, helping serve breakfast to our many hungry clients.

We want to tip our hats to these passionate group of volunteers. You are the unconditional love we live and breath each and every day.

Please take the time to review our Volunteer page and consider volunteering. We welcome you to join us!

My Name is Huang, Qun Ying. I am 81. I live across from Glide. I come volunteer at Glide every morning at 7:00 am.

I want to help the community. I enjoy working with the Meals team members because everyone here is so friendly and respect seniors. Besides volunteer at Glide, I am at home taking care of my 93 years old husband.

My name is Wen DaMei. I am 70 years old. I just moved to the Tenderloin a year ago. And I am so happy that I found Glide just across where I live to do my volunteer work. I love to help and serve people.

I also volunteer at the YMCA Chinatown. I love to volunteer at Glide Church because I love to go to Church on Sunday.

I am Mai Hong Hai. I am 74 years old. I am very happy to volunteer at Glide because I can be able to do something for the community.

Every morning I take the bus from Chinatown to get here at 6 am to help all the setting up tables, chairs, and other stuffs to get ready for the breakfast hour. I I also stay and help on the lunch hour too.

I love to volunteer at Glide because everyone is so friendly.

My Name is Huang, Qun Ying. I am 81 Years old. I live across from Glide. I come volunteer at Glide every morning at
7:00 am. I want to help the community. I enjoy working with the Meals team members because everyone here are so friendly and respect seniors.

Besides volunteering at Glide, I am at home taking care of my 93 years old husband.

My name is Pei Shai Chen. Everyone calls me “Patricia.” I am 84 years old. In the pass three years, I was like every other Glide client who picked up their food after getting in line on the sidewalk. One day, I felt so happy that Diane asked me to volunteer.

Every morning around 6:00 am, I come to Glide to help on preparing breakfast and helping the Meals team get things ready. I feel good for myself that I can help others by volunteering at Glide.

We are excited to announce that former GLIDE client, Dr. Gina M. Fromer, has accepted the position as GLIDE’s new president & CEO.

Dr. Fromer will start on October 11th, replacing interim CEO Malcolm Walter who has dedicated himself to GLIDE’s mission for the past ten months.

Dr. Fromer has more than 40 years of experience leading organizations and communities, creating partnerships, designing innovative solutions, and achieving strategic goals like ending poverty, addressing food insecurity, and promoting social justice.

“I’m here to move forward the legacy Cecil and Janice started,” Dr. Fromer said. “We have to speak out for the people who are most vulnerable. I’m for creating a world where there’s a love agenda, and GLIDE is a doorway to that love agenda. Beyond the Tenderloin, GLIDE is here to make San Francisco a better place for everyone.”

Dr. Fromer, a Bayview-Hunters Point native and sixth-generation San Franciscan, is committed to the mission started by Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani 60 years ago.

Dr. Fromer’s personal journey — from a young mother of three boys who relied on help from GLIDE in the late 1980s to the organization’s CEO today — is a story of accomplishment and true inspiration. “I want people coming to GLIDE for help to see me and say, ‘She was able to break the cycle of poverty for her family, and one day, I can do that too.”

As a teen, she began a lifetime of service as a counselor for Young Community Developers, which provides support and training for young adults. She began her career at Head Start before rising through the ranks at the San Francisco YMCA.

Gina will be tasked with launching GLIDE Forward, a strategy to grow the organization’s positive impact in the Tenderloin and throughout San Francisco. The plan will bring together clients, community and congregation through integrated, direct services, social justice and advocacy, and spiritual healing. It includes the modernization of GLIDE’s campus and facilities for the next 60 years.

“GLIDE Forward builds on our strengths and goes a step further in empowering individuals and families to experience less suffering and move towards stability. This plan combines our vibrant community, unique legacy, and unparalleled reach with a more outcomes-based approach to integrated services in the Tenderloin and beyond. It is breathless and inspiring in scope and scale,” said Malcolm Walter, a Board member and outgoing interim CEO.

Kaye Foster, Chair of the Board of Directors, added: “Gina is the absolute best person to lead the charge to revitalize GLIDE coming out of the pandemic so we continue to be a force for empowerment and compassion in San Francisco for generations to come.”

Glide Family,“GLIDE is one of the most essential institutions in our city and there is no better investment than in the betterment of GLIDE,” said Haney.It is with great joy that our GLIDE family warmly welcomed Matt Haney on September 25 to thank him for his support of a $1 million allocation in the State budget to fund GLIDE’s modernization project!This investment will fund restoration of the stained-glass windows in the Glide Memorial Sanctuary, provide seismic upgrades and repairs to the Taylor Gate elevator, and modernize our audio-visual equipment throughout the organization.Attendees at today’s event included Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party Honey Mahogany, Interim CEO Malcolm Walter, the Executive team, and GLIDE staff.For Assemblymember Haney, GLIDE remains a beacon of light for a city that champions GLIDE’s values of unconditional love and radical inclusion.“These investments being funded by the people of California will go a long way into improving access for people who frequent GLIDE’s services. As far as my role is concerned, representing this community, I can’t think of a better investment we can make as a state and in the future of GLIDE.”Please visit our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to see more coverage from Matt’s visit to GLIDE.Love always,

GLIDE

“If we can’t sit down and talk, we don’t have much of a chance to change the dynamic. No one wants to come to work and use a firearm.”

—  San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Police Chief Bill Scott

On August 28th, there was an Officer involved shooting in the Tenderloin neighborhood. GLIDE believes in coming together with truth and unconditional love when something threatens our community’s safety and wellbeing.

Honest and transparent dialogue is an essential part of healing and reconciliation. To acknowledge the pain and fear this event caused, we convened a public meeting with community members and SFPD Officers, including Police Chief William Scott.

We identified three ways for the Tenderloin Community and Police Department to work together to prevent this from happening again:

1) Work with the SFPD to the better understand entrenched forms of systemic racism, including shared trips to the Legacy Museum in Alabama

2) Participate in ongoing race and reconciliation workshops with Officers

3) Host ongoing community meetings to maintain consistent communication between residents and the Tenderloin Police Station under the leadership of Captain Sergio Chin.

(Del Seymour of Code Tenderloin and GLIDE’s Rabbi Michael Lezak in conversation with SFPD Chief Bill Scott)

We appreciate being part of a community that discusses difficult topics to end violence and create a more just and equitable world. In the words of our Minister of Celebration, Marvin K White, we must ask ourselves, “A bullet is always a question. How did we get here?” 

If you are interested in systems change work like this, we invite you to be part of GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice (CSJ) and join us in this movement. Keep checking back on our Officer and a Mensch program, designed to provide local law enforcement with the opportunity of gaining greater understanding and empathy with historically oppressed communities.

This work, in its ultimate form, allows us to remain hopeful that things can change.

As Dr. Holly Joshi, our Senior Director for CSJ stated so eloquently, “Loving and hopeful is what GLIDE has always been.”

Healthy, culturally appropriate, and affordable food should be available to all San Franciscans. GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals Program supports low-income residents who struggle with food insecurity.

We are honored to be a part of an ecosystem of programs in the Tenderloin and across San Francisco that works so tirelessly to nourish our community. Heart of the City Farmers’ Market is a critical partner and hugely successful part of these efforts.

We are deeply concerned by the proposal to relocate the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market from U.N. Plaza to Fulton Plaza. The smaller space and logistical constraints of Fulton Plaza put the entire market and the farmers who work there at risk of failing.

The move will eliminate parking for the market and move it further away from the BART station, reducing accessibility. This will make it more difficult for some customers to access the market and much more challenging for vendors to continue to participate in the market.

Heart of the City is a vital source of nutrition for many people in the Tenderloin and surrounding areas. The Tenderloin lacks any full-service grocery stores, and many residents depend on the market for fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables.

Many who are struggling to make ends meet also use CalFresh (also known as food stamps, EBT, and SNAP) as a way to purchase food for themselves and their families. Over 20,000 people used CalFresh at the market in the past 12 months. The Market Match program doubles the value of CalFresh benefits, resulting in the distribution of over $2 million in free produce.

The proposed relocation and subsequent risk to the market comes when San Franciscans are facing rising rates of food insecurity. Over 100,000 residents across 73,000 households have been impacted by the end of emergency allotments of CalFresh, which provided additional food assistance through the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This relocation also comes at a difficult time for the farmers, who are still recovering from reduced sales during the pandemic.

Increasing access to healthy, affordable food in the Tenderloin and across San Francisco helps drive GLIDE’s mission to build empathy, transform lives, and spread radical inclusivity.

GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals Program was founded as a weekly community potluck in 1969. 50+ years later, we now serve over 2,000 meals a day, 364 days per year.

As a champion for food equity, we stand with the farmers and community members in asking for the support that they need to continue providing the Tenderloin with nutritious and affordable food.

Black artist, civil rights activist, and founder of the Mothers of Gynecology in Montgomery, Alabama, Michelle Browder included a stop at GLIDE’s Freedom Hall this month as part of her West Coast tour.

Michelle is busy raising funds for various civil rights projects, including the building of her Mothers of Gynecology Clinic and Wellness Museum scheduled to open in 2025.

She spoke to a small group of passionate GLIDE folk about the importance of reconciliation and healing in a country still suffering from the legacy of slavery.

Montgomery Racism

During her presentation, Michelle made light of the ongoing racism that still exists in Montgomery pointing to the recent riverfront brawl that attracted nation-wide attention.

“The white mob attack that happened at the waterfront; folks were injured, and you heard the word “nigger” being said,” recounted Michelle. “We are regressing as a society. We need to sit down with each other, have conversations with each other.”

Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy

Michelle stressed the importance of why the Mothers of Gynecology was created in the first place. “We are honoring three enslaved women, Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy. Three women who were sterilized and experimented upon with neither consent nor with anesthesia by Dr. J. Marion Sims,” said Michelle.

The 15-foot monument honors all three women and helps serve as a lynchpin for further discussion on such subjects as sex trafficking.

Michelle hopes the creation of her Mothers of Gynecology Clinic and Wellness Museum will also serve as a space for doulas and midwives. And to pay tribute to the Relf sisters, who the U.S. government involuntarily sterilized along with over 100,000 women primarily from Black, Latina, and Indigenous communities spanning several decades.

Healing Alabama’s Racist Past

For Michelle, Montgomery must evolve into a place of healing and restoration. “The three Rs of reckoning, repenting, and repairing Alabama’s racist history is what must come first,” said Michelle.

Among the many projects on Michelle’s plate includes the funding for a new memorial in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be built along the road from Montgomery to Selma, where Dr. King led thousands of non-violent demonstrators in 1965 in a march to campaign for voting rights.

“Our duty is to help lead the conversation. We need some type of restorative justice and a resurgence of love and empathy.”

If you or someone you know is in need of support, whether it’s food, rental assistance, legal services, harm reduction services, or just a shoulder to lean on, come by GLIDE’s Walk-In Center.

GLIDE is deeply grateful for Assemblymember Matt Haney’s consistent love, support and partnership, beginning with his participation in GLIDE’s first class of Legacy Committee members (our young professionals advisory board) in 2001, and his recent support to include a $1 Million request into his budget for our GLIDE modernization project!

With California operating at a deficit, our community’s needs are growing and resources are shrinking.

We’re thankful that Assemblymember Haney prioritized GLIDE during a tough time with many competing needs and for supporting GLIDE’s work to serve marginalized residents in San Francisco and beyond.

We also want to thank Governor @gavinnewsom and Assemblymember Phil Ting for their tireless work on California’s budget.

The GLIDE Modernization Project will upgrade the facilities of Glide Memorial Church and sanctuary building.

This will improve support for GLIDE’s dining services and safety net programs, which serve over 500,000 meals and 10,000 clients every year. The Project will expand GLIDE’s reach and impact by utilizing its current property space allotment.

The Project will expand GLIDE’s reach and impact by utilizing its current property space allotment.

Thank you Assemblymember Matt Haney!

#CommunityFirst

2023 GLIDE Legacy Awardees

In 2009 a small group of compassionate young entrepreneurs came together at GLIDE to inspire a new audience of young professionals across the San Francisco/ Bay Area about GLIDE’s mission to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.

And now the GLIDE Legacy Committee proudly invites you to join us for the 14th annual GLIDE Legacy Gala! The event will occur at Terra Gallery in San Francisco beginning at 8:00 pm on August 18.

We will display the work of young changemakers who are dedicating their lives to improving the world. It will be a night of dance, celebration, and music, with performances from the infamous GLIDE Ensemble and Change band, DJ KingMost, and the fierce Newoncé.

People who are new to San Francisco have sought GLIDE out as a place to share their compassion for those who are less fortunate only to discover just how fulfilling the experience can be of making a difference in someone’s life.

At the Legacy Gala, the GLIDE Legacy Committee will honor two people who embody GLIDE’s mission and the spirit of its Co-Founders, Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani. Veteran Bay Area journalist and Bay Area resident Priya David Clemens returns as host.

This year’s Gala will honor the following awardees: president and founder of New Breath Foundation, Soros Justice Fellow, and ROOTS program founder, Eddy Zheng and co-founder of San Francisco’s Transgender District, founding queen of Drag Story Hour, co-owner of the Stud Bar, and the first transgender Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, Honey Mahogany.

Eddy works to mobilize resources to support Asian American, Native Hawaii, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) harmed by violence and the unjust immigration and criminal justice systems. Eddy is the subject of the award-winning documentary “Breathin’: The Eddy Zheng Story,” a TEDx speaker, a SXSW featured speaker, and a contributor to the book: Contemporary Asian American Activism: Building Movements for Liberation.

Eddy was featured in the December 2021 New Yorker article “An Education while Incarcerated.”

Honey is a co-founder and served as the inaugural Executive Director of San Francisco’s Transgender District, she is a founding queen of Drag Story Hour, a co-owner of the Stud Bar, a singer with nu-metal group Commando, and recently ran a historic campaign for District 6 Supervisor in San Francisco.

Currently, Honey is working as the District Director for Assemblymember Matt Haney and serves as Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.

The GLIDE Legacy Committee works on initiatives for fundraising, volunteering, and social engagement in its first year. Above all else, the committee’s sole purpose remains to engage new audiences and deepen community involvement within GLIDE.

Matt Haney (California Assemblyman and former San Francisco Supervisor), Mike Kim (Head of Google for Startups, APAC and Korea), and Laura Thompson (committee co-founder and currently serving on GLIDE’s Board of Directors) are notable past members of the committee.

This event connects and mobilizes changemakers to honor GLIDE’s legacy of love, compassion, and community. More than 800 guests are invited to GLIDE Legacy Gala to promote the power of unconditional love for creating social impact in San Francisco and beyond.

We hope to see you on August 18th! Get your tickets today!