RealTalk Blog

Hello GLIDE Community, As 2021 comes to a close, and I reflect back upon this year, I feel such gratitude – and even awe – for the way GLIDE has continued to grow, change, and serve this city better than ever, even in the face of a global pandemic. For decades, the only constant at...

The pews of GLIDE Memorial Church were filled with unusual congregants this December - Thousands of toys occupied row after row of the sanctuary as GLIDE leadership, staff and volunteers worked in preparation for the 41st annual Toy Wonderland. This year, more than 800 bags of toys were delivered to our partner organizations across San Francisco, an increase of 150 bags in response to expanding need during the COVID-19 pandemic....

Dear GLIDE Community, Mayor London Breed has declared an unprecedented State of Emergency in the Tenderloin, a bold step with the intention of disrupting illegal activity and making the Tenderloin a safer, more livable place for the families who call the neighborhood home. At GLIDE, we appreciate the intention behind this effort because we know...

If you ask Joe Betz for his expert opinion on the best way to prepare prime rib, his response is simple: Slow cooking and good quality meat. “You have to have good beef. If you put salt and pepper and all this seasoning stuff, it doesn’t really help.”...

November 18th was a day of hope and joyful reunion as the GLIDE community came together, in-person for the first time in two years, at GLIDE’s major fundraising event, the Holiday Jam. The 2021 GLIDE Annual Holiday Jam: Still We Rise returned as a modified in-person event that brought the community together for music, storytelling,...

In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, the 300 block of Ellis Street was buzzing with action. Teams of GLIDE staff and volunteers were laying out decorations, carving turkeys and packaging seemingly endless rows of food containers. Hundreds of feet of white festival tents were adorned with fairy lights, and the musical score for...

 Every year, right before Thanksgiving during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, advocates across the nation spotlight poverty in our country. GLIDE honored the awareness week with an educational series on our social platforms. If you didn’t catch it, check out our recap slideshow below, and please join us in combating food insecurity! Follow us on social media!...

In pre-pandemic times, the GLIDE building was the hub of the Grocery Bag Giveaway. It was an awe-inspiring event that drew thousands of community members to the doors of GLIDE as we gave out bags of holiday meals. Lines began forming in the early hours of the morning and wound through the Tenderloin streets for blocks on end....

A critical part of GLIDE’s work as a social justice organization is to drive systems change by shaping policies that have the greatest impact on the lives of those we serve. Our Center for Social Justice is influencing policy in the fields of housing and homelessness; community health; racial justice and reconciliation; and intergenerational support for women and families of color. In the first installment of the CSJ Advocacy Roundup, we share some of the top policy issues in the focus areas of community health and racial justice....