Sundays at Bayview Mission 2010

The Mission will open one Sunday afternoon each month to allow participation by neighbors and volunteers. In addition to gardening, working in the library and other activities, work will be done in the food pantry to prepare for the following day's Food Bank distribution. Note: Most work party dates fall on the 4th Sunday of the month from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

Important Dates for Volunteers in 2010:

4th Sundays of the Month, 2:00pm to 4:00pm:
August 29
September 26
October 24
November 28
December 19 (Third Sunday of the month)

A visit to the Bayview Mission on any Monday afternoon will immerse you in the local sights and sounds of an inter-connected community of volunteers and local residents. ‘We know them and they know us’ is obvious to any first time volunteer or client. The volunteers make a special point to ‘connect’ with people who are in transition or living on the streets. Drawing from the model of San Francisco’s Homeless Connect, a personal touch of heart and hand are offered each week to those without a permanent address.

In addition to the bag of groceries, clients are greeted by name and asked if they have any personal needs, such as hygiene items, clothing and blankets. A bag of toiletries and some extra canned goods (soups, fruits and canned meats with pull-tops) is prepared on the spot. ‘Wish list’ items ranging from laundry soap to hair grease are recorded and purchased for the following week. The number of homeless clients who receive this personal touch of heart and hand ranges from 10-25. Some show up only once in their transition from life on the street to permanent housing, while others have become regular clients. Our atmosphere of acceptance and dignity has enriched the connection between volunteers and clients with heart and hand extended in both directions.

The following donations would be much appreciated:

• Backpacks
• Bar soap, shampoo and lotion (travel size)
• Blankets
• Deodorant
• Disposable razors
• Jeans and sweatshirts
• Pull-top canned meat, pasta, soup and fruit
• Socks
• Tampax and panty liners
• Tooth brush and tooth paste

Dear Friends,

Bayview Mission Food Pantry celebrates its sixth Anniversary at the beginning of July 2010. The number of grocery/fresh produce bags distributed, each Monday, to needy Bayview families has grown from 18, when our doors first opened in July 2004, to well over 375 six years later. Over the years we have added bags specifically to cater to the needs of infants, children and the homeless. The items included are often luxuries families can ill afford. On average each week we provide 65 children's bags including crayons, construction paper, children's scissors, juice, a healthy snack along with a candy bar, socks, fun soaps, and tooth brushes. When we have them on hand we also include a small toy, game or craft item. In addition, children can choose books to take home to start their very own library. Thanks to the generosity of the wonderful organization "helpamotherout.org" we can now provide families with much needed infant supplies, including diapers, wipes, infant formula, baby clothes, socks and underwear, infant books and a soft toy.

At Bayview Mission, we reach out to our neighbors in numerous ways including conversation, check-ins and, at times, prayer. In 2009 our dedicated volunteers gave almost 4,000 hours of their time and distributed over 18,000 bags. The Bayview Mission community has been called upon to receive people at Christ's doors in a variety of ways by assisting with receptions at funerals, offering counsel, and providing playtime with the children. Thanks to the marvelous work of San Francisco Rebuilding Together, we now have a beautiful Zen garden where neighbors can enjoy a peaceful moment of reflection.

At Halloween for the past four years we have provided free costumes to a total of over 200 children and youth. In October 2010 we hope to hold a safe Haunted House for the neighborhood children. Many thanks to Cathedral School for Boys, The Bay School of San Francisco, the Grace Cathedral community, Presidio YMCA and many other friends and organizations for your wonderful support.

In December 2009 we held the fourth annual Christmas Party for residents of Bayview. The prior two Christmas events had been held at our very own Opera House. This year we decided to bring the party home to Bayview Mission once again with great success. Over 1200 residents, adults and children of all ages, enjoyed delicious food, tasty cupcakes, Christmas treats, and a visit with Santa. Each child received a special Christmas gift and every family took home a shopping bag full of useful household items including new bath towels. We are extremely grateful to each person who gave of their time, talent and treasure to make the party a huge success. Special thanks to all who donated toys and gifts for the children, including cash, and also gift cards for the teenagers. Many, many thanks to the following organizations for their incredibly generous support and contributions of goods and services: Fran Johnson of Tucker, Ellis & West, LLP, Cathedral School for Boys; Hard Knox Cafe; Acre Gourmet Foods. And, of course, all the many volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event happen.

Whom do we serve?
We feed low-income workers, parents, youth, children and infants, the elderly and the homeless. Any resident of Bayview is welcome at the Food Pantry without exception. (Proof of identification may be required).

Would you like to be part of our wonderful community? Here are just a few ways you can help:

• Volunteer: drop in any Monday (closed major holidays) between 9am and noon to help distribute the food bank items for that day. Alternatively, you can join us for our monthly work parties usually on the fourth Sunday from 2pm - 4pm (be sure to check the website calendar to make certain we're open).

• new white socks for adults, children & infants
• diapers, infant formula, baby food, baby wipes, disposable baby bibs, new soft infant toys and board books
• infants' & children's underwear
• dental supplies, toiletries, children's soaps
• art supplies (especially crayons/pencils/mini-paints/construction paper)
• back to school supplies (girls and boys backpacks, notebooks (no spiral bound), pens, scratch pads)
• soft toys for the infants and children's bags/educational toys/bubble blowing/mini-Playdoh packs
• young children's books (age pre-K to 11)
• small 100% juice cartons for the children's bags
• rolling metal shelves for storage
• rolling garment racks for costumes

When The Rev. Nina Pickerrell moved into the house her grandparents had purchased in the 1950's, she began making big changes. She cleaned up the yard and replanted the vegetable garden to give the neighborhood children a safe place to play. She cleared the clutter from the garage in order to set up a food pantry that now serves over 300 families every Monday. She tidied up the old garden room in the basement to house a children's library that includes over 2000 books. The next project is the renovation of the barn. It's the future location of the worship space for The Bayview Mission, a ministry of Grace Cathedral that is supported by The Episcopal Diocese of California and nearby parish St. Gregory of Nyssa.

Within a few years, The Rev. Pickerrell has transformed her family home into an outreach center in one of the most marginalized neighborhoods in San Francisco. The combination of gang activity, unemployment, drug-related crime, and industrial waste have been slowly grinding away at the residents of a once prosperous Bayview-Hunters Point.

The Rev. Pickerrell says the hardest thing for her to understand, at first, was that she needed to gain the trust of her neighbors. "I tried to do this seven years ago, and failed. Failed miserably. I had wanted to create a day-care center, and I didn't connect to the people in the neighborhood. I just moved in and tried to set up shop. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. There were two robberies that occurred on my property. They stole children's toys, furniture, and clothing. So I walked away from the house and any idea of doing something in that house."

Now, she says, her relationship to the people in her community is different because her intention is different. "Before, I came in thinking I was going to do something for them. This time I went in slowly, hiring homeless men from the neighborhood to help with the initial clean-up of the house. I made improvements, and showed pride in the home. And then I planted the pumpkin patch."

Children came from the surrounding blocks to pick out their very own pumpkin. This was anything but trivial for the children of Bayview. "These are children for whom traveling off their block can mean crossing gang territory. This was the first time any of them had ever had a pumpkin for Halloween. These are children who do not know that there is enough paper for them to draw on, or colored pencils, or crayons. For these kids, there is never enough. And this pumpkin patch is just for them."

For children growing up under a dark cloud of lack and despair, the rainbow inside the Crayola box is deeply meaningful. The impact of the Bayview Mission's food pantry, community garden, and free library may be in the bringing of hope and abundance to those who have only known want and isolation. Wanting to connect the Grace Cathedral community with that of Bayview-Hunters Point, The Rev. Pickerrell had a plan. "We tried to bring kids from the Mission and other minority parishes to Vacation Bible School at Grace Cathedral," she says, "and we got no response". But because of our work in Bayview these past few years, there's trust in the community. In the summer of 2005 Bee Busy, a Vacation Bible School summer camp, was born. Our goal to bring the children from Grace Cathedral kids and the children from Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood together has been realized. Many of the teens from Grace Cathedral who have already volunteered at Bayview Mission have had great experiences volunteering at the Bee Busy summer camp. Since establishing the summer camp in 2005, our friends in the community look forward to bringing their children for an educational and fun filled two week experience.

To find out how you can get involved with Bayview Mission, please contact the Rev. Nina Pickerrell at (415)515-4059 or ninap@gracecathedral.org.

Bayview Mission, an outreach to the Bayview community, founded by the Rev. Nina Pickerrell, operates a food pantry every Monday. This food pantry provides groceries, including fresh produce, to a community whose resources are few and whose neighborhood access to fresh fruits and vegetables is compromised. Volunteers are needed to prepare bags of groceries and to assist in handing them out.

We will be closed on January 3rd (New Year Holiday), Monday, February 15th (President’s Day), Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day), Monday, September 6th ( Labor Day), and Monday, December 27, (Christmas Holiday).

For more information please contact the Rev. Nina Pickerrell at (415) 515-4059 or ninap@gracecathedral.org.