JEFFERSON AWARDS
THE 17TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF SERVICE IN THE BAY HONORING THE 2021 JEFFERSON AWARDS WINNERS JANUARY 27, 2022
MULTIPLYING GOOD FOR 50 YEARS CELEBRATING SERVICE 17 YEARS! For 50 years, Multiplying Good has celebrated and elevated public service in America. We believe that service is the great multiplier that can heal and unite our communities and our nation. Founded by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr and Sam Beard, Multiplying Good continues to share the stories of those performing extraordinary acts of service within their communities and across the nation. Through our immersive training programs, activation opportunities, and prestigious awards platform, we are helping individuals and organizations create the positive change we all want to see throughout our country. Each week for the past 17 years, our media partners KPIX 5 and KCBS have been highlighting unsung heroes through the KPIX Jefferson Awards program. These are stories of hope, stories of solidarity, stories of compassion, stories that highlight the very real and tangible change that is taking place throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Since honoring our first honoree, Principal Chris Bischof of Eastside College Preparatory High School in East Palo Alto, we have honored over 850 unsung heroes and amplified their stories of service. Some of our heroes include: • 2019 KPIX Jefferson Award winner Doug McNeil, founder of Lighting for Literacy, who provides lighting kits to homes without electricity, enabling students from developing countries the opportunity to read and advance their education. Doug won our national 2019 JKO Award For Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities for his service. • 2020 KPIX Jefferson Award winners Marial Triggs and Martin Casado of MuralNet, who are working with Native nations to design, build and control their internet access future. Marial and Casado also won our national 2020 JKO Award For Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities for their service. • 2021 KPIX Jefferson Award winner Shizue Seigel, who celebrates diversity by supporting writers of color through her nonprofit Write Now! Shizue is building multicultural community and has supported over 350 emerging and established BIPOC writers and artists. • 2021 KPIX Jefferson Award winner Malcolm Marshall, who elevates the voices of young people through his nonprofit, the Richmond Pulse. Malcolm recruits and trains journalists ages 16 to 24 to provide “inside-out journalism” featuring the voices of youth from the community about their community. We are proud of every winner from the past 17 years and are excited to honor the class of 2021 KPIX Jefferson Award recipients on a virtual stage during this milestone year in our history!
Hillary Schafer CEO, Multiplying Good
Artavia B. Berry Executive Director, SF Bay Area
Jack Russi Chair, National Board
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO Rachelle Antonio Senator Josh Becker Ar tavia Berr y Willie Brown Ar thur Chan Chinese Hospital San Francisco Maureen Coslett Juliana Deans Stephanie Gay wood Leann James Stephanie John Dee Joyce Gabe Kapler Kate Kelly
Anthony Kemp Sue Lane Stephanie Lloyd Allen Mar tin Liam Mayclem Ian McCuig Jen Mistrot Super visor Karen Mitchof f Ay’Anna Moody Ar trese Morrison William Murray Mark Neerman Commissioner Zachariah Oquenda
Melody Phipps Stephan Pippen John Power Rosemar y Roach Julian Robinson Barbara Rodgers Jodie Russi Evan Schwar tz Chad Simpson Lisa Spinali Raesa Waldon Lisa White Dr. Jian Zhang
MULTIPLYING GOOD BAY AREA ADVISORY BOARD Jack Russi, Deloitte LLP | Chair
Amy Lesnick, Pledge 1%
Sandra Bass, UC Berkeley Public
Ronnie Lott, All Stars Helping Kids
Ser vice Center
Darien Louie, Darien Consulting
Ar tavia Berr y, Multiplying Good
Patricia Manubay, Above Apathy
Lorraine Cohen, Deloitte Ta x LLP
Greg Nemitz, Audacy, Inc.
Jose Corona, Eat. Learn. Play.
Melody Phipps, Deloitte LLP
Foundation
John Power, The Volunteer Center
Shana Daum, San Francisco Giants
Hillar y Schafer, Multiplying Good
Lauren Dillard, LiveRamp
June Sugiyama, Vodafone
Marlon Evans, Nex Cubed
Americas Foundation
Stacey Kauf fman, Audacy, Inc.
Taj Tashombe, Oakland Athletics
Liz Laluyaux, The Laluyau x
Kevin Walsh, KPIX-T V KBCW-T V
Foundation
San Francisco / KST W-T V Seattle
MULTIPLYING GOOD BAY AREA ADVISORY BOARD - COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Tess Oliphant, San Francisco Giants Jack Nelson, Jackson Ladder Noreen Singh
MULTIPLYING GOOD
THE POWER OF SERVICE We believe individuals are transformed through service to others. Applying service as a tool for personal growth, we help people discover their ability to bring about positive change, deliver the skills they need to do it well, and, by validating their impact, inspire them to do more. We’ve proven this continuum of activation, training, and recognition generates ripples of good.
#celebrategood
SERVICE OFFERS A SOLUTION We face real problems in our country, and the impact is steadily mounting. We believe the solution lies in creating positive change through helping others. Service reconnects us to one another. It provides opportunities for us to grow as individuals. It transforms us into happier, more active members of society. It creates stronger, more connected communities.
SERVICE CONNECTS
SERVICE FEELS GOOD
Nearly 43 million Americans suffer from chronic loneliness. Service reconnects people to communities, building connections and networks of support.
Anxiety and stress are at all-time highs. Service combats depression, increases selfconfidence and promotes active healthy lifestyles.
SERVICE BUILDS SKILLS
SERVICE IS COMMUNITY
50% of CEOs struggle to find employees with the zest century skills that drive workplace success. Service delivers those skills, such as empathy, undersatanding of difference, project management, communication and results-orientation.
Empathy rates are down by 40%. Service cultivates compassion and commitment to others.
Making an impact every day Deloitte congratulates the 2021 KPIX Bay Area strengthen our communities.
www.deloitte.com Copyright © 2021 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.
2021 KPIX JEFFERSON AWARD RECIPIENTS (Listed by air date) We invite you to read our recipient’s stories, click on the links to view their KPIX videos and visit their websites to find out more about their work. SUSAN FARREN | January 7, 2021 Retired paramedic Susan Farren founded First Responder Resiliency, Inc. in Santa Rosa in 2018. The non-profit has held 50 conferences and taught more than 4,000 emergency officers nationwide how to prepare for trauma before it happens. They learn such techniques as diet, exercise, meditation, mindfulness, and yoga to combat health concerns such as depression, stroke, even suicidal thoughts that are built up over time from job stress. Farren, herself a cancer survivor, sold her home three years ago for seed money to start the program. HASITHA NIMMAGADDA | January 13, 2021 When Hasitha Nimmagadda was seven years old, her music teacher brought her to nursing homes to perform, and she took note of the impact she could have. The Lynbrook High School junior started Compassion for Seniors, a service group that performs music and uses art to bring cheer to older adults in memory or hospice care, in 2017. Compassion for Seniors has spent 3,000 volunteer hours serving several hundred people in 10 South Bay nursing homes, and has expanded services into Florida, Texas, and Maryland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, volunteers pivoted to a virtual format offering on-line poetry reading, stories, and musical performances. NITHILA POONGOVAN & MEGHANA REPAKA | January 20, 2021 Best friends Meghana Repaka and Nithila Poongovan formed Young Inquisitive Minds in 2018 to bring hands-on STEM learning to people with developmental disabilities. The South Bay high school seniors have spent more than 850 hours teaching 350 children and adults at local recreation centers and high schools, offering STEM based activities like learning how to construct a paper boat that will float on a tray of dish soap. Since the pandemic, the teens have transitioned to virtual classes, expanding to programs like Stanford’s Kids with Dreams, and a Florida non-profit. Young Inquisitive Minds serves under the umbrella of Via Services, a Santa Clara non-profit serving people with disabilities.
Watch the Jefferson Awards on KPIX 5 News: Wednesdays at 6pm | Thursdays on at Noon On all news radio 106.9FM & AM740 KCBS: Wednesdays at 6:50pm, 9:40pm, 11:50pm | Sundays at 11:50am, 3:50pm
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
NEO GUERRERO & CLEO GUERRERO | January 27, 2021 Neo, a sophomore at Harvard, and Cleo, a senior at Lowell High School, are a brother and sister volunteer team from San Francisco who play four instruments between them. They’ve volunteered since 2017 at Music Mission SF, a non-profit that provides free music lessons and puts together a free youth orchestra for dozens of students aged 7 to 15 years old. Cleo and Neo are also tutors. When Covid-19 hit, Cleo was worried about her students falling behind in classes, so she started a free online study group called Study Buddy. She and Neo patiently help other young people improve their math skills and other academics. MICHEL THOUATI | February 3, 2021 When the pandemic hit in 2020, software developer and tech guru, Michel Thouati, was worried that thousands of Bay Area senior citizens could be stuck in their homes unable to get meals they needed. So, in just ten days Michel founded HelpBerkeley, a meal service specifically geared towards seniors and others who have compromised immune systems. To date, HelpBerkeley has delivered more than 25,000 meals to more than a thousand residents, mainly in Berkeley, Albany and Kensington. The program works with 20 local restaurants and 400 volunteers who bring food and a crucial connection. AHMED MUHAMMAD & ELI BERRICK | February 10, 2021 When Oakland Technical High School senior, Ahmed Muhammad, was babysitting his niece and nephew, he noticed they were bored with the usual activities they did. So, he set out to change that, and Kits Cubed was born. Ahmed and his childhood friend, Eli Berrick, founded the organization with one goal in mind: to make fun, inexpensive science kits for elementaryaged children. Kits Cubed has sold 3,500 science kits online at $15 apiece and they have given 1,500 free kits to students at Oakland schools who may not be able to afford them. One Oakland elementary school principal said her students love the kits so much, she applied for a grant to buy several hundred more. VINCENT RAY WILLIAMS III | February 17, 2021 When Vincent Williams saw the unhoused in his community needing help to clean up the areas in which they lived, he decided to act. The 33-year-old Oakland resident started picking up trash by himself on weekends. Soon he was joined by friends, who encouraged him to post about his clean-up efforts on social media and #UrbanParkCleanUp was launched. Today, he has 70 volunteers who’ve helped him clean up more than 15 sites. At each site, the group bags up around 250 industrial sized garbage bags of trash. In addition, Williams says the clean-ups create opportunities to connect with the unhoused about mental health, substance abuse, and housing services. TERI LYNCH DELANE | February 24, 2021 Teri Lynch Delane co-founded Life Learning Academy, a free city-funded school for high-risk San Francisco High School students, 21 years ago. One year ago, she opened a free dorm on campus for students who are unhoused or unable to live with their families. About 50 students each year learn academics, secure internships, and gain hands-on skills like cooking, gardening, and even caring for the school’s roosters and chickens. In June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, every student graduated and eight out ten students are now employed. Teri’s own story is very inspiring. She battled addiction as a teenager, gained her sobriety, then went on to graduate college and became a clinical therapist.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
KRISTIN HOUK | March 3, 2021 Restaurant owner and Chef, Kristin Houk uses her background in non-profit work as a model for how she runs her three restaurants – as community sources rooted in the food justice movement. All three are based in San Francisco’s Bayview district, which has long been a food desert with few grocery stores. Prior to the pandemic she regularly opened her restaurants to the community for meetings and social gatherings. When the pandemic shut down happened, Kristin worked with local community leaders to open and operate a free food pantry for Bayview friends and neighbors in need. Kristin also gave away more than 25,000 free meals last year as part of the SF New Deal community program that pays restaurants to feed low-income residents. MARGARET GONZALEZ AND STEVE PERDICARIS | March 10, 2021 In 2015, Margaret Gonzalez and Steve Perdicaris founded Music Mission San Francisco to serve underserved students in San Francisco’s Mission District. Pre-pandemic, volunteers taught about 80 students, ages 6-15 years old, on donated instruments, during free afterschool classes. During the pandemic, violin and cello classes moved online, which Margaret and Steve has been a comfort to their students. Steve, an associate professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton, says the Mission District was the “ideal” place to start the non-profit, as many local school music programs have been cut. And Margaret says she wanted to replicate the free music program she had growing up in Venezuela, El Sistema, which teaches music as a vehicle for social change. VALERIE FREITAS & ALEX FREITAS | March 17, 2021 In 2013 Valerie Freitas and her then 13-year-old son Alex founded TriValley CoderDojo, a non-profit designed to teach kids coding skills. Since then, the free club has served more than 14,000 kids, grades kindergarten through high school, with dozens of adult volunteers teaching and encouraging students to mentor each other. Prior to the pandemic, up to 80 students met in person each week. The club shifted online during the pandemic, engaging about 50-plus kids a week. TriValley CoderDojo focuses on independent learning; students explore topics from video game design to cyber security. Some participants even collaborate and enter contests. Alex helped lead the team that won second place in Cal Poly Cyber Innovation Competition on cybersecurity two years ago. KEN BERRICK | March 24, 2021 36 years ago, Ken Berrick founded Seneca Family of Agencies, an Oakland based non-profit designed to help children and families through tough times. Today, the non-profit serves more than 18,000 young people and families a year in California, Washington, and across the US. It offers so-called “wraparound” services, like counseling, that come directly to the child or family so that there is no need to move to an institution to receive such services. Ken also helped sponsor legislative reforms from the 1990’s that are becoming pillars of the state foster care system today. And, under Ken’s leadership, Seneca is also working with dozens of schools to provide mental health and other services to thousands of struggling students. JACK HAYES | March 31, 2021 For the past 20 years, Jack Hayes has directed his talents, energy, and compassion to the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society Conference (SVdP) of his home parish, St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Fairfax. Jack has led the way for SVdP to provide direct rental assistance as well as financial support for past due bills for Marin County residents in need. 12 years ago, Jack recognized that even more financial resources were needed to help at-risk community members, so he initiated an innovative fund-raising event, the Marin County Free Throw Championship. The yearly event has become a community tradition. Since its inception, the event has raised over $175,000 with every penny going to support the work of SVdP.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
JACQUELINE MARTINEZ | April 7, 2021 Jacqueline Martinez has led the Latino Community Foundation (L.C.F.) as CEO since 2015. L.C.F. leads one of the largest networks of Latino philanthropists in the country, investing $17 million in more than 150 California organizations that give back to the community. The L.C.F. is the only California foundation focused solely on investing in Latino leaders. In addition, she’s led the way as L.C.F. has poured millions of dollars in support to immigrant farmworkers and families during the pandemic and Wine Country wildfires, funding needs from housing to job training. She also spearheaded virtual voter rallies and online campaigns that urged 31 million people to vote in last year’s Presidential election and get counted in the census. STUART LOEBL & NANCY WRIGHT | April 14, 2021 Stuart Loebl and Nancy Wright brought hands-on science activities to life for students learning from home during the pandemic. The two science teachers have assembled free science kits for students in the Hayward Unified School district. After Stuart raised $5,000 to make 300 kits for his students, Nancy came on board and the pair expanded the program to the district where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Each free kit contains more than 30 items, from pipe cleaners to a petri dish, to help kids explore science up close. So far, 4,000 students in more than 200 classes have gotten the kits, with another 1,000 students expected to receive kits by the end of the school year. LINDA OWENS | April 21, 2021 Over the last 35 years, Linda Owens has been a mother to more than 80 babies as a resource parent for Alameda County Department of Children & Family Services. Many have healthcare concerns; some have been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero. Linda is known for soothing even the fussiest, irritable baby. Some of these infants are with Linda for a few weeks, and some stay for over a year. When the babies are reunited with their family or adopted, Linda admits it can be hard to let them go. However, she keeps in touch with some as they grow up and finds much reward seeing them thrive. At age 82, Linda was caring for child number 81, a sweet 7-week-old baby girl. DR. HANS YU | April 29, 2021 When Covid-19 vaccines became available at the beginning of 2021, San Francisco-based internist Dr. Hans Yu realized that many of his patients might have difficulty accessing the vaccine, as many had limited English skills to make an appointment. So, Dr. Yu, along with a dozen or so volunteers, set up a vaccine clinic at a rented office space one block from his practice, Grace Medical. His medical team then phoned the clinic’s mostly Chinese-speaking patients and invited them to come in for a vaccine. So far, the clinic has given out 10,000 vaccines. Dr. Yu has also vaccinated many of the restaurant workers in his neighborhood, as well as seniors at local senior centers, and local educators. SETH HUBBERT | May 5, 2021 Seth Hubbert is the Executive Director of Oakland’s Tech Exchange, a Bay Area non-profit that refurbishes used laptops and desktop computers and distributes them to students and community members for free or at a low cost. Tech Exchange also provides tech support, help with internet access and job training. In six years, Seth has grown the non-profit from serving fewer than 1,000 Oakland families to 34,000 families in the Bay Area last year. And during the pandemic Seth helped close the digital divide in Oakland, overseeing an effort which provided thousands of computers to students studying online.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
CLARA HSU | May 12, 2021 Clara Hsu is the founder of Clarion Performing Arts Center, a non-profit organization in San Francisco’s Chinatown dedicated to empowering the Asian American community in the Bay Area. In 2019, Clara created the Clarion Summer Theatre, and has written two children’s poetic plays, one of which she produced during the pandemic using an online format. Since 2018, Clara has also led weekly Chinese poetry groups for senior citizens at On Lok Senior Center in Chinatown and at Bethany Low Income Housing in the Mission District. During the pandemic, she continued this practice using Zoom and other online sources. Clara also provides free rehearsal space and houses a museum at the center which showcases historical items from Chinatown. SUE PIPER | May 19, 2021 In 1991, Sue Piper lost her home to the devastating Oakland Hills Firestorm. So, in 2014, Sue co-founded the Oakland Firesafe Council, a non-profit that teaches people how to protect their homes and reduce wildfire risk in Alameda County’s wildland urban interface. Workshops range from home hardening to gearing up for fire safety inspections. The council also persuaded Oakland to make wildfire prevention a city-wide priority. The organization is also working on an East Bay regional plan to coordinate their efforts. Piper is also secretary and past president of the United Policyholders non-profit that gives tips and tools to dealing with insurance before and after disasters. RANDY HAYKIN | May 27, 2021 Randy Haykin founded the Gratitude Network 8 years ago, as a way to pay it forward by helping social entrepreneurs in their non-profit endeavors. The Gratitude Network offers a free fellowship to social entrepreneurs worldwide, with a focus on those who are changing children’s lives in education health and social justice. So far, 145 fellows across 60 countries have participated, and Gratitude Network estimates that 40 million children have been positively impacted by these efforts. The Fellowship itself is also very inclusive: the current cohort is 63% women and 89% fellows of color. KEVIN KELLEY | June 2, 2021 Kevin Kelley founded the Oakland Lacrosse club in 2012, introducing lacrosse at public middle and high schools across the city. The goal of the organization is to support Oakland Public School students in becoming healthy, confident, and self- empowered youth who effectively navigate systems, overcome challenges, and achieve their education and life’s goals. Student-athletes who join an Oakland Lacrosse Club team get free equipment, uniforms, and transportation to games. Players get a mentor, academic and college counseling, nutrition workshops, and field trips – including college visits. HEIDI CARMAN | June 9, 2021 Heidi Carman is the Founder and Executive Director of First Responder Therapy Dogs. For the last two years, Heidi has brought her lead therapy dog, Kerith, to police and fire stations, fire basecamps, and other places to help alleviate the stress and trauma first responders experience on the job. Her visits have overwhelmingly demonstrated the positive impact therapy dogs have on this population. For example, when exhausted fire crews get a visit from Kerith they are re-energized, less stressed, and can head back to the fire line with an overall feeling of wellness. Over the course of their visits, Heidi and Kerith have brought smiles and hugs to thousands of first responders.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
CHRISTINA ORTEGA | June 16, 2021 Christina Ortega is the CEO for Mission Bit. Founded in 2013, the non-profit offers free computer classes to SFUSD and OUSD students aged 14-18. Courses include code writing, Python, virtual reality skills, and more. Students receive instruction from volunteer adult teachers who work in the tech field. Mission Bit’s goal is to address the lack of access and opportunity lower income students and students of color face when it comes to tech education. Christina, herself a woman of color and a San Francisco native, is a committed educator who, during the pandemic, initiated a weekly phone call check-in with all Mission Bit students to see if they needed food, mental health, and other resources. RANDAL SERIGUCHI JR. | June 23, 2021 When Randal Seriguchi Jr. became Executive Director of Urban Ed Academy in 2016. This San Francisco non-profit, afterschool STEM program, matches kids of color with mentors who look like them. But then Randal stretched its mission a step further: to put one black male teacher in every school in the country. “You can’t be what you can’t see and there’s all the talk about representation matters, and not a lot of tangibility on what that looks like,” he says. So, he launched Man the Bay, a four-year fellowship program that trains black men to become teachers. He recruits college graduates from historically black colleges and universities to come to the Bay Area for free training, classroom experience, and housing that is fully paid for. ANDREA FORD | June 30, 2021 Andrea Ford has worked in Alameda County social services for more than 30 years, but she goes above and beyond to bring smiles to the families who receive county assistance in their greatest time of need. Andrea initiated a program that gives away free gifts on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, to program recipients. Items such as toiletries, neck ties, and handbags are distributed to community members as they come to the social services office for other assistance. The goal is for community members to feel appreciated and acknowledged as they seek assistance. Andrea also sees the program as a way for staff to feel more connected to their clients and each other. RITA MANCERA | July 7, 2021 Rita Mancera is the Executive Director of Puente de La Costa Sur, a non-profit in Pescadero, CA. The region’s only community resource center, Puente both advocates for the communities and leverages resources that foster economic prosperity and security, and that promote individual and community health and wellness. Under Rita’s leadership, Puente has grown to include pandemic relief efforts such as food and rent assistance, establishment of a local farmer’s market, weekly meals and meet-ups for farm workers and paid internships for coastal youth. WANDA STEWART | July 14, 2021 Wanda Stewart is executive director of Common Vision, an Oakland based non-profit committed to food justice, served by planting and maintaining orchards in urban and underserved communities. Wanda overseas a dozen East Bay school partnerships that teach thousands of students the basics of fruit and vegetable gardening. Students, families, and other community members are able to pick fresh, free fruits and veggies from the gardens right in their own neighborhoods. When the pandemic started, Wanda and her volunteers began rescuing donated food from Good Eggs in Oakland and distributing it for free throughout the community. During the pandemic, students also received more than 450 fruit trees to plant in home gardens.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
JILL MARTINEZ | July 21, 2021 Jill Martinez has dedicated her life to serving those who have served our country. For more than 30 years Jill worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Contra Costa County helping many elderly veterans and their families through the often-painstaking process of filing for federal and state benefits. After retirement, she came back to work as a volunteer, assisting veterans and their families with all matter of claims. She also runs a weekly free coffee meet-up for veterans, a place for them to connect, make friends and receive social support. SHELL CLEAVE | July 28, 2021 Shell Cleave is the founder of Sea Hugger, a San Mateo based non-profit dedicated to protecting and healing the ocean from plastic waste. Shell says her goal is to educate others about the dangers of plastics to our ocean environments, while also encouraging our communities to reduce our reliance on plastics. Sea Hugger hosts twice monthly beach cleanups in Half Moon Bay where volunteers collect trash, from plastic bottle caps to cigarette butts. Cleave and her group also educate children. On-campus lessons gave way to Camp Sea Hugger on an old school bus during the pandemic. Hundreds of families have paid to send students to the classes at Pillar Point Harbor. ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ | August 4, 2021 Roberto Hernandez is known as the ‘Mayor of San Francisco’s Mission District.” From housing rights advocacy to being the driving force behind the Carnaval parade and festival, Roberto serves his community in every way he can. When the pandemic hit, Roberto saw that his neighbors needed food, so he founded Mission Food Hub. Now more than 9,000 families receive free, weekly food boxes with fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, and milk from a bustling location in the heart of the Mission. Roberto has also organized testing sites and vaccine events for his community. And his organization also offers rental and employment assistance. NORALEA GIPNER | August 11, 2021 In 2020, Noralea Gipner founded the Homeless Action Coalition when she saw the unhoused, in her community of Martinez, struggle with basic needs such as access to food, clothing, showers, medical care, and a safe place to sleep. Noralea established a temporary camping area in an open space in Martinez, and provided temporary bathrooms, sinks, and cooking spaces for the unhoused living in tents in the area. Camp Hope residents get free showers, clothes, haircuts, and breakfast nearby every Friday, and they also get access to life changing medical and psychological services through partnerships with churches, community groups and county agencies. JOSE CASTAÑEDA | August 18, 2021 Jose Castaneda starts Saturday mornings fist-bumping his guests, military veterans who, for the past 10 years, have come for free breakfast at Castaneda’s market in Windsor. Between 15 and 50 veterans show up each week around the table. Many served in Vietnam and Korea, but Jose has also hosted vets that served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The group didn’t meet in person for a year during the pandemic, so it was like a family reunion when they resumed gathering at the marketplace in May. The vets say they have forged deep connections from stories and life with each other and with Castaneda’s family. The meals are always free, and Jose pays for them through profits from his catering business, Paella Guy.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
DR. KATE KUZMINSKI & DR. SARAH REIDENBACH | August 25, 2021 In 2017, veterinarians Kate Kuzminski and Sarah Reidenbach founded Ruthless Kindness to serve domestic violence survivors and their pets. In many cases of domestic abuse, the survivor will stay in a dangerous situation rather than leave their pets behind, and pet-friendly shelters require pets to be fully vaccinated and healthy before they’re let in. Kate and Sarah bought and refurbished an old fire truck, outfitting it as a mobile vet clinic and partnering with about a dozen shelters for abuse survivors and people experiencing homelessness. The pair go to shelters and offer free services, such as pet vaccines, nail trims and minor vet treatments. VERONICA SHEPARD | September 1, 2021 Veronica Shepard founded the San Francisco Faith Based Coalition in 2016 to tackle health problems among San Francisco’s underserved African American community. She is the director for the Office of Anti-Racism and Equity at the city’s Department of Public Health and harnesses those connections for good. Her non-profit partnered with SF New Deal to deliver more than 350,000 prepared meals to more than 1,600 households in the year and a half since the pandemic hit. And, since only about half of African Americans in San Francisco have gotten the COVID vaccine, the coalition held pop-up clinics to vaccinate more than 700 people. Veronica and her team also organized a Feeding of the 5,000 Christmas holiday event in 2020, giving away turkey and other food to 5,000 households. SHIZUE SEIGEL | September 15, 2021 San Francisco author, Shizue Seigel helps writers of color share stories that reflect their diverse backgrounds. In 2015, the third-generation Japanese American poet and community activist founded Write Now! SF Bay to bring artists of color together in the community. Since then, more than 350 people of color have come to her bi-monthly creative workshops to explore race, class, culture, gender, and identity. The sessions, which are held at San Francisco public libraries or over Zoom, are funded by the city’s Arts Commission and grants so people can come for free or a small donation. Shizue is also an artist, with many works focused on the BIPOC community. FELISIA THIBODEAUX | September 22, 2021 San Francisco native, Felisia Thibodeaux heads up the Southwest Community Corporation, part of the IT Bookman Community Center, serving over 300 neighborhood senior citizens with hot meals, food giveaways, and activities from quilting to computer lab. When the pandemic hit, Felisia worked overtime to make the Center a testing and vaccination site. Felisia and her staff called all their clients and got more than 75 percent of them vaccinated last year. But by spring, she said she encountered more people of all ages, afraid to get the shot so she and her team went block by block, person to person, countering what she calls misinformation with truth and personal stories. As a result of her efforts many more community members are now vaccinated. MALCOLM MARSHALL | September 29, 2021 Young people in Richmond are discovering the power of writing, thanks to Malcolm Marshall. To give back the support he received as a student when he started out in ethnic media, Marshall founded the Richmond Pulse, a youth-led community news service. His journalists are students aged 16 to 24 years old. Marshall prints 5,000 copies of the bilingual Richmond Pulse in English and Spanish each month. And more than 70 students have seen their bylines in the printed newspaper and online over the years. Marshall proudly shares that some Richmond Pulse reporters have continued in journalism, with jobs at the Napa Valley Register, The Guardian, and the Houston Chronicle.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
CREATORS FOR AN EQUITABLE WORLD Together WeXL WeXL aims to increase quality storytelling and distribution through partnerships with impact-driven companies, schools and universities, community groups,and other nonprofits.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY Visit us at WeXL.org
@WeXLORG
SALLY HINDMAN | October 13, 2021 In 2007, Sally Hindman founded Youth Spirit Artworks in Berkeley, a job training program for unhoused and underserved youth. The interfaith program helps 200 young people a year earn a living wage, as they choose among several vocational pathways, from entrepreneurship and marketing to teaching and community organizing. Art classes are also an integral part of Youth Spirit Artworks, and so is transitional housing. In 2017, program participants came up the idea for the Tiny Homes Empowerment Village, 100 homes for Bay Area unhoused youth that became a reality this year when the first set of two dozen tiny homes opened in East Oakland. Each tiny house is home to one previously unhoused young person. All the houses are covered in colorful hand-painted murals, designed by community members and the youth themselves. KRISTA LUCCHESI | October 20, 2021 As program director of the Mercy Brown Bag food distribution program for the last 15 years, Krista Lucchesi helps distribute more than a million pounds of food each year to make sure Alameda county senior citizens do not go hungry. Krista has seen the need jump nearly 70 percent during COVID. They are now serving 8,000 older adults a month, partnering with 90 different service providers, including the United Way which has helped to fund Door Dash drivers to deliver the groceries. Krista says it’s rewarding to help people who need it, especially seniors in the East Bay. COLIN ‘JACK’ FLIEHMANN | October 27, 2021 Jack Fliehmann rises at 2:30AM to make breakfast and lunch for about 50 unhoused people in and around Concord. He loads bags of sandwiches, snacks, and supplies including charged battery bricks so the folks he serves can power cell phones, for his daily route to more than two dozen campsites. Jack began his ministry in January 2020, after he had the same dream two nights in a row. In it, Jack says Jesus asked him to ‘know’ the homeless, so he looked for the unhoused, bought them food, and talked with them. Now, he forges friendships with them as he gives away donations of clothes, blankets, tents, and toiletries stored in a room at his house. ARABELLA DELUCCO | November 3, 2021 Arabella DeLucco founded WeXL in 2018. The non-profit provides free classes so ethnic minority, neuro diverse, and formerly incarcerated people can tell their own stories through videos and other multi-media projects. WeXL recruits professionals to teach storytelling using media and technology. It also provides paid fellowships to those interested in expanding their storytelling skills. Dozens of participants have produced podcasts, video shorts, TV shows, animated films, movies and more, often on social justice topics. To fund its fellowships and free programs, WeXL gets paid to produce diversity-themed videos for corporate clients. DENNIS BROWN | November 10, 2021 Dennis Brown, a former San Francisco 49er, is now tackling a new career in community service. At the beginning of the pandemic, Dennis began volunteering six days a week for the S.F. Marin Food Bank, St. Anthony’s, Meals on Wheels, and other non-profits. The food bank recently hired Dennis as a staffer, and he runs its mobile pop-up pantry, 5 days a week, at different locations throughout the city. Dennis is also in recovery and speaks frequently to various non-profits about his journey.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
PALI BOUCHER | November 17, 2021 As a child, Pali Boucher grew up homeless, but found peace and calm walking through animal shelters. One day she adopted Leadbelly, a hound dog slated to be euthanized. She saved his life, and she says he saved hers. She cleaned up her life, and in honor of Leadbelly founded Rocket Dog Rescue Urban Sanctuary in 2001. The Oakland-based non-profit has rescued and found homes for more than 13,000 animals. Overseas, Rocket Dog also raises funds for rabies vaccines for dogs in Tanzania, and volunteers support spay and neuter clinics in Puerto Rico. Pali says her childhood helps her identify with the pain and suffering of neglected, abused animals. BILL SOMERVILLE | November 24, 2021 A maverick grant maker, the 90-year-old Berkeley native founded Philanthropic Ventures Foundation in 1991. The Oakland-based foundation receives donations, mostly from private individuals, and invests between $10-15 million annually in grants. Recipients range from teachers to non-profits serving the poor. Somerville is known for simplifying an often long, complicated grant application process; his foundation takes pride deciding on a grant within 48 hours. Sometimes Somerville himself comes up with an idea: right before the pandemic he gave The Catholic Worker House $10,000 to distribute to whoever needed rent money. The grant grew to $75,000 and helped keep people from going homeless in the pandemic. DELFARIB FANAIE | December 1, 2021 With her husband, Delfarib Fanaie was adopting the first of three children from her native Iran in 2006, when a girl begged to go home with them. Delfarib could not bring her home but promised that she would not let children like her be forgotten. Two years later, Delfarib kept that promise; she and her friends founded Moms Against Poverty (MAP). The Burlingamebased non-profit provides education, health, and orphan care plus basic needs like food, water, and hygiene products. MAP has served more than two million people in 16 countries, like Iran, Africa, Cambodia and Guatemala. Locally, MAP partners with 35 groups, like schools, to provide hundreds of boxes of free, fresh, organic food and hygiene products to low-income families. HERMAN BARAHONA | December 8, 2021 Captain Herman Barahona at Central County Fire Department in Burlingame, CA, has overseen the departments’ annual holiday toy drive for the past 16 years. When he took over the toy drive the department distributed around 100 barrels to area businesses. Since then, Herman has brought that number up to around 350 barrels a year. He oversees collections from local businesses and schools to fire stations. The new, unwrapped toys are delivered to some 15 non-profits, from churches to recreation centers. Herman grew up in San Mateo County in a family with seven children, so he understands the financial struggle. And he’s committed to making the holidays bright for families in need. JENNIFER CULLENBINE | December 15, 2021 In 1991, Jennifer founded the Family Giving Tree. The Family Giving Tree (FGT) works with 300 agencies to ask for their clients’ wish lists, and partners with 550 individuals and businesses to purchase the requested gifts. About 85% of the gifts are for kids. But wishes are also granted for adults – those who are unhoused, and senior citizens. FGT also takes annual wish lists to distribute tens of thousands of backpacks with supplies, so Jennifer and her 8,000 volunteers share the spirit of giving year-round.
RECIPIENT SUMMARIES
Mr. Arthur Chan
Chinese Hospital, itself celebrating more than 122 years’ service, applauds Multiplying Good for reaching your 50th Anniversary. We thank Multiplying Good for bestowing a Jefferson Award for Public Service on Chinese Hospital’s top donor, Arthur Chan, at a press conference on December 1st. We were proud that Arthur Chan’s public service was featured on KPIX television by reporter Sharon Chin and photo-journalist Jen Mistrot.
Congratulations, and best wishes for the next 50 years!
STUDENTS IN ACTION IS A MULTIPLIER 2020-2021 IMPACT REPORT:
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA STUDENTS IN ACTION (SIA) IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.
In the 2020-2021 school year, 300+ youth from 18 schools across a dozen school districts participated in the SIA program, focusing on a range of issues ranging from food insecurity, homelessness, racial justice, climate change, mental health awareness, and cancer research to name a few.
18
SIA TEAMS
178
PROJECTS COMPLETE
309
YOUTH PARTICIPATING
2,446
VOLUNTEERS ENGAGED
23,796
INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED
54,262
HOURS SERVED
The purpose of SIA is to unleash potential in each young person and multiply the good they achieve. Wherever participating teams start, they create a positive ripple effect, from the team to their school, community and wider world.
WORKING WITH US, YOUTH DIDN'T JUST DELIVER GREATER IMPACT, THEY GREW IMMEASURABLY AS INDIVIDUALS. DE LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL This year was the 20th anniversary of De La Salle’s annual Cereal Drive. Due to the pandemic, their SIA team was forced to rethink the way they did things and come up with new and innovative solutions – both big and small. Committed to making their annual cereal drive better than ever, the team dug deep and changed both the design and delivery of this historic project. The team built a website outlining the purpose of the annual cereal drive and how things would work this year. This year, instead of donating boxes, they asked classmates to donate dollars. They also built a poll tracking system that updated each class on how much money they had donated each day, spurring friendly competition. The website and tracking system also helped bridge the gap between in-school students and those learning from home. Thanks to the teams’ work, they were able to raise a whopping $16,000 to support the Monument Crisis Center, a family resource center that provides food, education, and referrals to individuals regardless of their legal status.
WHAT THEY SAID When asked about what he learned and what he will take with him into his next phase of life, senior JT Baird responded “Since we complete these same projects every year, we usually have a blueprint of how to do them. This year, because of Covid-19, we had to learn to adapt in ways that we never have before. It was amazing how we used these online platforms to connect with our community and make an impact! As the future changes and technology becomes more prevalent in our lives, it's important that we learn to use this resource for good. With the internet, we really can serve from anywhere!”
EL CAMINO HIGH SCHOOL
WHAT THEY SAID:
In collaboration with student government, EL Camino High School’s SIA team created a project called Student Trauma Open Platform (STOP). The purpose of the project addressed student mental health and sexual abuse, and the need to better educate their community on these issues. The project is designed to provide a brave space for all students and create a guided conversation with trained professionals. They partnered with Rape Trauma Service (RTS) to be the facilitators in biweekly forums so that students would feel confident and safe to share their stories.
“ECHS SIA realized the need for the STOP program after seeing #metoo tweets in May/ June 2020 from many of our alumni from our school and up and down the peninsula. We were disheartened to hear the traumatic stories and that our peers did not feel safe enough to reach out for help until they graduated in order to be away from those who triggered and/or caused their trauma.”
BURLINGAME HIGH SCHOOL The Burlingame High School Jefferson award recipients this year helped our community in a variety of different ways, such as volunteering for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to being a part of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps and founding the BHS medica.
SAN MATEO HIGH SCHOOL Over a three-week period, San Mateo High School’s SIA team rallied the entire school community worked tirelessly to raise $11,700 (equivalent to 23,400 meals) for families that suffer from food insecurity in San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties. The funds were donated to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. The team also collected donations and period products to donate to local shelters in an effort to help the residents receive proper care for their periods. They partnered with local agencies Life Moves.
WHAT THEY SAID: “From doing some research, we learned that the need for food had increased by at least 20% in the Silicon Valley. We knew that donations were needed more than ever.”
“We researched the effects of period poverty, the inability to afford feminine products, in the Bay Area. We also spoke to Project Homeless Connect and Life Moves about the need for feminine products in their facilities for their residents.”
THANK YOU TO OUR BAY AREA CHAMPIONS AND DONORS Our Champions activate and recognize their workforces and support vital youth service and leadership training. Our diverse group of Champions are united by a shared belief in the value of public service. Investing in and elevating the individual is an investment in culture and productivity.
We are grateful to the following organizations and individuals who help support Multiplying Good and the Students In Action program in the Bay Area, either by adopting a school or through general program support. Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai Ronald Aiken Josh Becker Ben Beisswenger Belinda HernandezArriaga Artavia Berry Brig’erre Berry Gillian Bhaskaran Kim & Brian Bonney Ralph Bower Anna Bush Cal West Deondray Calhoun Carondelet High School Julien Chen Lorraine & Noah Cohen Maureen Coslett Desi Danganan Shana Daum Juliana Deans Lauren & Matt Dillard Laura Edell Brian Endres Estudillo Produce & Deli Dena & Marlon Evans Victor Fernandez Michele Fidance First Republic Bank Founders Equity Partners
Sonia Ibarra Jackson Ladder Joy Jacobs Amelia Jasinski Safi Jiroh Tasha Futch Mary Green Bridget Griffith Wil Hobbs Daniel Huynh Bryce Johnson Joel Kallett Anthony Kemp Arif Khatib Jodi Klebick Liz Laluyaux Thuyduong Le Amy Lesnick & Mark Roach Naomi Lindsey Ronnie & Karen Lott Darien Louie & Michael Fong Patricia Manubay M.A.R.’s Engineering McCance Foundation David McNeill JA McNulty Nelson Mei Joy Mitchell Ben Nguyen Raymond O’Connor
Jan Othen Patrick & Collette Fracisco Tamra Peters Melody Phipps Jack & Jodie Russi Nai S. Charles Schwab Foundation Susie Simon Lisa Smith Sean Reiter Kathy Riggins Dinean Robinson Barbara Rodgers Seth Rosenblatt Julie Rubidge Susan Solomon Lisa Spinali June Sugiyama Taj Tashombe Genevieve Tayo Jacqueline Tona Hema Vansanji Ashley Vo Gina Volk Marie Wolbach Mark Woodward Sherrene Wright Susan Wright Guifen Xu
THANK YOU FOR MULTIPLYING GOOD WITH US FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL! @BAYAREA4GOOD @MULTIPLYINGGOOD