Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Thank you!

Friends of SF Refresh and the Growing Home Community Garden (GHCG):

We would like to say a big thank you for making the SF Refresh a success. Without your generous participation, we would not be able to have these events that are so crucial to the Bay Area community. SF Refresh consisted of 6 day long events, had 1,612 participants at 8 different community gardens throughout San Francisco. These events have inspired many of the garden sites to now call their learning opportunities "skill shares" and use our model of teaching base level skills to people of all abilities.

We are continuing to utilize what we have learned hosting these events to host Garden Parties following Project Homeless Connect (PHC) events at the GHCG and Bayview Roots Garden (BRG). These garden parties provide continued care for PHC event participants and provide them with opportunities to continue to learn basic life skills, find sober communities and to become involved in their communities. The October garden parties had 86 unique individuals participate in peer led events.

With a little more of your generous participation at these increasingly important events, we hope to reach further into the community. As we said before, your involvement with these events is the key to our success and you are enabling a door to be opened for so many individuals.

The event schedule is as follows:
Thursday, November 10th - Bayview Roots Garden Party. 12-2 PM.
Friday, November 11th - Growing Home Community Garden Party. 12-2 PM.
Thursday, December 15th - Bayview Roots Garden Party. 12-2 PM.
Friday, December 16th - Growing Home Community Garden Party. 12-2 PM.

If you have questions or would like to RSVP to an event, please feel free to contact us at: ghcgoffic@gmail.com or 415.503.2196.

Thanks again for all of your help and support at our SF Refresh events.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

183 Participants at 10/25 SF Refresh

Volunter, Dr. Tera Beaber who is a psychologist, celebrated at the final SF Refresh event where 183 unique participants enjoyed free whole body health care at community gardens in Hayes Valley and the Bayview.
Singers of the Street, a choir of homeless and formerly homeless members, participated in their second SF Refresh event. Afterwards, members of the choir enjoyed lunch and learned a new movement based mindfulness meditation.
At the Bayview Roots Garden, 143 unique participants stopped by for lunch, garden, art and mindfulness skill shares.
Members of the Bayview community chat about ways they can use their community garden spaces to continue to provide additional whole body health care services in their neighborhood.
Marlene, of SFHDC, serves a healthy vegan lunch made from local produce by Bayview residents to community members.
Dawn Roginski, provided reiki to individuals who were primarily homeless and formerly homeless at the Hayes Valley Farm.
A resident and volunteer, learns how to use doodling as stress reduction.