November 2014

2014 Gubbio Jazz Brunch

On November 11th, 2014 The Gubbio Project held its third annual Community Jazz Brunch. Around 80 guests of the project who had been sleeping on the pews that morning along with volunteers and staff, shared brunch and listened to live jazz music performed courtesy of Musicans Local 6. High School students, all graduates of DeMarillac Academy, volunteered to be servers and hosts. Other volunteer groups included Zendesk Inc. and The San Francisco Zen Center; a number of individuals volunteered as well. We want to give a special thank you to each of our chefs: Chuck Yenson, Maureen Kelly and Mike Cliffe, and to Angela Oliva for making over 100 bracelets! Also we'd like to recognize and thank Zendesk Inc. for underwriting the event.

The Gubbio Jazz Brunch was not meant to be a fundraiser, instead it was a time of honoring our guests and coming together in celebration. Read an article i n the Chronicle about the event!

"I Never Realized How Great it is to Have This Feeling" Moments

by Jose Lopez, Vincentian Service Corps Member

Growing up we are taught to be thankful for the things we have in our life; things like a house over our head, food, an education, and many other things. I feel like I was told to be thankful for things all the time. And I have always been thankful. I think I can say I never took things for granted and always appreciated having things in my life. But now I am starting to realize, how can I really appreciate things or be thankful for things if I've always had them? If I don't know what if feels like to not have them?

There is a scene in 127 Hours that has stayed in my head since I saw it years ago. The scene where he finally got to drink water has stuck with me after all these years. Now when I drink water I appreciate the fact that I can choose when to drink it. I love the refreshing feeling of it sliding down the back of my throat getting rid of that annoying dehydrated feeling in my mouth.

Now that I am at Gubbio, I am having a lot of these "I never realized how great it is to have this feeling" type of moments, Here are a couple of them:

click to read more

Gubbio Participated in annual LGBTQ Homeless Connect Event

For the second year, The Gubbio Project participated in Project Homeless Connect's LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Connect - a one-day multi-service event that focuses on reaching our LGBTQ brothers and sisters living on the streets. From the most recent city-wide point-in-time homeless count, we know that almost 30% of homeless people identify as LGBTQ, a disproportionately high number.

This year Gubbio volunteers and staff collected and assembled 500 hygiene kits to be given out at the event, held on October 17th. For more information on the event visit their website.

Here is a reflection from PHC's Executive Director, Kara Zordel, on on why this event is so important:

"During the past year I have seen a woman named Catherine sleeping on the side walk. Every day I ask her if I may put socks on her cold bare feet. I call her "Catherine the Great" every time I see her, and she blushes each time. I'm sure she doesn't feel so great. She generally has aches and pains, but tells me she doesn't need any help. Every day we go through the routine of me asking her if I can put socks on her feet. Daily she says no to me and even my cutest socks. On October 17th, I saw her waiting for LGBTQ Connect. Catherine's bare feet stuck out beneath a blanket. "Hey, you got socks?" she asked when she saw me. Surprised, I grabbed a pair of socks and delicately placed them on her feet. She leaned over and said, "I didn't know if you'd want to help me if you knew I was gay." It occurred to me that her rejection of my socks stemmed from the years of personal rejection she has experienced. It may have taken a year, but when she believed we cared, she said yes to change."

In This Issue

Jazz Brunch

Vincentian Volunteer Reflection

LGBTQ Connect

#GivingTuesday

Home Signs

Free Glasses at Gubbio

Making plans for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Don't forget about #GivingTuesday!

The Gubbio Project has joined #GivingTuesday, a national day of supporting non-profits. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday, #GivingTuesday is an opportunity for everyone to give back to organizations across the country.

Don't forget about The Gubbio Project on December 2, 2014 - the Tuesday after Thanksgiving - and consider donating to support our work!

"HOME" for the Holidays!

Support Gubbio and receive a beautiful piece of original artwork!

All proceeds from this project benefit The Gubbio Project and two other community partners who also work with folks who are experiencing homelessness.

$100 for a pair of signs. One home sign goes home with you and the other stays at the non-profit of your choice. Signs come in a variety of languages.

For more information visit this website.

Eyeglasses at Gubbio

The Gubbio Project partnered with Reverend Megan Rohrer of SF CARES and with Project Homeless Connect to host a "Vision Event" last month at St. Boniface. Together we made (better) sight possible for 34 homeless and low-income people! Exams were conducted free of charge by an optometrist, and free prescription eyeglasses were made available within two weeks.

We were very happy to participate in this one-time event. For more information on the location of the next Vision and Health Event, click here.