Food, shelter and clothing are life’s basic necessities, but too many Sonoma County residents lack access to them. At a time when we gather to give thanks for our blessings, leaders of local nonprofits share their missions and ways we can help them provide hot meals, warm blankets, indoor beds and a helping hand when people most need one.
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Redwood Empire Food Bank
While many families across Sonoma County sit down to lavish Thanksgiving feasts today, others will be struggling just to put food on their tables.
At the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of its busiest season. The organization feeds 82,000 Sonoma County residents year round, said David Goodman, the executive director.
“Our mission is to end hunger in our community,” he said. “Hunger doesn’t know whether or not it’s Thanksgiving.”
During the holidays, the organization gives out hams and turkeys to families, while ramping up fundraising. About 40 percent of its $7.6 million budget is raised in the last two months of the year. The Food Bank spends 96 cents of every dollar on food, Goodman said.
Besides monetary donations, it also is looking for donated food items. For volunteers wanting a more hands-on role, the Food Bank has volunteer positions at its Brickway Boulevard warehouse. Volunteers pack boxes of food and bags of produce. To volunteer, visit refb.org.
Another way to help is by advocating in support of policies that will feed our neighbors in need, Goodman said.
“People should recognize everything they have and help repair the world,” he said.
- Matt Brown
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Redwood Gospel Mission
Redwood Gospel Mission, which hosts the annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, is doing something extra this year. With the help of 30 local churches, it has organized what it is calling a “nomadic shelter” for the homeless.
For the next four months, the churches will participate in a rotation, opening their facilities to provide one night of shelter for the homeless. Churches will use parish halls, classrooms, fellowship halls and any available spaces to provide makeshift overnight housing.
“The churches that have done it so far have shown radical hospitality,” said Jeff Gilman, executive director of Redwood Gospel Mission. “They have provided sit-down dinners for the homeless, and not just served them but dined with them. They’ve really been a part of the church community so far.”
Gilman said the rotation, which was launched Nov. 16, will go around about four times for each church over the course of the next month. There are still vacant slots that could be filled by four church participants.
As it does every year, the mission hosts the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, where about 5,000 people are served. That event, which serves a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes and vegetables, requires the help of hundreds of volunteers, Gilman said.
The mission’s work during the holidays doesn’t end at Thanksgiving. The organization seeks volunteers as it reaches out to the homeless in December, culminating in three days of Christmas-related events Dec. 23-25. For information on how to help, call 578-1830.
- Martin Espinoza
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Social Advocates for Youth, Santa Rosa
There will be no shortage of ways the community can help Social Advocates for Youth this year as it fulfill its mission of providing support, opportunity and hope to Sonoma County children and their families.
With a wetter than usual winter already arriving, SAY is working hard to meet the short-term needs of the homeless youth who may find themselves braving the elements, explains SAY executive director Matt Martin.
Toward that end, SAY is hosting the Dream Walk on Friday, Dec. 5. The 6 p.m. event in Old Courthouse Square has as its admission price items that homeless teens and young people desperately need: sleeping bags, sweatshirts (sizes L-3X preferred), tarps and deodorant. The goal is to raise awareness about homelessness in the county while gathering supplies needed to help young people address the challenges they face living on the street, Martin said.
For those interested in directing support toward a longer-term fix to the county homeless epidemic, he said The Dream Center continues to need substantial community support.
With the contentious approval process behind it, SAY is moving forward with plans to transform the former Warrack Hospital site on Summerfield Road into a 63-bed facility for adults ages 18 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care or are homeless.
The project still faces a lawsuit from neighbors, but backers are pushing forward and the capital campaign is in full swing. Donations of all levels are encouraged, Martin said.
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