Benefits of this program for our children are directly in line with Children of Shelters’ mission and include:

• Opportunities to identify new interests, develop skills, increase self-worth and build confidence
• Creating a sense of community and chance for friendship building
• Increased exposure to experiences beyond the shelter
• Class locations close to the shelters that negate transportation issues
• Keeping kids busy and off the streets after school, on weekends, during holidays and vacations
• Allowing parents (often single parent households) a needed reprieve from care-giving
• Long term, stable programming for children as the well-priced programs can be accessed once a family transitions from the shelter environment

Lindsey Whited is the Garden Educator who works with the children at St. Joseph’s Family Center as part of the Garden to Table program launched at the shelter in 2010. This COS program is a holistic approach to teach children the value of fresh food and nutrition, provide an enrichment activity and ultimately produce food to utilize in the cooking classes being offered at the shelter as part of our support programming. Lindsey comments that the most exciting and fulfilling part of the garden project at St. Joseph’s has been “having the children help to build and design the garden from the ground up. From bringing in soil to building beds to planting to harvesting, the children have been able to steward their project from start to finish.”

Clint Womack, Children’s Program Director for St. Joseph’s Family Center reminds us that beyond raising the children’s awareness that the food we eat actually grows from dirt, the Garden to Table program also provides essential outdoor time for our kids who rarely get the opportunity to interact with nature. In addition, the children are enriched by the scientific learning of gardening and the commensurate mathematics of following a recipe – all while enjoying time outside, working with their hands, getting a little messy, and having fun. Healthy, active, and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school and are more prepared and motivated to learn. The Garden to Table program supports our overarching goal of academic achievement mixed with quality enrichment opportunities. We are excited to leverage our learning from our initial program and expand this offering across multiple shelters in 2012.

Below are some of our favorite answers to questions we asked of some of our young gardeners at St. Joseph’s:

• What do you like best about working in the garden?
• “Watering plants or putting seeds in the ground.”
• “Look for bugs”
• What is something new you have learned from working in the garden?
• “That worms live in drit” (dirt)
• When you grow up and have your very own garden, what will you grow?
• “Roses and other flowers. Some vegetables like carrots and tomatoes.”
• “Flowers and apples”
• Why is it important to grow vegetables and fruits?
• “It saves money if you grow from your own seeds.”
• “So you can grow”
• Why is it important to eat healthy foods that come from nature?
  • “Veggies help you grow and don’t have lots of sugar. Fruits because they are good and healthy for kids.”
  • “Because you can live longer”

This fundraising season was one of the best ever for Children of Shelters, and we have you to thank. The first 10 days of December marked our 10th Annual Holiday Dinner for over 300 children and family members living in shelter, our two biggest fundraisers, and a fantastic opportunity to partner with Wells Fargo and KFOG in this year’s Concert for Kids.

Many Board members will tell you that their favorite part of working for our nearly all-volunteer organization is the chance to provide kids from the Shelter with a magical day in the Presidio. For our annual Holiday party “with all the trimmings,” we set tables with linen and china, welcome Santa and his elves, and the room quickly fills with families, laughter and relaxation. We even provide bus service to and from the shelter – luxury coaches that make the day just a little more relaxing from start to finish. Many children tell us they wait all year for this party. We do too.

The Shelter Dinner was sandwiched in between our two biggest fundraisers: Jingle and Mingle, a designer wreath auction, and SantaFest, a holiday party for families. At these two events we raised over $230,000. The following Friday, we were the beneficiary of KFOG’s Concert for Kids, where we happily accepted a grant from Wells Fargo as well as a gift of all the proceeds of ticket sales from KFOG, grossing over $43,000. We’re eternally grateful to those of you that support our work. Read on to learn about some of our incredible programming and kids that these funds support!

We are so pleased with the wonderful media coverage of our events which helps to further broaden the reach of our message and mission.  Please check out the great stories and photos at the sites below.

Jingle and Mingle’s Super-Sweet Soiree – SFWIRE

Nob Hill Gazette

Red Carpet Bay Area

Modern Luxury

Jingle & Mingle Photo Album courtesy of Drew Altizer

On Friday KQED aired an hour long episode of FORUM (you can download the audio file or listen online via the link) on the topic of homelessness in our schools which featured among others Nicole McAuliffe, director of advancement at Mission Dolores Academy. Former teacher and principal, Nicole is near and dear to COS as Mission Dolores Academy is one of our six partner organizations.

Local community members Marc and Lynne Benioff of Salesforce.com got word of the need and immediately jumped into action to get children off the streets before the holidays.  The Benioff’s donated $1.5 million and challenged Mayor Ed Lee and the city to step up to the plate to get things into action before the holidays.  Click here for the full story from SFGate.