Else Holt Interview

David Cowen interviews Else Holt about her work with Bayview Mission.

How long have you been involved with Bayview Mission?

I have the privilege of being involved in Bayview Mission from the very beginning and in fact visited the site with Rev. Nina as early as 2001, long before the food pantry came into existence.

How did you initially get interested in helping out?

Having known Rev. Nina since 1996 there had been many conversations about her desire to begin a program to help her neighbors in Bayview. As soon as she took possession of her property there were numerous opportunities to assist in making her dream become a reality.

I see you at the food pantry every Monday. What kinds of work do you do?

I have the distinct pleasure of creating child-size "fun" bags for the children of the clients who come to the food pantry each Monday. Each week I sort out the donations of children's items that have come in during the week. Books are sorted by age-range and then stamped with the Bayview Mission "stamp". Snacks, juices and small toys are sorted and put into small brown paper lunch sacks in batches of five bags at a time. Crayons and construction paper are added, along with any available small toy. Each week I typically make up to 80 bags, often with lots of help from other Bayview volunteers. There's also a monthly "work party" on a Sunday afternoon, and that's a great time to sort out the seasonal donations such as for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition, I have helped organize and staff the annual "Bee Busy at Bayview" two-week summer camp for neighborhood children.

What are some things you most appreciate about Bayview Mission?

Bayview Mission first and foremost is a safe, inclusive, welcoming environment for all who come here. Rev. Nina makes everyone welcome, and no one is ever turned away. Homeless people are welcomed and treated with the utmost dignity. The food pantry operates solely on the donations of generous donors and there is zero administrative overhead. Every donation is for the benefit of the neighbors of Bayview, and nothing goes unused. The local children have a city garden, a safe-haven, where they can come and play care-free. Holidays are celebrated with free costume giveaways at Halloween and gift-giving at Christmas. Bayview Mission volunteers understand and appreciate the service they offer to the community, and they work very hard. The volunteer community is very kind and loving and support each other in many ways. Bayview Mission offers us an opportunity to directly give back to a community in need.

Do you find the work or the environment challenging at all?

The work of making up the childrens' bags is not in itself challenging. Creating an adequate work-space in which to complete the necessary tasks can sometimes prove challenging. The volunteers are very resourceful, and the work gets done no matter what. Our goal is to eventually have dedicated program space where we can spread out and have dedicated areas for each type of activity.

What do you do for a living when you’re not helping out at the Mission?

I'm currently employed as Assistant to the Head of School at The Bay School of San Francisco, a start-up high school in the Presidio of San Francisco.

Christine Hendrickson Interview About Bayview Mission

Here is the second in a series of interviews with volunteers at Bayview Mission: David Cowen interviews Christine Hendrickson.

You help out with the food pantry every Monday. What kinds of work do you do there?

I help with the preparation of the bags, organize the pantry, dump runs when needed, prepare lunch for the volunteers and shop for needed supplies (anything that we may be short of). I enjoy working at all the different stations. There are many different ones to choose from. We have produce, setting bags up, loading bags, breaking down boxes, loading shelves, preparing/handing out children’s bags, preparing/handing out homeless bags, going through donation bags, checking I.D., line control, and handing out clothes.

What do you find most rewarding about the work?

I really enjoy the smiles that come from the people’s faces. They are so thankful. It makes me feel good inside, knowing that you put the smile on their face, especially the kids. They cannot get the kids’ bags quick enough! They open the bag and look to see what is inside. Then the big smiles come out.

What is most challenging about it?

There are times when you come across a few people that are having a bad day. Something has triggered them, and it makes it difficult to help them. All you can do is let them know that you want to help them and that you care. What they do with it is up to them at that point. I have learned that you cannot take it personally.

You spent a lot of time mentoring a few children this summer. How did you get involved with them?

When my mom moved into the house, we met a few of the neighbors. The neighbor that was a little hard to warm up to ended up being a really great person. Her two brothers had children. I met the kids a couple of times. Just a “hi” here and there.

About a year later I moved into my mom’s house. I would wave to the neighbors and say “hello.” As time went on, the children would come and talk to me and call me by my name. The kids saw that we had toys and fun things at the house. They really did not have much. I remember their Auntie would come over and stay with us when they played in the back yard. As time went on, they would come over by themselves. They enjoyed doing art projects and playing in the yard. The father of the two children never questioned me on when then kids would come home or where I was taking them. As long as their Auntie knew that they were with me then it was OK with the dad. Their cousin also would come over. Now every summer they come out. It has become a yearly tradition that we hang out on Mondays.

What kinds of field trips did you take them on?

It started out with going to the beach or taking my dogs to Fort Funston. They loved taking my dogs and just running around and playing in the ocean. It did not matter how cold it was. Then, as the kids got older, they enjoyed walking around the mall, going to the movies, going to a restaurant, and hanging out at my new house. When I would need to run an errand they would want to come with me, even if it was otherwise boring to them.

I heard they referred to you as a “second mom.” How did that make you feel?

It made me feel really good. The kids mean a lot to me, and I am pleased that they are happy too. At first it was funny. The kids would call out in the store or wherever we were and yell “mom where are you?” They would giggle and give me a hug or just stick by my side. They truly are great kids!

Cheryl Hendrickson Speaks About the Bayview Mission

This is the first in a series of interviews with people involved with the Bayview Mission in San Francisco. In this edition, Cheryl Hendrickson shares some perspective on her work with the mission after a conversation with David Cowen

"I think ... in the beginning, we just listened to mom's dreams. She was so excited and very eager to get into our grandparents house, otherwise known as Bayview Mission. I remember visiting my great grandparents there in the 80's. I was living in England when Mom moved in, and I remember being quite worried. My grandmother wanted her to install alarms and put up mechanical gates. I could not do much, so I would just listen when mom would call and give me updates.

I played a more active role when the mission first started serving food. I attended monthly board meetings and, as a teacher in Bayview, offered advice, which usually was quite cautionary.

I tend to work behind the scenes. Mom is one of those people who attracts many helpers. I never had to worry that she did not have enough help on the days she served food to the public. I enjoy being a gopher, whether it is fidgeting with the computer or listening to a sermon or proofreading a document. I spent a great deal of time organizing and gardening when I was living at Bayview mission. I love providing a space for my mom to do her ministry.

I have seen the mission grow into a community. I remember when mom was feeding 30 people. She would spend part of Monday working and she had a crew of about 5 volunteers. Pretty soon she was handing out clothes and books, and then she started feeding more people. She began taking large donations, and soon she was feeding 150 people plus. No longer was Food Pantry Monday a Monday gig. Mom could be heard filling bags the night before. Now the mission feeds well over 350 people. The mission also supplied homeless bags and children's bags. I remember when we tried out our first Halloween party about 5 years ago, it is still growing strong. Other events have become annual, the gift exchange at the Christmas party, the book bag hand out, chicken hand out at Thanksgiving, Easter baskets at Easter and Vacation Bible School, which takes place at the Mission as well as Grace Cathedral. My husband meets the kids in Bayview and takes them up to Grace Cathedral via a cab!

I realized early on that mom was creating community. I remember when the Christmas party moved from Bayview Mission to the Opera House. I was scared. The Opera house lies east of Jerrold. Many of my students lost uncles and brothers on Kirkwwod and on the corner of Palou, which is east of Jerrold. The police shared my feelings of worries and sent the sheriff to parole the party. The Bayview Christmas Party catered to all of Bayview, which is a divided neighborhood. The Opera House has paid witness to plenty of meetings where city officials have yelled and argued, cursed and walked out, even damned each other. The adjacent streets are battle grounds at times. A place where some people shop and converse, but also a place where people have been hit by "drive-by's" and where some shoot-up drugs. But on the day of the Christmas party, the community lined up and waited for Hard-Knox fired chicken and marconi and cheese, listened to the San Francisco Gay Men's Choir and were given hand wrapped gifts. The community was trusted and the community enjoyed each others company.

Hard-Knox has become a staple in the Bayview Mission diet. The volunteers go there each year to celebrate their triumphs and state what they are thankful for, even joke about what drives each other crazy about each other. The owners of Hard-Knox donate the money that has been given as an offering to the big fat buddha statue at the front of the restaurant.

I have watched the intricate workings of community, listened to a dialogue that only occurs when diverse people work together, when diverse people try to figure out how to tolerate and serve each other.

Bayview Mission is a community that will continue to grow. I hope it will be able to grow into a building. Right now, it is run out of a garage, barn and a backyard. It often leaks into the Bayview Opera House. I would love to see a school start on the property. I have worked for 4 years with students who classify as "emotionally disturbed," but actually, I would say that I have worked with kids who have seen and witnessed too much. I can honestly say that at times I can empathize with my students' sense of hopelessness. I am often overwhelmed with feelings of anger when working in communities that experience violence. I am forced to reconcile feelings of hopelessness as well as naive optimism. It scares me when my students talk of revenge and I have seen how paralyzing the role of the victim can become. I would love to provide a place for students to cope with the struggles that are apparent when violence is not only a reality but a daily worry."