|
PUBLISHED
ARTICLESTHE WESTERN EDITION
|
|
Project Night Night
| pnn_article.pdf |
Project Night Night, The Western Edition
By Chelsea Eiben
09/13/2017
No child should feel scared. Especially a child who is homeless. Project Night Night (PNN) is a multi-award winning nonprofit organization, receiving over 11 awards since they began 12 years ago in 2005. PNN provides care bags for homeless children (between six and twelve years old) with families. Each care bag contains a new stuffed animal, blanket and book. PNN has thousands of volunteers and have serviced every 50 states of the United States. The organization began with it’s founder, a lawyer and Bay-area resident, Kendra Stitt Robins. Kendra noticed her one year-old son was unable to sleep whenever away from home, such as being at a friend’s house or on vacation. Kendra soon discovered that when her son had his favorite blanket, stuffed animal and “1001st reading of Goodnight Moon,” he slept soundly. Having familiar security tokens of home in arms and heart. Upon this realization, Kendra determined all children need these cornerstones to comfort and feeling of security, particularly homeless children. Kendra decided right then and there to dedicate her life to this new cause, positively changing the lives of homeless children nationwide.
When I first spoke to Kendra about her organization, I was treated to hear that not only are they helping children in shelters nationwide, but they are currently generating all their efforts towards helping children suffering from the two recent disastrous hurricanes, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Over 500 bags were instantly sent to children in Texas and they were working on sending more bags to Florida while we spoke. When I asked Kendra what her future plans were for Project Night Night, she replied that they would love to expand, but that would require additional resources. PNN receives numerous requests from the 825 social service agencies they service across the US, and are invariably occupied with high frequency demands. In San Francisco there are over 100 shelters and PNN services over 30 of the shelters. The organization relies on networking via word-of-mouth. They do not spend any funding on marketing or outreach. The feedback from shelters has been very positive, with ongoing requests for PNN bags.
The Goal of Project Night Night is for all homeless children to have the security of a new stuffed animal, book and blanket. There are between 5,000-10,000 volunteers (off-site). Volunteers are of any age, and are used to help make the care bags through PNN’s Adopt a Night Night Package program. Every $20 donation is geared towards a high quality care bag, each one containing only new items. All funding derives from individual and corporate donations. The volunteers are managed by Jessica Bryan.
PNN partners with many corporations for team-building Night Night package assembly events which take place at their corporate offices. PNN supplies to low-income schools as well as churches. As aforementioned, they do a fair amount of work servicing children effected from natural disasters.
Speaking with a decade-long volunteer with Project Night Night, Beth McKillop, I learned why Project Night Night is such an integral part of her and her childrens’ lives. Beth said she likes the concept of PNN, it resonates with her as she has two children. She appreciates the “very profound security” the cause centers around. When asked what her most memorable part of volunteering with PNN is, Beth recalled seeing the look on her childrens’ face when they first saw other children on the street in San Francisco receiving their donation bags. Witnessing what misfortune looks like on fellow children. Recently, Beth saw a newspaper photo of bags for children in Texas during Hurricane Harvey, and turned to tell her daughter, “See that, you made that bag!”
San Francisco has benefited immensely from the aide of Project Night Night and could use all the help they can get. As homelessness continues to be an issue in the San Francisco, it is more imperative than ever that people become aware of organizations like Project Night Night. The number of people on the streets of San Francisco is nearly twice the number in San Jose, and three times the number in Oakland. San Francisco ranks second to New York in homelessness. There are 795 people per 100,000 residents. The numbers show that the average renter in San Francisco spends 41 percent of their income on an apartment, lives paycheck-to- paycheck, and saves nothing for an emergency. These statistics demonstrate that the homelessness problem is not going to go away anytime soon, and the homeless children will continue to need some semblance of security – when all hope seems futile. I am grateful for Project Night Night and the positive effect they have on children in San Francisco and nationwide, bringing children a little closer to a peaceful night’s sleep.
By Chelsea Eiben
09/13/2017
No child should feel scared. Especially a child who is homeless. Project Night Night (PNN) is a multi-award winning nonprofit organization, receiving over 11 awards since they began 12 years ago in 2005. PNN provides care bags for homeless children (between six and twelve years old) with families. Each care bag contains a new stuffed animal, blanket and book. PNN has thousands of volunteers and have serviced every 50 states of the United States. The organization began with it’s founder, a lawyer and Bay-area resident, Kendra Stitt Robins. Kendra noticed her one year-old son was unable to sleep whenever away from home, such as being at a friend’s house or on vacation. Kendra soon discovered that when her son had his favorite blanket, stuffed animal and “1001st reading of Goodnight Moon,” he slept soundly. Having familiar security tokens of home in arms and heart. Upon this realization, Kendra determined all children need these cornerstones to comfort and feeling of security, particularly homeless children. Kendra decided right then and there to dedicate her life to this new cause, positively changing the lives of homeless children nationwide.
When I first spoke to Kendra about her organization, I was treated to hear that not only are they helping children in shelters nationwide, but they are currently generating all their efforts towards helping children suffering from the two recent disastrous hurricanes, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Over 500 bags were instantly sent to children in Texas and they were working on sending more bags to Florida while we spoke. When I asked Kendra what her future plans were for Project Night Night, she replied that they would love to expand, but that would require additional resources. PNN receives numerous requests from the 825 social service agencies they service across the US, and are invariably occupied with high frequency demands. In San Francisco there are over 100 shelters and PNN services over 30 of the shelters. The organization relies on networking via word-of-mouth. They do not spend any funding on marketing or outreach. The feedback from shelters has been very positive, with ongoing requests for PNN bags.
The Goal of Project Night Night is for all homeless children to have the security of a new stuffed animal, book and blanket. There are between 5,000-10,000 volunteers (off-site). Volunteers are of any age, and are used to help make the care bags through PNN’s Adopt a Night Night Package program. Every $20 donation is geared towards a high quality care bag, each one containing only new items. All funding derives from individual and corporate donations. The volunteers are managed by Jessica Bryan.
PNN partners with many corporations for team-building Night Night package assembly events which take place at their corporate offices. PNN supplies to low-income schools as well as churches. As aforementioned, they do a fair amount of work servicing children effected from natural disasters.
Speaking with a decade-long volunteer with Project Night Night, Beth McKillop, I learned why Project Night Night is such an integral part of her and her childrens’ lives. Beth said she likes the concept of PNN, it resonates with her as she has two children. She appreciates the “very profound security” the cause centers around. When asked what her most memorable part of volunteering with PNN is, Beth recalled seeing the look on her childrens’ face when they first saw other children on the street in San Francisco receiving their donation bags. Witnessing what misfortune looks like on fellow children. Recently, Beth saw a newspaper photo of bags for children in Texas during Hurricane Harvey, and turned to tell her daughter, “See that, you made that bag!”
San Francisco has benefited immensely from the aide of Project Night Night and could use all the help they can get. As homelessness continues to be an issue in the San Francisco, it is more imperative than ever that people become aware of organizations like Project Night Night. The number of people on the streets of San Francisco is nearly twice the number in San Jose, and three times the number in Oakland. San Francisco ranks second to New York in homelessness. There are 795 people per 100,000 residents. The numbers show that the average renter in San Francisco spends 41 percent of their income on an apartment, lives paycheck-to- paycheck, and saves nothing for an emergency. These statistics demonstrate that the homelessness problem is not going to go away anytime soon, and the homeless children will continue to need some semblance of security – when all hope seems futile. I am grateful for Project Night Night and the positive effect they have on children in San Francisco and nationwide, bringing children a little closer to a peaceful night’s sleep.
SFFilm
| sffilms_education_programs.pdf |
SFFilm's Education Programs, The Western Edition
By Chelsea Eiben
09/13/2017
The San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest running and first major international film festival in the Americas, born into existence in 1957 San Francisco, at the Metro Theater. Nearly 12 thousand people attended the 2 week festival, which was started by Irving "Bud" Levin. SFFilm’s 4 values are: film, filmmakers, audience and the San Francisco Bay area.
The Education Program was started by Bob Donn, a previous San Francisco High School teacher, in 1991, as a branch of SFFilm. The program brings education to youth and people of all ages together to learn and gain insight through the power of film, especially foreign film. Over 11,000 students and teachers are reached annually by the SFFilm Education Program. Cultural diversity is just one of the enriching factors of SFFilm’s influence in broadening the student’s knowledge in all fields, such as science, language and humanities.
When I spoke with Keith Zwolfer, the Associate Director of Education for SFFilm, I learned about the history of how the program began and about Keith himself. Keith has always been interested in the arts, especially as a tool for helping educate. Keith started directing the program in 2003, and the program became a year-round program in 2005. “We teach kids about the art of film-making,” said Keith. The program reaches ages Kindergarten to 12th grade, involving on-campus presentations, hands-on training and visits to studios like the LucasFilm studio in the Presidio. Keith explained how the Education Program gets it funding from grants (from foundations like the Hearst Foundation), donors, proceeds from ticketed events like awards showings, sponsors, (Wells Fargo, Google). SFFilm is the largest grant-giving body for narrative features in the country.
Keith actively spends his time emailing teachers, off an ever-growing list of active teachers. “We have been seeing the interest grow with the use of film,” Keith reported. The attendance has grown by 2,000 people in the from 2016 to 2016. 2017’s festival saw 7,000 people involved in the Education Program. The Youth-Made films program (children under 18 years old) has a “call for entries” and submissions come in from world-wide, as a “Youth Works” category in the film festival. This is the only free category of the festival. Three theaters screen for the Education Program films: Castro, SF MOMA, Children’s Creativity Museum. “There are so many connection points for many curriculums,” Keith mentioned in our interview. “For example, math-specific teachers, like Physics and Chemistry, come to the LucasFilm program.” Volunteers help everywhere, as ushers, ticket booth operators for the Education Program, greeters, students workshop, or helping to facilitate Q&A. Keith’s favorite part of his job is seeing the engaged faces of kids experiencing film in the theater.
I also spoke with an administrator at Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco, Maria Jenerik. Maria was formerly a middle school teacher for 20 years. She has been working with SFFilm for many years, incorporating their resources into her curriculum. Maria loves working with Keith Zwolfer and finds the Education Program to be an immense influence and aide for her students to learn, with hands- on experience, working alongside some of the greatest professionals in the business! She strongly believes that utilizing film for education has vast proportions of effect, for youth of all ages. Maria said it was “amazing to augment the work they do at SFFilm!” Maria makes an art-integration project where students go into the studio and mix music, lighting, etc. Keith “read her mind” by having artists work with her students. Maria helps gets teachers tot eh festival and they “all love working with Keith,” she said. Maria has been on the panel with SFFilm to select films for a few years. Maria has submitted many grants and has purchased studio equipment, for students to get hands-on learning.
They also go do on-location shots and utilize a green screen. 7th and 8th graders get to choose their elective courses they take 3 days a week, (i.e. dance). Film is the core curriculum medium used for their humanities studies, including social studies and language arts. Maria is passionate a out this because documentaries and animation films that her students make is “making their learning visual; they learn teamwork, social skills, responsibilities, and knowledge of history and culture.”
There are 3 branches of the Education Program: Schools at the Festival, Resources for Educators and Year-Round programs. The Schools at the Festival program introduces students between the age of 6 and 18 to international film and the art of film-making. The year-round programs are numerous Education Programs, such as Screenings for Schools, Filmmakers in the Classroom, The Art and Science of LucasFilm, and Young Filmmakers Camp. Through the LucasFilm program, artists at the studio in the Presidio are able to see ways to incorporate art, math, science into film. Experts also speak at high schools. At schools, there are 15-20 screenings of foreign language films, which fulfills the social studies/humanities field. Last year the schools received a sponsorship to make the schools and festival free. Filmmakers visit classrooms to screen the film and have a Q&A session. The final branch of the educational programs are the resources for educators. There is an interactive Open Educational Resource for teaching media making and viewing in the classroom. FilmEd is an online community and toolkit for both educators and artists.
As someone who also enjoys going to see foreign films with my parents growing up, I am humbled to learn I live in a city as San Francisco, committing all they have to the Arts, especially film. Learning new cultures, languages, ideas of people through stories from afar, truly is a gift and a modern-era luxury of engaged learning to behold. It is one thing to read something from a book, or hear it explained by a teacher, but to actually experience cross-culturism through film is an experience that cannot be matched and cannot cease from inciting wonder through the minds of all ages.
By Chelsea Eiben
09/13/2017
The San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest running and first major international film festival in the Americas, born into existence in 1957 San Francisco, at the Metro Theater. Nearly 12 thousand people attended the 2 week festival, which was started by Irving "Bud" Levin. SFFilm’s 4 values are: film, filmmakers, audience and the San Francisco Bay area.
The Education Program was started by Bob Donn, a previous San Francisco High School teacher, in 1991, as a branch of SFFilm. The program brings education to youth and people of all ages together to learn and gain insight through the power of film, especially foreign film. Over 11,000 students and teachers are reached annually by the SFFilm Education Program. Cultural diversity is just one of the enriching factors of SFFilm’s influence in broadening the student’s knowledge in all fields, such as science, language and humanities.
When I spoke with Keith Zwolfer, the Associate Director of Education for SFFilm, I learned about the history of how the program began and about Keith himself. Keith has always been interested in the arts, especially as a tool for helping educate. Keith started directing the program in 2003, and the program became a year-round program in 2005. “We teach kids about the art of film-making,” said Keith. The program reaches ages Kindergarten to 12th grade, involving on-campus presentations, hands-on training and visits to studios like the LucasFilm studio in the Presidio. Keith explained how the Education Program gets it funding from grants (from foundations like the Hearst Foundation), donors, proceeds from ticketed events like awards showings, sponsors, (Wells Fargo, Google). SFFilm is the largest grant-giving body for narrative features in the country.
Keith actively spends his time emailing teachers, off an ever-growing list of active teachers. “We have been seeing the interest grow with the use of film,” Keith reported. The attendance has grown by 2,000 people in the from 2016 to 2016. 2017’s festival saw 7,000 people involved in the Education Program. The Youth-Made films program (children under 18 years old) has a “call for entries” and submissions come in from world-wide, as a “Youth Works” category in the film festival. This is the only free category of the festival. Three theaters screen for the Education Program films: Castro, SF MOMA, Children’s Creativity Museum. “There are so many connection points for many curriculums,” Keith mentioned in our interview. “For example, math-specific teachers, like Physics and Chemistry, come to the LucasFilm program.” Volunteers help everywhere, as ushers, ticket booth operators for the Education Program, greeters, students workshop, or helping to facilitate Q&A. Keith’s favorite part of his job is seeing the engaged faces of kids experiencing film in the theater.
I also spoke with an administrator at Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco, Maria Jenerik. Maria was formerly a middle school teacher for 20 years. She has been working with SFFilm for many years, incorporating their resources into her curriculum. Maria loves working with Keith Zwolfer and finds the Education Program to be an immense influence and aide for her students to learn, with hands- on experience, working alongside some of the greatest professionals in the business! She strongly believes that utilizing film for education has vast proportions of effect, for youth of all ages. Maria said it was “amazing to augment the work they do at SFFilm!” Maria makes an art-integration project where students go into the studio and mix music, lighting, etc. Keith “read her mind” by having artists work with her students. Maria helps gets teachers tot eh festival and they “all love working with Keith,” she said. Maria has been on the panel with SFFilm to select films for a few years. Maria has submitted many grants and has purchased studio equipment, for students to get hands-on learning.
They also go do on-location shots and utilize a green screen. 7th and 8th graders get to choose their elective courses they take 3 days a week, (i.e. dance). Film is the core curriculum medium used for their humanities studies, including social studies and language arts. Maria is passionate a out this because documentaries and animation films that her students make is “making their learning visual; they learn teamwork, social skills, responsibilities, and knowledge of history and culture.”
There are 3 branches of the Education Program: Schools at the Festival, Resources for Educators and Year-Round programs. The Schools at the Festival program introduces students between the age of 6 and 18 to international film and the art of film-making. The year-round programs are numerous Education Programs, such as Screenings for Schools, Filmmakers in the Classroom, The Art and Science of LucasFilm, and Young Filmmakers Camp. Through the LucasFilm program, artists at the studio in the Presidio are able to see ways to incorporate art, math, science into film. Experts also speak at high schools. At schools, there are 15-20 screenings of foreign language films, which fulfills the social studies/humanities field. Last year the schools received a sponsorship to make the schools and festival free. Filmmakers visit classrooms to screen the film and have a Q&A session. The final branch of the educational programs are the resources for educators. There is an interactive Open Educational Resource for teaching media making and viewing in the classroom. FilmEd is an online community and toolkit for both educators and artists.
As someone who also enjoys going to see foreign films with my parents growing up, I am humbled to learn I live in a city as San Francisco, committing all they have to the Arts, especially film. Learning new cultures, languages, ideas of people through stories from afar, truly is a gift and a modern-era luxury of engaged learning to behold. It is one thing to read something from a book, or hear it explained by a teacher, but to actually experience cross-culturism through film is an experience that cannot be matched and cannot cease from inciting wonder through the minds of all ages.
LBFE - Little Brothers and Friends of the Elderly
| lbfe_article.pdf |
Little Brothers and Friends of the Elderly, The Western Edition
By Chelsea Eiben
Apr 6, 2017
There is a local nonprofit organization in San Francisco that truly embraces the loving spirit of any season called Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, or LBFE.
The organization bridges an isolation gap that many elders unfortunately endure. There are 25,000 seniors over 65 years old living in isolation. This does not include homeless seniors. By 2030, that number is estimated to be 20 percent higher.
That is why it is so significant to know that Little Brothers exists in San Francisco. Towards the end of World War II, a French nobleman by the name of Armand Marquiset wanted to form a group to serve isolated and lonely elderly people who had lost their families in in the war. He called it, “Little Brothers of the Poor.”
“The greatest poverty,” Marquiset often said, “is the poverty of love” -- which was reflected in the motto “Flowers before Bread.” That organization came to the U.S. in 1959 and has also spread to nine other countries around the world. Seven states in the U.S. have Little Brothers chapters.
The impact of Little Brothers in San Francisco has been growing at a fast rate. They have 500 elders in their database and 200 elders who were actively served during 2016. More than 100 elders are paired with an ongoing friend, in which they go on outings to museums, shows or parks, and watch movies, play games, or anything that suits the wishes of the elders.
When I sat with the Executive Director Cathy Michalec and Program Manager Andrew Butler of the Little Brothers San Francisco chapter, I immediately got the sense that these two people were kind and committed to this cause. Both were all smiles and could not say enough good things about the organization and its mission.
When I first entered their office on Nob Hill, Michalec and Butler were buzzing away at their desks -- typing, answering phones, or meeting with volunteers. It was clear these two were passionately carrying out the mission of Little Brothers.
Michalec has a history of growing small nonprofits successfully. When I asked her why she liked Little Brothers, she said without hesitation, “The mission of the program.” Cathy loves the fact that the organization is volunteer-driven, small in size, and intergenerational, pairing youths with elders. However, there are also many elders who volunteer to be Friends of the Elders, with ages ranging between 18 and 72!
When I asked Butler why he liked working for the organization, he said he loved the community factor. He had spent years of his life in Panama, with the Peace Corps, and he learned to appreciate that culture of elders growing old while living with their families.
I also spoke with a local volunteer, “Katy” -- who has been volunteering with LBFE 3 1/2 years. She first became aware of the organization at a volunteer fair for students. She immediately took interest in their simple but essential cause. She joined and began doing monthly visits and going to LBFE parties. When she visited 82-year-old “Sandy” on her birthday, she knew she had met a friend for life.
Katy does not see this as work, but as a rewarding experience, saying that she feels that she gets more out of it than ever expected. According to her, both of them talk on the phone regularly, go on outings, and even went on a hot air balloon ride together.
It is clear that LBFE creates lifelong bonds between people and helps to restore love in the hearts of all ages. Funding is solely sourced from local donors — usually small families or volunteers. The number of volunteers fluctuates and their busiest times are during the holidays.
It is very easy and straightforward to become a volunteer. Simply go to the website at http:// littlebrotherssf.org/ and join up. Then you will receive an email from Butler -- who manages the volunteers — with calendar information of home visits, birthdays, and party dates from which you can select those in which you are interested.
Little Brothers and Friends of the Elderly offers a variety of methods to bond elders with friends, and hopefully this will grow to the extent that every elder now living in isolation will no longer be alone.
By Chelsea Eiben
Apr 6, 2017
There is a local nonprofit organization in San Francisco that truly embraces the loving spirit of any season called Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, or LBFE.
The organization bridges an isolation gap that many elders unfortunately endure. There are 25,000 seniors over 65 years old living in isolation. This does not include homeless seniors. By 2030, that number is estimated to be 20 percent higher.
That is why it is so significant to know that Little Brothers exists in San Francisco. Towards the end of World War II, a French nobleman by the name of Armand Marquiset wanted to form a group to serve isolated and lonely elderly people who had lost their families in in the war. He called it, “Little Brothers of the Poor.”
“The greatest poverty,” Marquiset often said, “is the poverty of love” -- which was reflected in the motto “Flowers before Bread.” That organization came to the U.S. in 1959 and has also spread to nine other countries around the world. Seven states in the U.S. have Little Brothers chapters.
The impact of Little Brothers in San Francisco has been growing at a fast rate. They have 500 elders in their database and 200 elders who were actively served during 2016. More than 100 elders are paired with an ongoing friend, in which they go on outings to museums, shows or parks, and watch movies, play games, or anything that suits the wishes of the elders.
When I sat with the Executive Director Cathy Michalec and Program Manager Andrew Butler of the Little Brothers San Francisco chapter, I immediately got the sense that these two people were kind and committed to this cause. Both were all smiles and could not say enough good things about the organization and its mission.
When I first entered their office on Nob Hill, Michalec and Butler were buzzing away at their desks -- typing, answering phones, or meeting with volunteers. It was clear these two were passionately carrying out the mission of Little Brothers.
Michalec has a history of growing small nonprofits successfully. When I asked her why she liked Little Brothers, she said without hesitation, “The mission of the program.” Cathy loves the fact that the organization is volunteer-driven, small in size, and intergenerational, pairing youths with elders. However, there are also many elders who volunteer to be Friends of the Elders, with ages ranging between 18 and 72!
When I asked Butler why he liked working for the organization, he said he loved the community factor. He had spent years of his life in Panama, with the Peace Corps, and he learned to appreciate that culture of elders growing old while living with their families.
I also spoke with a local volunteer, “Katy” -- who has been volunteering with LBFE 3 1/2 years. She first became aware of the organization at a volunteer fair for students. She immediately took interest in their simple but essential cause. She joined and began doing monthly visits and going to LBFE parties. When she visited 82-year-old “Sandy” on her birthday, she knew she had met a friend for life.
Katy does not see this as work, but as a rewarding experience, saying that she feels that she gets more out of it than ever expected. According to her, both of them talk on the phone regularly, go on outings, and even went on a hot air balloon ride together.
It is clear that LBFE creates lifelong bonds between people and helps to restore love in the hearts of all ages. Funding is solely sourced from local donors — usually small families or volunteers. The number of volunteers fluctuates and their busiest times are during the holidays.
It is very easy and straightforward to become a volunteer. Simply go to the website at http:// littlebrotherssf.org/ and join up. Then you will receive an email from Butler -- who manages the volunteers — with calendar information of home visits, birthdays, and party dates from which you can select those in which you are interested.
Little Brothers and Friends of the Elderly offers a variety of methods to bond elders with friends, and hopefully this will grow to the extent that every elder now living in isolation will no longer be alone.
Muttville
| muttville.pdf |
Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, The Western Edition
By Chelsea Eiben
October 10, 2018
When people think of rescuing animals, rarely do people gravitate
towards senior animals. Muttville Senior Dog Rescue takes that
paradigm and turns it on its head.
Beginning out of a residence in 2007, Muttville has become a nationally
recognized organization, laying the foundation for senior dog rescue.
This one-of-a-kind bay area organization takes in all abandoned senior
dogs and treats each one as if it were their own. Prior to Muttville, a bay
area senior dogs’ chances of finding human companions was dismal.
The founder, Sherri Franklin, made it her mission to let the bay area
know that senior dogs are desirable. Sherri is a longtime animal
advocate and volunteered with rescuing dogs regularly at different
animal shelters in the bay. Sherri noticed that senior dogs were not
getting rescued and were routinely euthanized. Sherri took it upon
herself to begin housing senior dogs that needed homes in 2007. In her
first year, she rescued 27 dogs, utilizing her own home as a shelter.
In 2011, the mayor of San Francisco declared May 10th as “Muttville
Senior Dog Rescue Day.” Muttville has received the highest ratings from
leading nonprofit watchdog organizations like Guidestar and Charity
Navigator. In 2012 senior dogs were finally able to be housed in a
facility next to the SFSPCA (San Francisco Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals.) In 2018, Muttville has become a nationally
recognized organization, averaging approximately 1 thousand senior
dogs rescued annually.
Speaking with Bunny Rosenberg, Muttville’s Volunteer and Foster Care
Manager, gave full scope of just how committed Muttville is to their
pups. In addition to managing the volunteers and foster care program,
Bunny also oversees their largest annual fundraiser, Prom. This is
exactly as it sounds - senior dogs dressed in Prom formal wear for all of
people to gaze upon.
Bunny began her path with Muttville as a volunteer in 2012. She saw a
car, a red VW Beetle, in the parking lot of her gym with a wrap about
adopting senior dogs. It stuck in her mind. She decided to speak with
the owner, Sherri Franklin. After that, Bunny adopted her first senior
dog - a 12 year old Chihuahua named “Hemmy.” Bunny never
imagined she would like a Chihuahua, let alone an elderly one.
However, after some encouragement from Sherri to at least meet with
Hemmy, Bunny was sold on adopting him. Bunny said volunteering at
Sherri’s house Sundays was the highlight of her week. After 2 years of
volunteering, Bunny was hired full-time for Muttville in 2014. In 2019,
Bunny is being promoted to Director of Community Engagement,
where she will continue to provide humane education with youth
summer camps, through a partnership with SFPCA. She will also
continue to grow the “seniors-for-seniors” program, aka Cuddle Club.
They work with other non-profits like Little Brothers and Friends of the
Elderly, here in San Francisco. Going to work feels like “Going to
Disneyland” for Bunny and she even enjoys going to Muttville on her
day’s off. Bunny currently has 2 senior dogs, a 14-year old named
“Small Fry” and an 18-year old pup named “Potato Chip.”
When interviewing the founder, Sherri Franklin, it was clear that the
person behind this unique organization has a heart of gold. Sherri
wasn’t sure in the beginning if her vision would be successful. Volunteers
helped get the organization to where it needed to be. Muttville’s goals
are, and will continue to always be, about saving dogs. Their other
current goals are to increase community outreach: pairing isolated senior
citizens with senior dogs, called “Cuddle Club.” Seniors have a field trip
from different senior homes in the bay to Muttville and engage with the
dogs. Muttville’s second goal is to continue to grow humane education
with youth, teaching humane empathy. Their third goal is to buy a
facility that they can call their permanent “Forever Home” in San
Francisco, since they have been renting the facility they are currently
residing in next to the SFSPCA.
The current Muttville facility has turned their upstairs into a veterinary
suite. Sherri said that it is her hope to help educate more organizations
to do what Muttville does, like provide hospice care and spread the
model of cage-free environment to let dogs bond and connect with other
dogs. Sherri’s home has been the “Hospice House” for dogs recouping
from surgery or who are too elderly to be in the Muttville house.
Muttville’s funding is oriented around 95% private donations. They only
get 5% funding from grants or larger foundations. They do not get any
government or city funding. For the 1st year all of the staff, including
Sherri, were unpaid volunteers. In the 5th year Muttville finally
obtained funding and was able to staff employees. Muttville currently
has 19 employees including their full-time on-staff veterinarian. They
also rely heavily on their 300 volunteers in the bay area and 100 active
foster families. The volunteers are at the facility daily, doing a variety of
help, from tending to the dogs to fostering. Muttville is being used as a
model for other organizations, including their hospice program and their
foster families adopting off-site. Muttville has drafted a manual to
provide to shelters, outlining the foster to adopt method.
Muttville is 100% committed to their dogs and the proof is in the energy
they display at their facility and in their adoption statistics as presented
throughout their social media.
To become a volunteer, visit www.Muttville.com.
