Dear Friends,

Bayview Mission Food Pantry celebrated its Fourth Anniversary at the beginning of July 2008. The number of grocery/fresh produce brown bags distributed, each Monday, to needy Bayview families has grown from 18, when our doors first opened in July, 2004, to well over 325 four years later. Over the years we have added bags specifically to cater to the needs of infants, children and the homeless. The items included are often luxuries families can ill afford. On average each week we provide 65 children's bags including crayons, construction paper, children's scissors, juice, a healthy snack along with a candy bar, socks, fun soaps, and tooth brushes. When we have them on hand we also include a small toy, game or craft item. In addition, children can pick out books each week to take home to start their very own library. Once a month, for mothers, we provide approximately 40 infant bags including diapers, wipes, infant formula, baby clothes, socks and underwear, and a soft toy.

At Bayview Mission, volunteers reach out to the community in numerous ways including conversation, check-ins and, at times, prayer. In 2007 our dedicated volunteers clocked in over 2000 hours, handed out over 13,000 bags to people in our community. Our volunteers have been called upon to receive people at Christ's doors in numerous ways by assisting with receptions at funerals, offering counsel, and providing playtime with the children.

At Halloween for the past three years we have provided free costumes to over 150 children and youth who were able to come to the food pantry. Many thanks to Cathedral School for Boys, The Bay School of San Francisco, the Grace Cathedral community, Presidio YMCA and many other friends and organizations for your wonderful support.

Last year held a Christmas party for the residents of Bayview at their very own Opera House. We hope to do the same this December 20th. We will need lots of help beforehand wrapping toys and sorting gifts.

Whom do we serve?
We feed low-income workers, parents and kids, the elderly and the homeless. Any resident of Bayview is welcome at the Food Pantry without exception. (Proof of identification may be required).

Would you like to be part of our wonderful community? Here are just a few ways you can help:

• come and volunteer; drop in any Monday between 10am and 3pm to help fill our bags for that day, or join us for our monthly work parties usually on the fourth Sunday from 2pm - 4pm (check the website calendar to be sure we're open).
• We need extra help on Monday, November 24th when we'll be providing groceries for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please stop by any time between 10am and 3pm if you can lend a hand.
• We'll also need lots of help to prepare for the Bayview Christmas Party scheduled for December 20th. Please check the website for specific work party dates coming up in both November and December.

• new white socks for adults, children & infants
• diapers, infant formula, baby food, baby wipes, disposable baby bibs, new soft infant toys
• infants' & children's underwear
• dental supplies, toiletries, children's soaps
• art supplies (crayons/pencils/mini-paints/construction paper)
• back to school supplies (spiral notebooks, pens, scratch pads, etc)
• small soft toys for the children's bags/educational toys/bubble blowing/mini-playdoh
• young children's books (age pre-K to 11)
• small 100% juice cartons for the children's bags
• rolling shelves for the library
• rolling metal storage shelves for our seasonal programs
• Note: $3.50 buys groceries for one hungry family each week.

Bayview Mission Greeting Cards
Please consider purchasing one or more Flowers of the Bayview note cards available today at The Shop at Grace Cathedral.Each card features a photo of a flower grown in the Bayview Mission's garden, including roses, peonies and California poppies. Proceeds from the sale of just one card will provide a child with one pair of socks; two books; healthy snacks; clean water; crayons and craft paper for a week. The beautiful cards are $3.50 each or $13 for a package of four. Click here to purchase from The Shop.

We appreciate your support and look forward to furthering our ministry with the communities of Bayview/Hunters Point.

Updated November 1, 2008

When The Rev. Nina Pickerrell moved into the house her grandparents had purchased in the 1950's, she began making big changes. She cleaned up the yard and replanted the vegetable garden to give the neighborhood children a safe place to play. She cleared the clutter from the garage in order to set up a food pantry that now serves over 300 families every Monday. She tidied up the old garden room in the basement to house a children's library that includes over 2000 books. The next project is the renovation of the barn. It's the future location of the worship space for The Bayview Mission, a ministry of Grace Cathedral that is supported by The Episcopal Diocese of California and nearby parish St. Gregory of Nyssa.

Within a few years, The Rev. Pickerrell has transformed her family home into an outreach center in one of the most marginalized neighborhoods in San Francisco. The combination of gang activity, unemployment, drug-related crime, and industrial waste have been slowly grinding away at the residents of a once prosperous Bayview-Hunters Point.

The Rev. Pickerrell says the hardest thing for her to understand, at first, was that she needed to gain the trust of her neighbors. "I tried to do this seven years ago, and failed. Failed miserably. I had wanted to create a day-care center, and I didn't connect to the people in the neighborhood. I just moved in and tried to set up shop. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. There were two robberies that occurred on my property. They stole children's toys, furniture, and clothing. So I walked away from the house and any idea of doing something in that house."

Now, she says, her relationship to the people in her community is different because her intention is different. "Before, I came in thinking I was going to do something for them. This time I went in slowly, hiring homeless men from the neighborhood to help with the initial clean-up of the house. I made improvements, and showed pride in the home. And then I planted the pumpkin patch."

Children came from the surrounding blocks to pick out their very own pumpkin. This was anything but trivial for the children of Bayview. "These are children for whom traveling off their block can mean crossing gang territory. This was the first time any of them had ever had a pumpkin for Halloween. These are children who do not know that there is enough paper for them to draw on, or colored pencils, or crayons. For these kids, there is never enough. And this pumpkin patch is just for them."

For children growing up under a dark cloud of lack and despair, the rainbow inside the Crayola box is deeply meaningful. The impact of the Bayview Mission's food pantry, community garden, and free library may be in the bringing of hope and abundance to those who have only known want and isolation. Wanting to connect the Grace Cathedral community with that of Bayview-Hunters Point, The Rev. Pickerrell had a plan. "We tried to bring kids from the Mission and other minority parishes to Vacation Bible School at Grace Cathedral," she says, "and we got no response". But because of our work in Bayview these past few years, there's trust in the community. In the summer of 2005 Bee Busy, a Vacation Bible School summer camp, was born. Our goal to bring the children from Grace Cathedral kids and the children from Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood together has been realized. Many of the teens from Grace Cathedral who have already volunteered at Bayview Mission have had great experiences volunteering at the Bee Busy summer camp. Since establishing the summer camp in 2005, our friends in the community look forward to bringing their children for an educational and fun filled two week experience.

To find out how you can get involved with Bayview Mission, please contact the Rev. Nina Pickerrell at 415/285.0846 or bayviewmission@diocal.org.

Bayview Mission, an outreach to the Bayview community, founded by the Rev. Nina Pickerrell, operates a food pantry every Monday. This food pantry provides groceries, including fresh produce, to a community whose resources are few and whose neighborhood access to fresh fruits and vegetables is compromised. Volunteers are needed to prepare bags of groceries and to assist in handing them out.

We will be closed on Monday, March 24, 2008 for a cathedral holiday, Easter Monday. We are also closed for all major holidays.

For more information please contact the Rev. Nina Pickerrell at 415/285.0846 or bayviewmission@diocal.org.

Sundays at Bayview Mission 2008

The Mission will open one Sunday afternoon each month to allow participation by neighbors and volunteers. In addition to gardening, working in the library and other activities, work will be done in the food pantry to prepare for the following day's Food Bank distribution. Note: Most work party dates fall on the last Sunday of the month from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

Important Dates for Volunteers for the Remainder of 2008:

Sunday, November 16: Grace Cathedral Coffee Hour Hosted by Bayview Mission Volunteers - Gresham Hall immediately following the 11am Service
Sunday, November 16: Bayview Mission Volunteer Work Party - Bayview Mission 2pm - 4pm
Monday, November 24: Bayview Mission Food Pantry Thanksgiving Distribution - Bayview Mission 10am - 3pm
Friday, December 19: Final Preparations for Bayview Christmas Party - (contact Rev. Nina for times and location)
Saturday, December 20: Bayview Christmas Party - Volunteers Needed 10am - 3pm (contact Rev. Nina for location)
Monday, December 22: Bayview Mission Food Pantry Christmas Distribution - Bayview Mission 10am - 3pm
Monday, December 29: Closed for Volunteer Holiday
Monday, January 5: Bayview Mission Food Pantry - Bayview Mission 10am - 3pm

For more information please contact the Rev. Nina Pickerrell at 415/285.0846 or bayviewmission@diocal.org.