The group awoke in the early hours of the morn. After enjoying a delicious breakfast of bagels and juice we headed for our first destination, Project Open Hand. We made the twenty minute trek through the infamous Tenderloin district of the city. “The Tenderloin” is known for its dense homeless population, widespread drug use, and high rate of HIV/AIDS infections. While we have encountered many homeless individuals panhandling along the streets of San Francisco thus far, walking through the Tenderloin area was a completely different experience. It was the type of thing you had to see yourself to completely understand. We passed by a block-long line of people waiting to receive their morning meal at the Glide Memorial Church. As we continued we witnessed countless people huddled up under blankets along the sides of buildings. What was most shocking for me was a man we passed curled up in the middle of the sidewalk, getting his daily fix, either unaware or unconcerned with his surroundings.
Upon reaching Project Open Hand we were greeted by Erica, the extremely fun and bubbly volunteer coordinator. Erica explained to us Project Open Hand’s mission of supplying nutritious food to those individual’s diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer. After our tour, we spent the first hour and a half stocking and facing food. When 11 o’clock rolled around, a few of us were able to aid in the shopping. You see, the way Project Open Hand operates is actually quite interesting. The clients come in once a week and are given a menu. On the menu they are allowed to choose a set number of items (i.e. 3 meats, 6 produce, 2 dairy etc.). After the clients chose their items, the shoppers grab them and package them up for the clients. This allowed us to not only better understand how the program works, but to get some hands-on experience with the clients. Personally, I found the organization to be a wonderful environment and a very interesting and creative solution to the issue of getting proper nutrition to those in need. I also very much enjoyed Project Open Hand’s extreme eco-friendliness, with signs around every corner encouraging environmental awareness, as well as strategically place compost bins :D .
After Project Open Hand, the group made our way to Alcatraz (with a coffee stop along the way - turns out a few of us on the trip are extremely java-dependent). Alcatraz was a really fun and educational experience. The island is absolutely gorgeous and many a photograph was taken. Most of us went on the audio tour through the penitentiary where we learned about Alcatraz’s famous inmates, including Al Capone, as well as the historical break-out attempt. Some of us were even lucky enough to be shoved into a pitch black solitary confinement chamber! It was a pretty sweet deal.
At around 4:30, the group boarded the ferry back to the mainland and booked it to the San Francisco Food Bank. We worked at the food bank from 6 – 8, filling 1 pound bags of rice with approximately 20 other volunteers. I worked across from an older man who is originally from Nebraska. We spent much of our shift discussing good old mid-western hospitality! After the food bank we headed back to the hostel. The gang ordered pizza while Dom and I and our crazy vegetarianism went to subway. Now here I am, sitting in the hostel room with Alex, Bailey, a sleeping Dominique, and R-dawg (aka Roger) about ready to catch some shut eye before dia numero seis de San Francisco!
- Corrie
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