Staff can be helpful. But as I see it, something is not right, perhaps starting with management…read more No one is in office. It's dark. Everyone works from home and take Fridays off. Why are they paying rent? SFPA got a grant to beautify their alley at Folsom. Since no one is there, the planted areas are full of weeds and there is a lot of trash. Since no one there, mail piles up and doesn't get timely responses.

SF Parks Alliance staff care deeply about San Francisco and the future of its parks and public…read morespaces. Their work has impacted every corner of the city, and I know that my neighborhood is better off because of the new playgrounds, public art and park renovation projects that they have supported. Not to mention, their annual traveling movie night series - Sundown Cinema - is fantastic! I'm hoping they're able to bring this series back in a post-pandemic world... San Francisco could definitely use the extra joy and light it brings.

You know you want to volunteer. You know when someone asks you what you did this weekend, it would…read morebe cool to say, "I helped pack meals for the homebound for Project Open Hand" or "I helped with some cleanup at Literacy for Environmental Justice". But you don't feel like you have enough time. Hands On Bay Area is such a cool vehicle for volunteering without commitment. Sign up, show up, do your 2-3 hours and go home. And if you find a project you really love, you can volunteer every month (most are recurring) or contact the agency to become a regular volunteer. I do wish they had more things I could do with my very young girls. I want to raise them to enjoy volunteering, and most of these projects only welcome older children. But we did do a "With Seniors" visit and a good time was had by all. Our new elderly friend Dorothy really connected with my 5 year old daughter. Meet great people, give back to the community, have fun doing it.

**************** REVIEW 427 ******************…read more I've been with Hands on Bay Area when it was Community Impact in Mountain View in 1999. Hands on Bay Area offer volunteers many options of the volunteer opportunities that match their interests, such as: - Adult education and literacy, - Animal support, - Children & youth (- Enrichment and recreations, tutoring, etc) - Community enrichment, - Environment, - Heath & wellness, - Homelessness and Hungers, You can choose from location different counties such as: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marine, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, & Santa Clara Counties! HOBA has a great website, that user friendly, you can RSVP your project that fits you & they email you the info and also reminder for you! You don't need any skill to volunteer! Hands on Bay Area website makes it really easy to do it & if you are new, they will make you go to an orientation, but it's easy & you get to meet many wonderful hearts just like yourself! So lend a hand, make a different in your community!

Every member, faculty and staff here is nice, except for one terrible staff, Jay. I used the…read moreprinter once, and he thought I was wasting ink (Although this rule is not written in the lease, agreement, contract, or posted notice) so kicked me out. my course certificate (which I spent $100 just to qualify for 3D printing) here became worthless. After I was kicked out, they refused to refund my membership fee and locker fee, but continued to charge me monthly rent and locker fees until I updated my credit card. And they refused to accept all of my emails, even though they were very important to me.

Tried to take a tour of this place with my husband and kids, only for the receptionist/front desk…read morelady tell us that there's no kids allowed inside. If that was the case, then why put this on your website in your FAQs?? My oldest is 13 so it should be ok for him to look around. Though with my youngest being 7 and will be supervised by me, she's still not able to get in as well? Either word your policy better or put it under the tours question that no kids aren't allowed. Wasted our time there.

We went to SF Made this weekend @ Fort Mason to get some stocking fillers and I wish this would've…read morebeen earlier so I would've got some actual gifts. I'm on this supporting community kick and I LOVEd LOVEd and LOVEd this event. It opened my eyes to so many places in the city. I don't know where to start but let me give some shout outs. SFMade staff - Don't change a thing you guys are awesome but think early holiday season next year. Weston Wear - So elegantly cute and sassy. Nosh This - Salty Lemon Caramel has just become my next BIG DEAL! Tcho - Loved your chocolates but get your credit card game going. Everyone accepts ccards. Still see you soon. Heliotrope - My shaving game will never be the same. Aveda who?! Earthbody - You just became the #1 gift spot for all the women in my life. You're a one shop spot for my mom, grandmother, aunt, gf and friends. Kika's Treats - Yeah I would change your name from Kika's Treats to Kika's Rewards that is some yummy stuff. Booty Boutique - Hellloooo is it me your making custom buckles for? Probably made the biggest splash on me with those absolutely sick (in a good way) belt buckle designs. I will be visiting your boutique very very soon with b-days right around the corner. Great job SFMade just makes me love San Francisco even more.

We were at the first SF Made holiday gift Fair, and were happy to be at the recent one…read more This is a great organization, and Im', happy to see the amazing growth they've had. The items sold at the gift fair are unique, high quality and (of course) made and manufactured in SF. There are some very small vendors selling , as well as neighborhood business that fit the bill. Once again, we were able to do a bit of our holiday shopping here. There's such a great variety of items, it's hard to narrow down what to buy. Loved it, and can't wait to come back next year!

Have you ever thought of giving yourself the gift of "Humility?"…read more In a society overrun by materialism, we often forget about those who lack the basic necessities just to survive on a daily basis. I will admit that I use to be one of those offenders, you know the ones who see a homeless/less fortunate person and say, "Awwww, I feel sorry for him/her..." then turn a blind eye. As obvious as it may seem (yet we tend to ignore), feeling sorry for someone isn't going to help them unless you proactively help to change the situation. One day, I had an epiphany and felt like something was missing in my life. This is where One Brick came into my life to help fill in the gap. I've wanted to volunteer for a while now but with a busy work and social schedule, I couldn't commit for 6 months and 3-4 hours a week like many organizations require. After searching on Yelp, I came across One Brick, a non-profit organization that makes volunteering easy with NO long-term commitment. (Thanks, Sam T. for giving me more insight about One Brick and making my decision much easier!) SIGNING UP FOR A VOLUNTEERING EVENT 1) Create a One Brick account, which takes less than 2 minutes. 2) Go to the Calendar and choose from a number of volunteering opportunities: prepping supplies, food repackaging, food distribution, park clean-ups and gardening are among some of the examples. Each event has a description of what you will be doing and what to wear (*ahem* Ladies, NO stilettos! Lol!). 3) Once you find an event that tickles your fancy, you RSVP on the website. You can set a reminder to be emailed to you up to 7 days before the event. If you can't attend, you can always cancel. 4) Most events last for 2-3 hours with an option to go to lunch or dinner with other volunteers afterwards. MY VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE It's been a month since joining One Brick and so far I've volunteered at two events (with more to come): *Food Distribution to Families at the Mission Bay Community Church: http://ecfoodpantry.missionbaycc.org/. *Supply Prep for the Homeless At The Crossroads: http://atthecrossroads.org/. Before starting each event, you check-in with a volunteer manager(s), get a name tag and there is a short intro of the organization, as well as, the other volunteers. I love that the managers explains HOW your individual efforts contributes to the overall efforts of the organization and HOW it will help those individuals/families in need. They even provide drinks and snacks for the volunteers! Thus far, none of the work was strenuous by any means. For the food distribution, we had to open boxes, organize, and hand out food items (e.g. rice, soup, veggies, etc.) to Excelsior families in need. And, for the supply prep, there were 5 stations: candy packing, toiletry packing, folding scarves, hanging up coats and sweaters and cleaning supplies. On a first come basis, you get to choose what station you want to work at (I choose to pack candy). The managers and all the other volunteers are very friendly and take the initiative to get to know you. Being able to socialize while performing our tasks made the time fly by quickly. In addition, it was refreshing to socialize with people out of work and the nightlife scene. With only two volunteer events under my belt, it has been a very humbling experience to say the least. To see those who are less fortunate and the smile you put on their faces has truly been life changing. Although physical gifts are nice, nothing exceeds the intrinsic reward you get when you know YOU are making a difference in HUMAN LIVES! I can't say enough, how I HIGHLY recommend One Brick as an avenue to begin volunteer work. In just 2-3 hours of your time, you can improve the quality of life for others, extend your social network and give yourself the gift of a humble heart. Without the help of volunteers, One Brick and other organizations would NOT be able to do what they do. So, as we are approaching a new year, why not start it off right by GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ONE DAY AT A TIME...all that's required is a SMILE and a HELPING HAND! :)

My Fellow Chicagoans may not know too much about One Brick. I met some One Brickers while…read morevolunteering to clean up Humboldt Park on Earth Day and they seemed like a nice friendly lot. Plus, they went for food and drinks afterward and invited me along, it's like Yelp +Volunteering! So it seems a perfect match to push their cause here. It took me a while to volunteer after that initial meet, but it was so easy! You can sign up on their email list and register directly from there or go to their website and do it. My event last week was cooking for the Lincoln Park Community Shelter. One Brick brought about 12 people together that chipped in for the food, the organizer made up the menu and brought the groceries and put us to work! I had no idea I could fry up 30 breasts of chicken in an hour but call me Mel I guess! "Order up Dingbat!" The volunteers did range from the experienced (100+ events done) to the novice (me and another), but we were made to feel welcomed and there was no snobbery or lack of getting to know people. There's such a variety of volunteer opportunities and you can sign up whenever you want and not feel pressured.There are also Social Events (hello Yelpers) where One Brickers meet to drink and socialize and perhaps rally around a cause like bringing school supplies for needy kids. I'll definitely volunteer with them again. (Getting down from my Soap Box now so you may climb up!)

So impressed by the compassionate treatment of residents here. Truly amazing work on a shoestring…read morebudget.

I love Raphael House! I used to know it well. The brothers and the sisters there are wonderful…read more The food was fantastic. It's been a long time since I've seen it. I would love to visit again~ soon!

A well-established Palo Alto environmental nonprofit, with many projects underway, most notably the…read morehabitat restoration and stewardship project on Arastradero Preserve, a collaborative effort with the City of Palo Alto that has been going on for 10 years. Visit their website to learn about their many other projects, which change periodically as Acterra responds to changing conditions and priorities. Props go to Acterra for Arastradero, the Business Environmental Awards, and their ongoing fiscal sponsorship program, which has nurtured many powerful, high-impact local environmental startup groups over the last 20 years. Occasionally, however, they seem to experiment with rather slow-moving in-house programs that generate fanfare and consume funding but are light on delivering results. This, I find, is not a judicious use of public-benefit funds. In all fairness, of course, not all projects succeed, and some experiments are worthwhile; nevertheless, some recent projects such as the "Green@Home" initiative (which sends "tiger teams" of three people to "green" a single household by installing CFL bulbs and whatnot) just seem outright goofy from a cost-benefit perspective. Because of this recent trend towards slow, expensive 'wonderfulness" in preference to rapid, tangible achievements, I suspect they would benefit from some fresh blood and fresh perspectives somewhere in the upper echelons of the organization--board or management. On balance, though, this 30-year-old outfit is doing a great job of pursuing its primary mission of "acting locally" for the good of the environment, and has enriched the lives of many, many local people who have volunteered with Acterra's projects or attended its events.

I attended my first Acterra Business Environmental Awards last week and came away from it feeling…read moreso uplifted and inspired. This event draws much-needed attention to businesses that promote sustainability, creating a strong community of learning, support, and mutual inspiration. Their other projects are also so cool and seem to fly under the radar; right now they are working to convert people to driving electric cars as well as installing free solar panels on the homes of low-income Bay Area residents to lower their energy bills. If you are able to volunteer with them or donate, I really recommend it!

Volunteered here a while back through Hands on Bay Area. This was a really great project b/c we…read morewere so busy the whole time. I love it when I feel like I've worked and done a ton when I volunteer and hate it when I'm standing around waiting for stuff to do. My friend and I got there about 10 minutes late and already saw the line of people waiting for the store to open wrapped around the building. When we walked it, things were already in full motion. We jumped right in and started breaking down ginormo bags of onions into smaller bags and then shortly after that moved on to the carrots. As we got closer to the store opening time we got recruited to man the "canned station". We were responsible for canned veggies, "special" canned goods (mostly chili really), and the peanut butter (which was rejected about 50% of the time - I guess it's a cultural thing). We helped "shoppers" with this section and it was cool to interact and help everyone. Another thing to mention is the closing process. I guess there are a group of kids like high school age that volunteer regularly there. They are machines when it comes to cleaning up! Once the store is closed everyone tidied up, swept the floor, moved garbage outside, all without being asked. Those kids were amazing. Definitely a great project - you are busy, you see the people you are helping, and you work with some awesome people.

hey, its not too late to get a flu shot!…read more just sayin...its better to be SAFE than sorry or in the hospital! I know you all see people sneezing/coughing without covering their mouth! be vigilent and proactive!