Volunteer Symposium
By Bob Barnwell

On May 19th a Volunteer Symposium was held at Le Colonial in San Francisco. This event was sponsored by Citizen Hope, the New Leaders Council, Democrats Work, the Good OL’ Girls, and chaired by the San Francisco Young Democrats (SFYD). Hayes Valley and the Western Addition were well represented by 3 groups among the 10 spaces available at the symposium. Mo Magic Foundation, The Koshland Garden, and Opportunity Impact had tables for volunteers to come up to and offer help. Other groups included San Francisco Food Bank, St Anthony’s Foundation, San Francisco Boys and Girls Clubs, and Stern Grove Festival association. Proceeds from the event went to the Food Bank.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty had Maxwell Szabo of the SFYD get in touch with Hayes Valley volunteer Bob Barnwell, representing the Castro Lions. Since the Castro Lions are a membership organization, Barnwell gave Maxwell the names of local groups who need volunteer help. The Western Addition and Hayes Valley have a number of groups that need volunteer help, and many were contacted. This was the first opportunity to work with groups such as the SFYD. We hope HVNA can be partners with SFYD on future projects and events.