Bayview residents on "Why I contribute"

Gatherings of people who live, work and play in Bayview are common near the Quesada Gardens. The gathering pictured occurred on MLK Day 2009.

At Quesada Gardens Initiative's December 2010 meeting, at a home alongside the first garden in what is now a network of projects that involves hundreds of people throughout the heart of San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, involved residents talked about why they got involved ... and why they stay connected.

One highly-involved student liaison from University of San Francisco, and a diverse collection of thirteen Bayview residents spoke. Participating residents' ages ranged from four to seventy, were both renters and home owners, new arrivals and folks who have been in Bayview for generations. Here is what they had to say:

QGI is a model of what Bayview can be. It’s about progress.

It’s easy to support QGI. There are so many ways to help.

A contribution from community members to QGI is like giving money to ourselves. The benefit is direct.

The garden itself draws new people to the community. The garden is its own best advertising.

I volunteer with other nonprofits, but like QGI because it is local, and it gives me a place to share my talents.

Because Annette is so lovable!

QGI breeds sociability.

QGI is a good model of grassroots community-building.

We can shape the community here, whereas other neighborhoods are shaped for us.

When people live at Quesada Gardens, they can still define their own community…unlike other neighborhoods.

We include everyone. Everyone has a say. We all have respect for one another, and everything we do is transparent.

It’s about tolerance and respect.

QGI is “the commons.”

I still feel like I’m free here.

All are accepted, all are forgiven.

QGI is people sticking together and working toward a safe place to be.

QGI is a group of people who have brought together their good intention. The people who make it all happen are really special.

Neighbors coming through feel more secure because we’re out and about. We used to do the neighborhood watch-style of organizing on the block, but it never really went anywhere. Now we are actually out on the street instead of just watching out our windows.

QGI teaches by example. At USF, service-learners often report that they learned more about social justice and grassroots power from QGI than other community partners.

QGI keeps it real in a neighborhood that is one of San Francisco’s last places for people who aren’t rich.

You can give these folks who spend their time and resources to build community another reason to stay involved: Because supporters know we're here and care enough to contribute.

Free solar installations for BVHP residents

GRID Alternatives has installed 270 energy units for elder homeowners, lower-income residents, persons with disabilities and others in just seven years. Now the organization wants to install one in your Bayview Hunters Point home. It’s free and surprisingly easy.

It may seem too good to be true, but Bayview residents have already taken advantage of this amazing program, are saving from 50 to 75 percent on their electric bills, and have increased the value of their homes.

GRID Alternatives’ professionals provide the system design and engineering, obtain building permits, procure equipment, prepare and submit rebate and utility interconnection paperwork, and provide an industry-standard 10-year labor warranty.

For more information, contact Outreach Coordinator and Bayview resident Leah Pimentel by email or at 510.550.8535 x333.

Recognition fuels community-building

Heidi Hardin's Jefferson Award is well-deserved.  It recognizes Heidi for decades of commitment to good works. It may also prove valuable beyond simple recognition.

Awards like this one boost awareness about important issues, draw contributors to worthy projects, and keep community-builders committed to the work.

The Quesada Gardens Initiative is a good example. Co-Founding gardeners, Karl Paige and Annette Smith won Jefferson Awards and other acknowledgments in the early days of the project, drawing funding leads and public awareness that have helped to grow the work ever since.

As the organization began to win awards, such as those from San Francisco
Beautiful and Crissy Field/Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, resident leaders came to understand how nice it is to be celebrated ... and how important it is. Involved individuals seemed re-energized, and often deepened their commitment to the work.

Those experiences, in part, led the Quesada Gardens group to establish a "Thank You Committee," a sub-committee of its Board of Directors that held as its sole responsibility saying "thank you" to the many individuals and groups that contribute to Quesada Gardens.

The spirit of acknowledgment is now a part of the organizational culture, and can be seen in everything the group does. For instance, a memorial to the founders (pictured), a beautifully landscaped vista above the main Quesada Garden, is a permanent and "green" thank you.

Heidi Hardin acknowledged

Heidi Hardin, a Bayview Footprints Co-Founder and the heart behind Think Round Inc., is Bayview’s newest recipient of a Jefferson Award for Public Service for her work using art to educate Bayview Hunters Point’s children about the environment and the importance of family and community.

A video featuring several students from Willie Brown Academy who have participated in a ceramic tile project can be seen on CBS 5's website.

Heidi put down roots in Bayview Hunters Point as a Shipyard Artist, and has worked with hundreds of the community’s children through arts programming she has been developing since 1991. She also served on the Shipyard Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) from 1991 to 2003, and as a Commissioner of the Southeast Community Facility Commission from 1999 to 2003.

When asked how she felt about her award, Heidi responded characteristically: “I consider it ours. It especially belongs to the many children and their families, teachers and principals, nonprofits, community centers, senior facilities, community service committees and commissions that have been such an important part of my work.”

Congratulations Heidi Hardin…and thank you!

Pictured: Heidi at a 2008 Bayview Footprints "First Thursday" event at the Roadhouse Cafe on 3rd Street.