The Ways in Which We Engage with Our City

In keeping with our testimony of the 2022–2023 school year—stewardship—San Francisco Friends School has jumped into the fall focused on community engagement and connection. With COVID restrictions lifting, SFFS students, faculty, and staff have eagerly renewed established partnerships with numerous community organizations, while also forging new ones. Read on for some examples of how we are partnering with our Mission District and San Francisco neighbors.

Refuse Refuse: This relatively new community group is focused on keeping SF streets clean, with regular neighborhood

trash pick-ups taking place from The Marina to The Haight. The faculty and staff of SFFS kicked off their opening meetings in August with a group clean-up of the blocks surrounding our Valencia Street campus, and Middle School advisory groups and buddy groups (including the 3rd and 7th Grade Buddies seen in the photo to the upper right) continue to head out in the community regularly with their trusty trash-pickers and bright orange trash bags. Additionally, Director of Community Engagement Guybe Slangen and Director of Collaborative Curriculum Jennifer Stuart are working with Refuse Refuse founder Vince Yuen to create a unit that can be used by schools around the city focused on waste removal, local government, and civic engagement.

Creativity Explored: This local nonprofit collective helps adults with developmental disabilities to pursue successful and fulfilling careers as artists. The Creativity Explored studio now represents 130 artists, who have seen

their work sold and exhibited widely in museums, galleries, and art fairs. Our 7th and 8th Grade students visited the art center this fall, and have  welcomed Creativity Explored artists to our campus, as well, where they created together in our studios and bonded over their shared love of art.

The Gubbio Project: A longtime partner with our school, The Gubbio Project has reopened its doors to our unhoused neighbors in San Francisco, giving people a safe place to sleep, grab a meal, and recharge within a warm and caring environment. In support of this organization’s mission, our 8th-Graders, faculty, and staff have returned to its location at St. John the Evangelist Church throughout the fall to clean sleeping mats, wash dishes, and help Gubbio Project employees and volunteers put together hygiene kits for clients with essential items like socks, soap, and deodorant. This is a treasured partnership that, like so many, we envision lasting for many years to come. •

––––––––––

Many thanks to our SFFS parents Maren Caruso P ‘20 & ‘25 and Rachel Levin P ‘23 & ‘26, who have spent this fall documenting the community partnerships our school is building in San Francisco.