South San Francisco, CA November 24, 2015 by Donn Fentanes
91¢ of every dollar donated provides food and shelter for Pacificans struggling to make ends meet.
These words are as true as they were four years ago. Marina and her crew continue to work tirelessly for those in need in our community. THANK YOU!!
November 2011
Three and a half years ago, I returned to Pacifica from the East Bay. I lived there for 15 years, and had hoped to finish raising my kids over there.
However, circumstances drove me from my home to return to the area where I was raised. Most of my family lives on this side of the Bay. Once I got my children situated in school over here, I thought it would be a breeze getting a job. This was in the fall of 2008. After three dozen resumes, I still was jobless and was forced to find some assistance.
I don’t remember how I heard about the Pacifica Resource Center, but I went there feeling very defeated and hopeless. I always tried my best to take care of my bills and my family’s needs on my own. But now I was in a situation where I needed outside help. I tried to put off getting assistance because I could do it on my own, right? Well, not always, and not at this time.
I met with Marina at the Pacifica Resource Center and she signed me up for Second Harvest. She, in her sympathetic and understanding way, helped me with some groceries and informed me of other programs throughout the county. However, there were things that Marina failed to do. She failed to pass judgment, act smugly, or look down on my circumstances. She was very compassionate and caring. For that I will always be grateful.
The Resource Center helped when my children went back to school the following fall. They helped with backpacks, school supplies and gift cards for necessary clothing items. They helped with extra Thanksgiving food boxes, and they have a special Holiday Gift program also.
During this time of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for not only the help my family has received from the Pacifica Resource Center, but the intangibles too. I am thankful for their kindness, their thoughtfulness and their genuine concern for me and my family’s well-being. Marina has always greeted me with a smile, and is always enthusiastic about my family’s progress.
For those who give to charitable organizations at this time of year and you are undecided to which you should give your money, I would like to suggest the Pacifica Resource Center. During these hard economic times, the Resource Center is greatly needed and is a haven for those of us who need more than staples.
Kindness, thoughtfulness and hope are all commodities we need and happily they are without an expiration date. I am glad I have a kind and resourceful friend in Marina and the Pacifica Resource Center.
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About Donna Fentanes
I am a mom of 10 kids living in Northern California. The name of my blog, “From the Shoe”, is swiped from Cheaper By The Dozen’s Lillian Gilbreth’s summer newsletter. The “shoe” reference is to the children’s nursery rhyme. I mix humor and philosophical musings with everyday events. I hope you like it. From the Shoe artwork by Alec Maloney.
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Donna is also an avid writer who has joined the South San Francisco Library NaNoWriMo challenge and we greatly appreciate her addition to Everything South City.