The Rotary Club of San Francisco has a long-standing tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with the Participants of The Arc San Francisco. In 2020, we had to pivot from an in-person celebration to a virtual event. The virtual tradition was repeated in 2021 with the preparation of 300 hot meals delivered to 150 of The Arc Participants this past Tuesday, November 23.
Past President of our Club and Past District 5150 Governor Eric Schmautz along with support from Rotarian Marti Sullivan, former Senior Director of Development & Communications of The Arc, and our Club's Vice President of Community Service Bob Hermann led this project to prepare, package, and deliver hot meals with a festive Thanksgiving theme to The Arc Participants experiencing social isolation and food insecurity.
The event was kicked off with a grocery run of epic proportions by Eric Schmautz and Marti Sullivan. Eric then prepared the food before bringing it to The Arc for packaging. Rotarians Dan Joraanstad, Peter Logan, Eric Schmautz, Bob Hermann, and Marti Sullivan; Erica Kaplan; G.O.A.L.S. member Carol Hunter; The Arc staff, Volunteer Kris Hurley, Volunteer Erika Olsen, and Jacy Cohen (former Arc Director of Strategic Partnerships) came to help. Pies were cut, rolls wrapped, cranberry sauce ladled, chicken chopped, and meals bagged with heating instructions and an invite to a Zoom Thanksgiving Celebration. It was a long, but productive day made enjoyable with the singing of Christmas tunes. 
The next morning Rotarians Rhonda Poppen and Bill Poppen participated in an intricate system of getting meals from the kitchen to 13 drivers along with Eric Schmautz and The Arc staff. Rotarians Emily Borland, Nancy Graydon, President Mary Liu, District Governor Danielle Lallement, and Chris Davies (driver extraordinaire from the Monday food delivery program), along with The Arc board member John Beeler, Thermo Fischer Scientific employees, The Arc staff, and Kris Hurley drove to all corners of the City including Marin, the East Bay, and the Peninsula to deliver meals in a timely manner to ensure all participants could join the virtual Thanksgiving celebration later that day. Rotarians Lance Scott (Director of Arts, Recreation & Socialization of The Arc) and Barbara Streett (Volunteer Manager of The Arc) along with other Arc staff hosted a virtual Thanksgiving celebration. The participants socialized, ate, and shared gratitude before dancing to tunes Dj'd by The Arc Director of Communications, Arturo Guillen.
Service above self can begin at any age. Molly and Katie joined their dad, Eric Schmautz, District Governor Danielle Lallement, and President Mary Liu to deliver meals to The Arc Participants.
Prior to the event Clifford Phillips, an Arc Participant and ‘Superstar’ Rotarian, had attended the Rotary Luncheon: A Day of Thanks on November 16, 2021 to express his gratitude to The Rotary Club of San Francisco. He said that he felt blessed to receive a free Thanksgiving Feast each year. During this season of giving and appreciation, The Arc of San Francisco is grateful to The Rotary Club of San Francisco and for Thanksgiving Feast they sponsored along with the ongoing Monday night dinner deliveries; once again, Rotarians have brought happiness and nourishment to The Arc Participants this holiday season.