Meet the Winter 2024 Small Grants Program Grantees!
The HOPE SF Initiative is honored to spotlight recipients of the Winter 2024 HOPE SF Small Grants Program, funding resident-centered projects across Alice Griffith, Hunters View, Potrero Hill, and Sunnydale. The Small Grants Program recognizes that HOPE SF residents have the solutions to uplift HOPE SF voices through community-generated ideas.
Please be sure to scroll through each series of photos to see this amazing work in action!
Fealofani Festival – Vonnie Kiliona
“Youth participants gain workforce development experience, knowledge about choreographing and event coordination, but also gain “Fealofani” with one another, by building and nurturing camaraderie.”
Over 60 Pacific Islander youth from Sunnydale, Potrero Hill, Alice Griffith and Hunters View organized and led the Fealofani Festival in May, honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month while uplifting Samoan dance, music, and culture. HOPE SF youth leaders spent the previous months in weekly team meetings, developing their leadership skills and making executive decisions to guide the festival planning process. On the day of the event, over 230 festival attendees enjoyed cultural dances performed by youth and celebrated the Fealofani spirit, meaning harmonious, togetherness, and unity. Dancers performed in various groups showcasing Pacific Islander art and culture, guided the event through speeches between dances, and ended the festival with a community raffle.
Alice Griffith Walking School Bus – Shawn McGriff
“Now that students have a place to look forward to in the morning and walk to school with their peers, we’ve seen a drastic decrease in absenteeism.”
The Alice Griffith Walking School Bus was created to combat chronic school absenteeism among students living in Alice Griffith. Led by HOPE SF resident Shawn McGriff, Alice Griffith students met every morning to share a hot and fresh community breakfast, start their day with a sharing circle and basic exercises, and then travel together to their local schools. The morning meetings began with check-in questions that included sharing on a scale of one to ten how they felt that morning, personal interests like favorite sport or favorite flower, and group clapping games. After stretching their minds and bodies, students found excitement for the day ahead, and began the school day by traveling to their neighborhood schools with their friends. On their journey to the schoolyard, students wore reflective vests and carried personal stop signs to help them safely cross intersections between their homes and school. With the support of parents and the Alice Griffith community, the Walking School Bus was able to improve student attendance by 20% for the course of the school year.
Empowering Community with Voices – La’Jeana Thompson
“Your life changes. However, if you have a support network, you will not feel as alone.”
La’Jeana Thompson founded the Loyal Butterflies Women Empowerment Program in 2013, after serving her community for 15 years as an advocate, mentor, and community leader. Born and raised in the Sunnydale Public Housing Development, La’Jeana has led the Loyal Butterflies in offering educational and supportive services to women, youth, and families, and has most recently grown her organization to include programming for men interested in holistic healing practices. This year’s workshop series focused on empowering HOPE SF adults through hands-on skills training with life coaches to develop critical thinking skills, self-esteem, and tools to navigate social constructs. During weekly workshop activities, Sunnydale, Alice Griffith, and Hunters View residents learned strategies to build confidence, set boundaries, and express their needs. During a memorable Friday workshop class, participants formed a circle and discussed how to be productive in their own lives. Given a safe space to feel, heal, and reveal, each person shared how the embrace of all sides of oneself could be a catalyst for transformation. Workshops typically ended with individual journaling activities, with participants encouraged to express themselves with writing prompts and build self-esteem through reflection on how their life matters.
The Small Grants Program is supported by the Partnership for Hope SF and administered by the San Francisco Foundation. For more information, visit Hope SF – Small Grants Program.