Happy Holidays! and a little update

Last week Jimmy & some of the Picnic crew went to the annual holiday party for Adaptive Recreation Programs, held in Golden Gate Park. Bay Area programs that serve Disabled people were invited. The 100+ clients who attend have a wonderful time every year—there is a hot lunch served by the SFFD, fun music, treats, and a visit by Santa! These people aren’t able to get out much and these parties mean a lot to them. We were told that they look forward to them all year and are happy to see their friends from other programs.

This event is being cut by the SF Rec & Park Dept. We were invited to the party because the Old Car Picnic directly benefits this program, but no matter-- it’s not enough to keep it running. Our donation from this year’s Picnic will most likely be going to another worthy SF organization that directly serves the disabled-- because this program will no longer exist.

This program has been part of the Rec & Park for over 40 yrs and is being cut because of the budget....

SF government likes to pride itself on its “inclusiveness” but it doesn’t seem to have many qualms about cutting programs for our most vulnerable neighbors-- people who can’t make a fuss about having their services cut, who can’t speak up for themselves. Rec & Park has not been easy for the Picnic organizers to deal with—they’d rather see the Picnic gone—and it feels like they don’t really care about what happens to the people we benefit, either. We just wanted to let fans of the Picnic know what is going on.

Thanks to Dave & Carolyn and all the dedicated and selfless people who serve our Disabled communities in the Bay Area!