Mother’s Day may look a little different this year due to social distancing, but we can still spoil Mom with gifts and support small businesses while we’re doing it! Our merchant partners are making the very most of it – offering tons of gift certificates and delivery options. From clothing to home goods, check out our businesses listings for ideas to celebrate and show love for Mom. 

Several of our Sunset Strong restaurants are serving up delicious Cinco de Mayo fare, for perfect at-home or at-beach celebrations. 

We can’t celebrate out and about this year, but we’re grateful for all of these fantastic & festive options: 

The Sunset Neighborhood Help Group is a network of all-volunteer Sunset community members who have come together to assist fellow Sunsetters experiencing difficulty taking care of their essential needs, such as grocery and pharmacy pick-ups, during Shelter-in-Place. To date, more than 1,450 group members have responded to more than several hundred cases. Volunteers have printed and distributed 30,000 English and Chinese flyers including to ensure that every resident in our district knows about this resource. 

Staff and volunteers at Self Help for the Elderly at South Sunset Playground have really stepped up since the Shelter in Place Order was put in place, rapidly shifting from a congregate meal site for mostly monolingual Chinese seniors to a hub for home meal deliveries. SHE at South Sunset Playground is currently operating five days a week providing seven meals a week to clients in the Sunset. Across their three sites, SHE is delivering over 20,000 meals a week!

Sunset residents Tina Cen and Edwin Camarao have already raised over $11k to buy masks and other personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers! Tens of thousands of masks have been donated to Bay Area hospitals, nursing homes and homecare workers. Check out this video (by Thomas Pendergast of the Sunset Beacon) featuring the amazing work Tina and Edwin have been doing. 

Yina and Soojin, the 2-person team at ODSY Workshop on Irving Street have been making and selling masks and donating half the profits to communities impacted by the public health crisis. For their first batch of masks, ODSY donated to UndocuFund-SF, which provides essential aid to undocumented workers in San Francisco impacted by the pandemic.

The folks at Vanida Thai Kitchen are showing their love and appreciation to healthcare workers by treating them to free meals! From the owner Mahat Papartassee on Nextdoor: 

Sunset small business owner Jackson Wang of Jika Ramen cooks and distributes hundreds of hot meals to homeless and low-income folks in the Tenderloin on a daily basis. Through rain or shine, Jackson and his church group remain on the frontlines in the streets providing this free and crucial service while practicing social distancing. We applaud Jika Ramen for stepping up and continuing to serve the community during these incredibly challenging times!

From Andytown’s newsletter: Speaking to the nurses and doctors in the city, we have found that there is a major need for meals and coffee for workers as they pull 12+ hour shifts with their usual coffee and food places closed. We have launched a project to get coffee into the hands of the hardworking healthcare professionals of San Francisco. 

Seven Stills Brewery and Distillery is using their facilities to make hand sanitizer and donating it to local healthcare providers and nonprofits. You can help cover the costs by directly ordering sanitizer and sending it to a healthcare provider here. We applaud Seven Stills and businesses that are stepping up to serve the community in times of need.

The SF-Marin Food Bank pantry network distributes fresh, seasonal produce, lean protein, grain, and shelf-stable items to anyone who is struggling to buy food. During the COVID-19 crisis, they have launched pop-up pantries that are open to the public; no need to show ID or sign in to receive groceries every week. Please only attend one pantry and send one person per household to pick up groceries. 

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