Warm Wishes
Bill Hamm and his partner/wife were in San Francisco in December during the Christmas Holidays on a cold SF night! He saw a homeless man on the sidewalk and his image haunted him! Later that evening he sought out that man and gave him his gloves and said "Warm Wishes!" and his program was born! Since that time Bill and Warm Wishes have distributed over 1M backpacks filled with warm items: cap, gloves, scarf, socks, rain poncho and a holiday card! We distribute to agencies and on the street in the Bay Area. Items are purchased specifically for this event and assembled and distributed by volunteers.
When Nina ( Bill's wife) died from a brain tumor, MarinLink ( www.marinlink.org) stepped in to assist Bill in keeping the organization alive and well. Due to Covid we have reduced our #'s from 5K to 3K and have had to change the program from a single assembly day ( with 250 volunteers!) to a 6 week window to allow volunteers and staff to remain safe and healthy.
We works closely with over 40 local agencies to have them come and access the "streetpacks" for FREE for their clients. Volunteers distribute the packs directly ont he streets to hard to reach homeless and sheltered neighbors.