By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator One of Joi’s most memorable experiences was going to farm camp as an elementary school participant with R.O.C.K. The contrast between the endless concrete of Visitacion Valley and the vast space, pastures, and animals on the farm was incredible to...
By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator You could say R.O.C.K. goes so far back with Taz, it’s where he got his name. Taz’s full name is Mumtaz Yusuf. He renamed himself when Heidi, a former longtime staff and volunteer at R.O.C.K., asked him what his name...
By Curt Yagi, Executive Director As I was setting up for our first-ever R.O.C.K. Alumni barbecue, I felt a bit of nervous energy in anticipation of seeing our past participants, some of whom I hadn’t seen in well over a decade. Over the prior few months,...
By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator “The mission of R.O.C.K. is to nurture the healthy development of children by listening attentively to their needs and by providing opportunities to those who might not otherwise have access.” When I talked to Derrick Connors, now 28 years old, about his experience...
By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator As San Francisco’s corporate climate continues to become more and more dominated by tech companies, the question of how they are giving back to the community is on many San Franciscan’s minds. We see CEOs like Marc Benioff of Salesforce...
By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator Attending Lil’ Kid Camp for the first time this year was truly inspirational. My pride to be working for an organization that provides such influential programming to the kids of Visitation Valley soared to great heights at camp. I felt...
By Sarah Meike, R.O.C.K. Special Projects Coordinator Brandon is a Director from Mountain Camp, an overnight adventure camp near Polluck Pines that allows R.O.C.K. to bring 50 children each summer for free. As part of a new Mountain Camp program, Mountaineer Adventure Camp (MAC), Brandon comes...
By Sarah Meike, R.O.C.K. Special Projects Coordinator “To believe in myself.” This was the response from Raymond Fisher-Travis, a former participant of R.O.C.K. programs, when I asked him what was the most important lesson he learned from R.O.C.K. For every question, his answer was almost immediate, like...
By Sarah Meike, R.O.C.K. Special Projects Coordinator Jordan has been volunteering with R.O.C.K.’s Student Adult Leadership Training (S.A.L.T.) for four years. What keeps Jordan coming back is the impact he sees R.O.C.K. inspire in students. S.A.L.T. was created to provide an adult mentor relationship for students...
By Sarah Meike- R.O.C.K. Administrative Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator I am never quite awake enough when I reach Skill Drills on Saturday mornings. With my coffee mug firmly attached to one hand, I climb the stairs to the gym and take in the scene. Usually there...