Midterm

PROFILE
Oct. 28, 2009

It's Friday night and the gym at the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center is abuzz as Tel-Hi's 4th and 5th grade girls basketball team prepares to hit the court. Parents and children take their seats in the stands while the players busy themselves hurtling balls at the backboard, hoping for a last minute lay-up or free throw.

At the sound of the starting buzzer, coach Jeffrey Ng calls the team in for a huddle. His exact words are unclear, but when the girls finally take to the court in their numbered grey t-shirts, their game faces appear firmly in place.

Throughout the game, Ng can be seen waving his arms frantically and yelling from the sidelines, but his words are never angry or critical. "Good job" and "It's ok" fall from his lips time and again, in spite of the fact that Tel-Hi never scores a single point.

When Ng brings the girls in for a post-game pep talk, he's not just acting as their coach, but someone who's walked a mile in their high-tops.

"I was here when I was younger," said Ng who has volunteered at the center for four years. "I kind of grew up in this."

Founded in 1890 by Grace Cathedral Sunday School teachers Elizabeth Ashe and Alice Griffith, Tel-Hi sits among a flourishing garden on the city's famed Lombard Street. The building's forest green exterior conveys an air of severity whereas the interior seems to almost burst with primary colors and the sounds of children at work and play.

As one of the first settlement homes in the west, the center was originally located on Stockton Street and designed to serve low-income families in North Beach and Chinatown. According to its website, some of the earliest programs offered at Tel-Hi were a club for boys and classes in sewing and domestic science for girls.

More than 100 years later, Tel-Hi continues reaching out to the community through its preschool, K-5 after school academy, summer camp, teen leadership, and senior programs. In recent years, Tel-Hi has partnered with the family center at North Beach Place, a residential complex that was once an area housing project. Located within one block of Tel-Hi, NBP opened its doors in 2004 to serve low and moderate income families and individuals.

Each day, Tel-Hi serves approximately 600 members of the community ranging from age two-and-a-half to 102- and "everyone in between," according to Tel-Hi’s executive director, Tim Daniels. More than half of the center’s nearly 25 active volunteers are seniors.

While Tel-Hi's preschool and afterschool programs are not free, families have the option of applying for financial aid. Alternatively, many of the senior programs, including computer and line dancing lessons, are offered free of charge.

"I think it’s a great place for parents and kids to get to know each other," said former afterschool program participant Ng, a sentiment echoed by fellow volunteer and Tel-Hi supporter Jordan McDonell.

"It's a great center," said McDonell who first visited Tel-Hi in August with a friend and has been coming back ever since. "We do amazing things for the community."

In previous years, the center boasted a volunteer staff of nearly 80, but when funding for Tel-Hi's volunteer coordinator (a critical position that Daniels described as the glue that connects Tel-Hi with the community) was cut a decade ago, the center saw its once thriving volunteer force dwindle. With the position recently filled, Daniels expressed optimism at the prospect of gradually re-building it.

"My hope is that we're bringing in another 50 to 60 volunteers," he said. Daniels has been with the center nearly four years and dedicated the past 25 years of his life to working with various non-profit organizations.

Despite its nearly $2 million annual budget, which includes funding from the California Department of Education, San Francisco Housing Authority, and San Francisco Unified School District, as well as donations from local businesses and members of the community, Tel-Hi has not managed to escape the state's struggling economy.

"This year's definitely been the most difficult," said Daniels. "All our programs are at capacity and have wait lists."

Of these programs, one of the most popular is the daily lunch served to area seniors who must now sign up two weeks in advance if they wish to receive a meal.

In July, Tel-Hi suffered a devastating blow to the tune of approximately $127,000 when the state's School Age Community Child Care Services program, commonly referred to as Latchkey, was eliminated. Rather than penalize the parents and children that depend on their afterschool services, Tel-Hi's administrators worked to establish fair payment plans based on each family’s individual income.

"It's really amazing. It gives the parents security," said Tel-Hi's finance director, Ruchira Karamchandani, who began volunteering at the center in early 2006.

Originally from India, Karamchandani discovered Tel-Hi by searching online for San Francisco-area volunteer opportunities after re-locating from Los Angeles.

"It looked interesting and they were very responsive," she said. "The kids are really friendly and the staff is great."

The center has managed to forge ahead thanks to support from the neighborhood, as well as the Friends of Tel-Hi, a newly-formed group of volunteers who raise awareness and funds in support of the center and its various programs.

"We're a small, core group," said Friends president and Tel-Hi director of development, Donna Faure.

At a recent meeting, members discussed the success of their first event, Breakfast for Books which raised $5,000 for the center's library.

"I'm happy to celebrate a little bit," said Faure. "This was really great because it
wasn't all about the money. I'm hoping it’s going to help make the library up here really nice."

On any given day, the children, seniors and staff at Tel-Hi seem to be celebrating, undaunted by the challenges they’ve faced.

"I think the center is a big part of the community," said Karamchandani. "We are like home for a lot of families here."