Activist philanthropist James Hormel, Shanti ED Kaushik Roy, honoree Kevin Burns and founder Charles Garfield. Photo by Rink.

This year marks Shanti’s 35th year of providing compassionate services to individuals with life-threatening illnesses, and on Nov. 10, friends gathered together for an anniversary commemoration. This was not just a way to honor the legacy, but also to raise awareness within the community of the immense challenges Shanti clients face today. Founded in 1974, Shanti was one of the first-ever volunteer organizations to work with people with terminal diseases, and was later one of the first community-based agencies in the United States to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The masters of ceremony were San Francisco movers and shakers, Janet Reilly and Christopher Caen, who gave accolades to the over 15,000 volunteers who gave over 3 million hours of their time over the three and a half decades of Shanti’s service. They stressed the importance of volunteers providing highly personal, compassionate care to clients above all else. 

Executive Director Kaushik Roy said, “I must admit that I did not know very much about Shanti when I first arrived at my Volunteer Training in April of 2004, but I was immediately struck by both the amazing work that Shanti was doing and the spirit of humility with which their services were provided.”
Later Roy gave some of his views. He said, “The idea is to address the person, not the illness.” Roy said this year Shanti has served over 2,000 San Franciscans with breast cancer or HIV/AIDS. 

Charlie Garfield, founder of Shanti, expressed his joy and gratitude as to how the organization has grown since he established it on a shoestring basis with just a few volunteers in 1974. “I gladly offer support for the next 35 years,” he said. “Knowing that this will continue with the next generation is so beautiful and liberating.”

“The same premise on which Shanti was founded by Dr. Charles Garfield inspires all of our work today: no one should have to face a life-threatening illness alone,” said Roy. He said he believed Shanti is a symbol of the much larger compassionate community in the Bay Area. “An organization such as ours could only evolve and be sustained in a community where, at its heart, there rests tremendous compassion and true decency – where, when we see that our neighbors may be sick or in pain, and it may be so much easier to look the other way, we don’t. Instead we move towards our neighbors with open arms and an open heart.” He concluded, “We are celebrating what happens when people come together, driven by their highest values, to be of service to one another.” 

Four awards were given that night. Outstanding Service Award was presented to Kevin Burns, who began volunteering at Shanti in 1989, and at the 20th anniversary he was honored for his many years of volunteer leadership. He was appointed as executive director in the Fall of 2004 and served in that position until 2008. The James C. Hormel Community Spirit Award went to Chip Supanich, who has been a Shanti client since 2000 and began his volunteer experience in 1997. Since that time, he has volunteered with the Activities Program, been a peer support volunteer, facilitated trainings, volunteered in the office as a program administrator, served as a spokesperson in print and on TV, and recently joined the board of directors.

The 2009 Funding Leadership Award was given to Genentech, which since 2006 has been one of the most generous supporters of Shanti’s Lifelines Breast Cancer Program. The Lifelines Client Community Spirit Award was given to Christine Morrison, a client of the Lifelines Program since 2006.

She is a Secular Franciscan who has dedicated the last several years to working with the poor. In 2005, she founded the Saint Francis Senior Living Room in the Tenderloin. Today with Morrison as CEO and chair of the board, the agency serves over 220 seniors through its breakfast program and all-day drop-in services. In 2008, in recognition of her efforts, Morrison was awarded San Francisco’s Certificate of Honor by the board of supervisors. 

All four worthy recipients are to be congratulated for superior histories and jobs well done.