Friend of SFist Olivia Warnecke spent her morning volunteering at Glide Memorial Church as part of their annual Grocery Bag Giveaway. Here's what she had to say: more ›

In light of today's news that all Northern California Café Gratitude restaurants will close or be sold, owner Terces Engelhart made plea to supporters today. She asked fans and, ahem, followers interested in helping the company to either purchase retail items, or sign up for Landmark Forum-tinged workshops. more ›

On Friday, November 18, the public and the fine folks at LEGO will help construct a 12-foot tall by 10-foot wide Santa Yoda made out of lego bricks, right next to the ice skating rink in Union Square. It promises to be one of the greatest lego creations of all time. (Ha, kidding! The greatest ones, of course, are made with space legos, the raddest blocks in the history of toys. But still, this Santa Yoda statue will be a sight to behold.) more ›

This is like the Hot Wheels Race Track we had as a kid, only not nearly as long or rad, and it doesn't jump off the track every five seconds. O the envy, it burns! The "Mother of All Hot Wheels Tracks" here is a 2000 foot long Hot Wheels track that races through a suburban home, a sidewalk, and around a pool. more ›

In response to tension sparked by Kenneth Harding reportedly shooting himself to death while trying to evade fare police earlier this month, several pastors "stood on a Muni platform Monday in San Francisco's Bayview district and handed out money to strangers." It's all part of a campaign to somehow help alleviate anger and frustration due to there being an unusual amount of cops manning the T-Third line. more ›

Hey, everybody! Guess what? Niki Taylor is in town. She's here to give San Francisco money. Because we're broke, that's why. Who is Niki Taylor, you ask? Well, first of all, shame on you, you heathen. Second, she was one of the top supermodels to brighten our lives during the '90s, along with Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Claudia Schiffer, and, of course, Linda Evangelista, the most important woman in the history of time and space. Anyway, Taylor, now a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice, is also part of the Reader's Digest "We Hear You America" 100 Cities/100 Days RV Tour, which is traveling coast-to-coast to provide $5 million in financial and promotional stimulus to towns hit hard by the continued economic downturn. more ›

Four months after the San Bruno blast, city officials are still trying to figure out how to best distribute the $395,000 worth of donations to the victims. The issue is pretty complicated since the city doesn't want to pay for losses that might eventually be covered by PG&E and other insurance companies, and agencies such as the American Red Cross provided a lot of aid early on. Classifying the victims also poses a challenge. more ›

On Christmas Eve, Lefty O'Doul's collected 15,000 toys for the annual Firefighters Toy Program, and many more toys were dropped off at local fire stations or picked up and delivered for free by Luxor Cab throughout December. more ›

Bay City News reports via the Examiner that the St Anthony Foundation's 23rd Annual Curbside Holiday Donation Drive started this morning. They're accepting clothing, food, toiletries, and other items to be handed out free of charge to homeless and low-income residents. more ›

MUSIC I: The Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco presents Christmas Crap-Array 2010, which showcases soloists and ensembles performing "the kind of raunchy, hilarious songs and skits that have become their signature style", and they promise their "traditionally warped holiday sing-along is sure to delight and offend!" Runs through Saturday. more ›

KGO reports that food banks across the Bay Area are struggling to meet the growing demand for donations. San Francisco Food Bank's demand has risen a disheartening 32% in the past year, and other Bay Area food banks have experienced similar numbers. Here are some ways to help. more ›

Upon hearing that, many moons ago, former First Lady Barbara Bush presented a young George W. Bush with a horrifying fetus-in-a-jar lesson about abortion, both Babs and Dubya instantly turned into the most fascinating First Lady and President in U.S. history, respectively. (Really, can you picture a Chanel-clad Jackie Kennedy whipping out a mason jar filled to the brim with her miscarriage for John-John? Because we cannot.) Which is why former U.S. President (and, let's face it, future war-crime defendant) Bush's Decision Points is this year's must read. more ›

Before you nut all over the place, let's get something straight: the real Ed Hardy, from what we hear, is a super cool guy. So cool, in fact, he would never refer to anybody as "super cool." What we mean is that he's not personally responsible for the adoption of his work by the Massengill set. more ›

ALL WEEKEND: The annual Iranian Film Festival will showcase independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world. Vintage enthusiasts can be found at the Vintage Fashion Expo all weekend. Chinatown hosts the 20th Annual Autumn Moon Festival Street Fair. The 2010 San Francisco Fringe Festival concludes this weekend with lots of shows in the afternoon and evening. more ›

Head over to Justin Herman Plaza at 10 a.m. on Sunday for a free, three-hour yoga class to benefit four yoga charities, as party of the global Yoga Aid Challenge. But be sure to register first. Can't attend? Donate some money. more ›

Update: The event is next Wednesday, September 22. We apologize for the error. Union Square's Johnny Bueno Color Studio (166 Geary St., Suite 1005) have kindly organized a fundraiser to benefit San Bruno fire victims all day on next Wednesday. more ›

Help a Mother Out received such a tremendous amount of donations benefiting San Bruno fire victims over the weekend that they've halted their drive. more ›

This Saturday night, Jenny McCarthy comes to S.F. to espouse her favorite subject: children with autism. Hilarious, right? No, not really. In fact, autism affects one in every 90 kids. Alas. more ›

Sunday's 6.2-mile SF AIDS Walk pulled in more than $3 million. An estimated 25,000 participants showed up to help raise much-needed funds for HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and care. more ›

Bay City News reports via SF Appeal that San Francisco Giants players Aaron Rowand, Jeremy Affeldt, team president Larry Baer, and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda will be bagging groceries at the Safeway at 16th St and Potrero Avenue at Noon today. more ›

...but you can help! The site that brings you pertinent, jam-packed articles covering local transit, bicycling, pedestrian safety, and which SUV best suits your family -- ok, not the last one which is why we enjoy it -- needs more cash to remain a part of the local narrative. To keep its head above water, they're asking readers for help -- $50,00, to be exact. If you'd like to donate to a good cause and a great site, go here. more ›

Before you shove another maple bacon donut down your richly-textured gullet, remember: people are still starving in America. Even in San Francisco. (Look for further than Civic Center on a Monday night to see hordes of hungry homeless folks lined up to eat digestible, yet bacon-free, stew.) Fortunately, Traci Des Jardins is hosting Taste of the Nation (Share Our Strength) on Thursday at AT&T Park to help out. more ›

BENEFIT: Head over to Elixir tonight for the Drink Up for Rocket Dog Rescue fundraiser, and get served by guest bartenders/local internati (we just made that up) Eve Batey from SF Appeal, Sarah Han from Pawesome, Paolo Lucchesi from Eater SF, and the bloggers from Uptown Almanac. more ›

There have been a lot of benefits for Haiti in recent weeks that we missed. Here are a few upcoming events, in which all of the proceeds will go to various charities. more ›

This one is super simple. If you'd like to donate to Haitian relief efforts -- the country experienced a 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday, resulting in at least 50,000 deaths, widespread destruction and machete-wielding "looters" (or, "machete-wielding people in desperate need who are looking for food and water," if you will) -- text "YELE" TO 501501 (to donate $5) or "HAITI" to 90999 (to give $10). You will get a return text confirming that you want to donate to the Yele Haiti Foundation or the American Red Cross, respectively. more ›

Last week SFist told you about Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's pilot hat, which was being auctioned off for charity. Today, after 68 bids, Sully's hat managed to pull in $5,800. The money will be donated to Lockwood Elementary School in Oakland and Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon. more ›

We know. Money is tight. Very tight. But people are starving in San Francisco. Not just the homeless, but people you might even know. People close to you. Your friends and family and neighbors. Seriously. more ›

SF Weekly brings us some merry/horny news: the fine folks over at Market Street Cinema (a strip joint as seen via their NSFW site) are now accepting new unwrapped gifts for Toys for Tots in exchange for admission. Aw. more ›

Bay Area communities are organizing efforts to help victims of the four disasters that struck the Samoan Islands, the Philippines, and Indonesia this week. Below are a few places to drop off donations. Additionally, the American Red Cross is working to assist all three regions, and they're accepting monetary and blood donations and volunteers. more ›

Park Merced presents the 2nd annual SF Weekly DISH, a night of food, drink, and music, featuring bites and cocktails from 30 restaurants and tastings from 10 wineries. Partial proceeds will benefit the One World Children's Fund, which supports community-based organizations around the world that serve vulnerable children and their caregivers. Tickets are $20, buy now. more ›