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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The Glide Memorial Church and Foundation is celebrating 60 years serving San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood with free Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and so much more.
Now a major leadership transition is taking place there, but not only a transition in leadership. It is also the launch of the new strategy to take glide forward.
“Glide Forward” is actually the name of the new plan for the San Francisco institution. The iconic leader of this historic church – Rev. Cecil Williams – is officially passing the baton to a dynamic woman with deep San Francisco roots.
There is a lot of excitement about this changing of the guard.
“Honestly, it feels like I stepped into a place that’s been waiting for me for a long time,” said Dr. Gina Fromer.
Passionate, down to Earth and determined, Dr. Fromer is a sixth-generation San Franciscan. Raised in Bayview-Hunters Point, she led a number of nonprofits in the city before coming to Glide.
She is well aware of the legacy laid down before her by the decades of leadership from Rev. Cecil Williams and his late wife Jan Mirikitani. After some 700 applicants for the job, there was Gina.
“Cecil and Jan first 60 years, and we now need to kick off the second 60 years, a breathtaking strategy and we needed a breathtaking CEO,” said Glide board member Malcolm Walter. “Then Gina showed up.”
A packed audience turned out for Glide’s annual holiday jam. It was a fundraiser but also a moment to honor 94-year-old Cecil Williams.
“What I want for Glide is keeping on and moving forward making things happen is for us to never forget where we came from and that is to be the roots of the community and a loving community not afraid to stand up and be counted,” said Williams.
Williams interviewed and approved of Gina, who was officially introduced to supporters at the gala.
“I feel like this is the pinnacle for Glide for him to hand this off to someone like Gina,” said Rev. Williams’ daughter Kimberly Williams. “I think she is going to knock it out of the park. I think Glide deserves this. Cecil deserves this. The city deserves this and I feel really charged up about it. Really excited.”
In addition to her job experience, Gina brings something else to Glide. Many years ago, as a young mother trying to make ends meet, she turned to Glide for help.
“I got on 3-4 busses to pick up a Thanksgiving meal,” Fromer said. “I wanted them to have a special Thanksgiving. I came back the following year. It was a safety net for me and my family at a dark time… I want every family to come and know they can get that safety net at the moment you need it because I didn’t need it three years after that. I was working and I was going to school. I didn’t need it but another family took my spot.”
Now, Gina is busy learning about her new job, her clients, and this historic church.
“Glide for the last 60 years has focused pretty much exclusively on the Tenderloin,” said Walter. “The pandemic has increased the number of food insecure and homeless people in SF and they can now be found across the entire city so we are increasing our geographics to be the entire city of San Francisco.”
The Glide Forward strategy is an ambitious one. San Francisco and particularly the Tenderloin neighborhood present huge challenges. Glide’s multi-million dollar budget will be put to the test.
The new plans call for expanding services beyond the Tenderloin – more health services, mobile clinics and kitchen locations, as well as expanded family services, outreach and more.
What will always remain at the heart of Glide, from Cecil and Jan and now to Gina: inclusivity, social justice and love.
“My stronghold has always been loving human beings, so I hope to achieve as much love as possible and make love the mantra of my life,” Williams said.
“What I want is to change the world for those kids – that they don’t have to grow up in poverty. And my ultimate goal is to break the pipeline to poverty. You grow up in the Tenderloin or Bayview, Hunters Point and you think this is your life. You can change it in one generation,” Fromer said.
And in light of all his life’s work of service and fighting for social justice, there is an effort underway to get Rev. Williams recognized with a presidential Medal of Freedom. You can reach out to Glide if you would like more information on that.
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