times of bad news and economic hurt that we do things differently in our city. we bring our residents and visitors together closer. to declare this season of giving is important for us to send a different message as we're sensitive to messages that may not be about hope. i want to thank our religious leaders. i want to thank our wonderful social service providers, the intra-faith council, st. anthony's, and so many others, a salvation army, the united way of the bay area. all of them are coming together including the food bank. we will be working hard together. i started this week with our

department heads. in the next few months, as we hear about what is going on around us, in san francisco, we will depend a lot more on ourselves and on our own spirit of unity and sacrifice. i am not going anywhere for the holidays. i am staying right here in our city. i want to join with all the wonderful agencies who have come together. they have been here every season to help and asked others to make donations and sacrifices. the season of giving starts now. i would ask that everyone in the city stepped up. whether you of the job or not, whether you have a family that you care about, or other

people's families, this is a good time to step up and make the extra effort. i am going to be there visibly joining them in the message of the season of giving. i want to register that this whole city has been such a wonderful place to be. i am so very fortunate to be the mayor of this city. i also want to make sure that we have a lot of hope to bring to the residents who live here and the people who are suffering. i will have more to say in a minute. i would like to welcome to the podium someone i have had a chance to work with over the years. is someone i believe in and i know has a very strong message of hope for our citizens. that is cicecil williams and gladys. come on up.

[applause] >> do you want to say something first? this is what we do all the time. [laughter] you go now and i will follow. [laughter] i know what to do. if she says to do it, i do it. [laughter] thank you, mayor ed lee, and congratulations to you on winning the mayor of this city. san francisco is not only a beautiful city. it is a city and a community and a territory that serves the needs of the people. there is no doubt about it. people who are here today are ready and able to do the work. we want to expand and make sure

that people in the city and bay area and do what they usually do. that is to make sure that no one has to suffer during the holiday season or in any season. no one should have to suffer. we come together to support you and let you know that this city is ready. take us and lead us, we will follow. no doubt about that. [applause] >> it is always hard to follow the preacher. i want to thank mayor lee for showing the world and continuing to repeat the bottom line at san francisco is a compassionate city. it does care for all the people here, no matter who they are. we appreciate you. we appreciate your love of the diversity of the city. we appreciate the generosity of this community. thank you for continuing to give.

[applause] >> next week, i will have the chance to carve some turkeys. i will be joining st. anthony's and having a wonderful time. anita and i will have a chance to exhibit our love for the city again. st. anthony's has been a wonderful partner. i was here on these steps with st. anthony's a few months ago as they were exhibiting their love for the city. i know they have a tough time with all the lines increasing on a weekly basis. i want to introduce the director of the st. anthony's foundation. [applause] >> we are honored to be a

partner with the city and with all san franciscans. it has been a hard time. we just got our numbers in. last month, we saw a number of -- another 15% increase in the number of guests coming to our dining room. we're seeing an increase in the technology lab. we're able to meet the needs that grow because of the generosity of san francisco. we know the weather turns colder. we know the economy is still slow and many people still suffer. the other thing i see on a daily basis is hope. when san franciscans and people all over the bay area continue to come together, there is a lot of abundance. there's a great generosity. like the mayor and others, we come together. we may be volunteering, donating food or cash. it really helps. in giving, you and still hope.

this the season of giving and hope. we come together and join together with the nonprofits gathered today. we all work together, whether we're buying food together, coordinating other efforts. it is all of us coming together as a family, a big community family here in the san francisco area. we're honored to get to work with you and everyone gathered here. we want to wish everyone a blessed holiday season. thank you. [applause] >> next week, i will have a chance to join our intra-faith council -- inter-faith council. they have been very helpful as we try to figure out things. we do not have the solutions to every question or even the questions being raised by those representing the challenges to the 99%. we will need help from everyone to figure those things out in the city.

i want to register my appreciation for the council and their continuing support for all of us leaders in the city and for their prayers as well. i would to have funds serving one of the great institutions that are no longer just in chinatown. they are all over our city. annie chung, please come on up. >> mayor, thank you for including us in today's press conference. i read the "reader's digest" for december. they went around 16 countries and asked people one question. the question is whether the holidays are joyous or stressful. is where the united states placed? in the bottom two. -- guess where the united states placed? in the bottom two. at the top was philippines. india was at the bottom with

79%. the united states was close at 82%. thank you for giving out this message of hope today. under your leadership, this is going to change. we're going to make sure that all sentences against a field stressful or sad during the holidays will be able to get something they wanted this year or for their families. there will be enough gifts for them. it is because you are stepping up. you are asking san francisco to join you and give more this season. we serve 35,000 seniors a year. like everyone else, the line is getting longer. our funding is diminishing. in october, seven adult day care centers were threatened to be closed by the state. mayor, you stepped in.

you delivered the message of hope. he found the money to keep 1500 seniors going to these adult day health centers who otherwise would face nursing home and emergency hospitals. on behalf of adult day health care, we thank you for finding the funding to keep us going for another few months. we hope that under your leadership, san franciscans will open their hearts and pocketbooks and continue to support the seniors. we look forward to having your car 30's and serve meals next thursday. we will serve 3000 seniors that day. thank you. [applause] >> in addition to the wonderful services that will be held with our communities and the wonderful meals the will be served, all i want to also join supervisor jikim is negative

shares our strong compassion for neighborhoods. we will find the time during the holidays to open up city hall. when we get our treae lit, messages of hope will be hung on a tree. we will have the snow day for all of the kids. we will also be able to have some pictures taken with the mayor for anyone who wants to come in and donate a can of food to the food bank. that will be another day when we register our joint effort to bring the message of unity to the city. we will need everybody to step up. this season of giving is in my opinion one of the very good opportunities for everyone in the city -- i do not care

whether you are a corporate citizen or resident of whatever economic level, if you can step up to help somebody else, this is where the passion of the city exists. this is where the soul of the city is. i want to thank all the folks here and every institution. i plan to work closely with all of them to make sure that we touch each other as we go together to help all of our citizens in the city. thank you very much on this announcement for our season of giving. thank you, everybody. [applause]

>> thank you. let's hear it for the band. [applause] >> thank you. let's hear it for the band.

[applause] welcome, everybody. once again, i have the honor of being your master of ceremonies for the annual lighting of the snowflakes on market street. great event. i love being part of it. good to have you with us. i should point out that we just saw a spectacular light show under the dome over west field center. you probably have not seen it because we are the first to see it. you should get over there and see it during your holiday shopping. tonight, we have the dancing snowflakes from the san francisco ballet school. they are currently preparing for the annual performances of the "nutcracker" at the san francisco opera house. here's something you may or may not know -- san francisco was the first city in the country to premiere the "nutcracker" in 1944. the san francisco ballet is america's first professional ballet company. how about that? [applause] in a few minutes, we will have

the snowflake lighting, but first, i want to bring up to say a few words someone who has been instrumental in putting this event together. he is the director of the department of public works here in san francisco. [applause] >> thank you all for coming out. we are very happy to join all the businesses along with all the other city agencies to continue to improve and improve the quality of market street. four years in a row, we have been adding a few blocks in a time, and step-by-step, we will get all the way to the castro. i am very happy for this event, and i look forward to all the lights coming on. happy holidays. >> don't you love short speeches? i did the best? another instrumental person in putting this together is the public facilities commissioner. >> thank you. this will be short also.

we do the street lights in san francisco. it is wonderful to join downtown and like the street up and be part of the community. it is great. hetch hetchy green power lighting up the street. have a wonderful holiday. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. now, joining us i think for the first time for this event is mayor ed lee. mayor lee: thank you. i will be short, too, because i am. happy holidays, everybody. i want to especially thank these beautiful snowflakes. aren't they wonderful? i wanted to be on time because i know i have a lot more closing than they do. i wanted that iqbal dpw and our puc director -- i wanted to thank our dpw and puc directors. we have increased this netflix

by an additional 20. there's a total of 162 snowflakes on our wonderful market street. we have some 81 leptos that are covered. we're going to continue expanding this every year we get more participation. i want to especially thank market street as well. we also want to signal that we are seeing changes along our market street happened. this is a commitment that i have made. not only the campaign, well before running for this mayor ship, i was proud to participate in all the changes the former mayor did to signal that we want our businesses here on market street as well. you are going to see in the next few months twitter. you're going to see zendesk. you are going to see burning man come aboard. the companies we have asked not only to start here but to stay and grow. all these wonderful companies

creating fantastic jobs will join the events we have all along our great market street. you will see united nations plaza with its wonderful market parts -- arts festival starting out through mid december and there will be joined by so many events. i want to thank everyone for coming tonight. spencer, with that, are we ready? are we ready for a count of? >> i think we are ready. we want all of you for joining us. i want to thank the participants once more because once we do the countdown, you may not be able to see them. thank you very much. we are going to start the countdown. are you ready to join us? >> 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 >> like the snowflakes -- light

these netflix. >> here we go. [applause] >> happy holidays, everybody. -- light the snowflakes.