>> i am honored absolutely to be a part of this. when i am in the room with janice and cecil williams and rita semmel, it's hard to get better than that. i mean, these are people who have shown us the way, how to lead, how to put that compassion to very good work. so, i am honored to be here to say i want to make sure that all of you support the season of giving. we are only able to do the things we do as the red cross back at super storm sandy because we have neighbors helping neighbors. we served about 160 people to help out with that terrible storm back east. and the words i'm getting back from our volunteers and staff is, this is a horrific disaster. we're learning many, many lessons that will be translated into, god forbid, anything that might happen here in the bay area. so, know that we are always

going to help our neighbors because it's the right thing to do. but it's also an opportunity to learn from the latest things that are happening around the country and the world so that we know when something happens here that, a, we're going to join up with our partners from catholic charities, salvation army, the city, the county, and make sure that people are going to be cared for in the best possible way. we are honored to be a part of this fabulous community, and know that we are in such good company with the people arrayed here in this room. so, mr. mayor, again, thanks so very much for the privilege of being a part of this with you. >> thank you. (applause) >> thank you. you know, harold, all of the employees that i'm hiring have to take a pay cut. [laughter] >> so, be prepared. you know, we often refer to our city as a world class city.

we have world class parks, world class restaurants. we have world class sports teams and events. people from all over the world come and they seek out this great, great city. we also want to make sure people know that we are developing world class hearts in our city. and i can't think of anyone other than a couple who has been working on this world class heart for many, many years, have i think one of the best representations of that. that's william and janice. thank you for being here. please say a few words. (applause) >> stay right there, be comfortable. >> okay, thank you very much, mr. mayor. ed lee is first class, no doubt about it. his perception, his understanding, his work ethics, what he does for this city is

unbelievable. and he will continue to do that. we know that. there's no doubt about it. the season of gifts is so critical because what we do is reach people that are unreachable many times. people that are in great need and we would be utterly surprised at how many folks we have in just our city that, that are hard to reach. but to get to them and to let them know that we care and that san francisco is the city that really cares is something that is very colt cal. -- critical. so, we feel very strong little that we are not only serving one of the most important directions in regards to reaching people, but also meeting the needs of people. none of us is immune from disaster.

all of us could go through disaster that would hurt even those of us who have. so, we're trying to put the haves and the have nots together so that in what we do, the gift of love and the gift of courage and the gift of understanding and the gift of meeting others, this is a diverse city and we need each other. it's so critical. so, thank you very much. this is the time for the season of giving, reaching out to everybody. >> thank you, thank you. (applause) >> i just want to say it's an honor to be among such a group of champions. living in a city of champions. and i think having a champion mayor is so critical. and a take on the team of the giants who said we're a team, we do it together, we cannot do it without each other. and in this season of giving, i

think we should be reminded that none of us can accomplish what we accomplish alone, and that we as a team can accomplish what we want to in terms of giving and in terms of sharing our resources. because of the season of giving, we have been able to house and to prevent homelessness for over 500 families and individuals with rental assistance and also they have -- this is a phenomenal, phenomenal effort. again, thank you, san francisco, for helping us be a real team that are world class champions. >> all right. (applause) >> in the past week we have been treated to a public dialogue about something called mvp. if i were to look back at this year and note for our city

someone who has been very special in working with me to create over 5,000 jobs for youth, i would send an mvp for eric mc donald the united way for bay area. he's been bold, he's been penetrating, and he knows, too, it isn't just about jobs. it's about caring for our youth and making sure the doors of opportunity are open. and now he's working with me and with the rest of the city on how to go beyond jobs because people who aren't ready for jobs will continue their habits that might end up in violence. and, so, he's helping me establish relationships on the ground level with everything from religious organizations outreaches, to community outreach. but, eric, today i want to thank you again for stepping up on behalf of both united way and all of the different organizations you represent and being part of the season of giving. come on up, eric. (applause) >> thank you, sir. so, thank you, mr. mayor.

it's certainly a privilege to stand with you and the rest of my colleagues who are champions and advocates in our community. in many respects it's such an exciting time here in san francisco. so many amazing things happening as we continue to build on this world class status that we have, from new business, big tech, new teams, and the like. and at the same time in many respects it's kind of a tale of two cities. while all of that amazing stuff is happening, at the same time reverend williams pointed out there are folks in need who are still challenged and struggling to meet basic needs of food and shelter and clothing. so, this is a wonderful time, especially in the season of thanksgiving. i would offer to be grateful for the opportunity to actually give back, to be grateful for the opportunity to help others who can't help themselves. so, certainly as united way has committed self to cutting poverty here in the bay area, we are proud to partner with the mayor and the rest of these, again, amazing individuals and organizations who are trying to ensure that we have a not just a safe net, but a strong safety net that

enables folks to not only meet their basic needs, but then begin to thrive. it's great that you can, again, find food for a day and find shelter for a day, but more important that you can find a path that leads you towards prosperity. and, so, we're thrilled to be here. i would challenge everyone, i could do three things. one, give what you can. two, advocate for those who don't have voice. and then three, volunteer as much time as you can to community and ensure folks can meet their basic needs. mr. mayor, thank you for having me here and helping in your leadership in this effort. (applause) >> all right. during the giants world series celebration, i ran into a lady that many of you might be familiar with. she during the giants game, she's up in the stands dancing and she's the dancing grandmother. rosalie alioto. and i had a chance to meet her. of course, i've got to tell my joke because i'm a jokester. so, the first thing i said to rosalie was, you know, i just want to let you know, because i'm going to keep saying it, i bet you you can run the bases

faster than prince fielder. [laughter] >> and make it around before buster posy gets you. is that's the respective for our seniors who are active and supporting us like rita semel and others who are helping so much reach out. and a person that i've just admired for so many years and had a chance for some years to represent her constituents when they had legal problems of evictions, and now it's about nutrition and about health and that's annie chung for the elderly who continues to be a voice for our seniors and joining in to say let's not forget those that promised we would have good housing, good nutrition, safety in our streets. allow them the respect that's due in their years forward. and we join everybody here today to make a commitment to our seniors that will be there

to help you and never abandon what years of sacrifice you had for our city. annie chung from self-help for the elderly. (applause) >> hello, everybody, and thank you, mayor, for leading the way to let our san franciscans know that the season of giving is also a season of miracles. i think those of us here in this room with you always feel that, oh, my god, that's not enough turkeys for the food bank, for the needy families and that's not enough food for the hungry seniors that come through our meal site at many of our social service agencies. but yet every time, every time around this year thanksgiving and christmas, we find very, very generous donors and check suddenly appear like mayor will be delivering 100 turkes, 150 turkeys to the school for that we are very thankful. mayor, we are celebrating thanksgiving with 3,000 of the

very low-income seniors in chinatown. and as of now i think that we got all the turkeys covered. thank you very much. [laughter] >> and the gratifying thing is we have a lot of volunteers this year. we have so many volunteers that we had to put a stop last friday and say, we have no more space to put you. so, i think that people feel that around thanksgiving and christmas is not just a time to spend with our own families, but really a time to give back to the community. so, i urge all of you to pass the word that there's a lot of needy elderly and youth and families in the community that is waiting for a little bit of assistance so that they're well on their way to leading a full and productive life. so, we need to all reach out and dig deeper into our own pockets and find the spare change that we can find this season and turn them into small

and big miracles so that people that are in need will have a wonderful thanksgiving and a wonderful christmas. and mayor, thank you for being our passionate leader. and every year gather us around this time to remind people holidays is not just about gift buying, but it's about gift-giving. thank you very, very much. (applause) >> see, as you can see in everybody's remarks, it's really moving to be part of the giving that all these organizations are part of. we'll be getting ready for thanksgiving. i'm excited that tomorrow i'll be carving turkeys at salvation army in st. anthony's and we'll be handing out turkeys to the needy at mission economic development group and the center for young women's development. and then i'll also be enjoying myself prepping meals for thanksgiving at glide memorial. so, we have thousands of people that got to be helped and

served. again, we can't do it without everybody's help. and i ask everyone, please have listen to the people here, you've seen their sacrifices. they are doing god's work. i want to make sure that we have the information given out to the rest of the public how to join in this wonderful effort, how to make san francisco the character of serving and sharing as it should always be. and, so, again, please call 311 or go to our websites. i direct you for all of that and for continuing this wonderful holiday spirit. but most importantly, for caring for each other. thank you very much and have a happy holiday. thank you. (applause) ...

we're going to celebrate filipino-american history month in san francisco by doing what mayors always do, especially after being solely instructed by hydra as our education advisor to present the proclamation declaring the month of oct filipino-american month in san francisco. come on up here. get up here, so everybody can take a picture here.

if i may, i just wanted to say something as well. you know, there are many streets of our great, great city and everybody i think is now enjoying so many of the neighborhoods that are rising up. but there have been neighborhoods like desoma and the excelsior, critical names of streets that we named after filipinos who really served our city and country in a fabulous way. i want to make sure that people remember that. because it's part of our history. so let me say some of them that many of you in the room know, but a lot of our people don't know that. you ever see the names? (listing names ) if you were really smart and if

you are as smart as hydra wants everybody to be in san francisco, because of her board of education work, you should know victoria manalo dreys park. that was named after vicky dreyes, a filipino olympian from san francisco. these are names we should never forget. we'll see another names as they serve our great city and become our great local heroes. many of these names now on this very wonderful interactive board. tonight celebrate. celebrate the whole month and make sure we remember our heroes and make sure we honor the current ones that are serving today. and let's get the filipino-american candidates rally going for more heros in san francisco! celebrate filipino-american history month. thank you everybody for being here tonight. [ applause ]