Never Underestimate The Power Of a Group of Seniors Working Together
On September 24, the California Grey Bears of Santa Cruz will be celebrating their 40th anniversary at their annual Harvest Picnic with 1,500 seniors expected to attend.
The name implies that this organization is a branch of a statewide association. This is not the fact. As Executive Director Tim Brattan explained to me, this is an entirely Santa Cruz County operation and the plan is to change the name to simply “Grey Bears” to reflect the true nature of the local organization.
In 1973, a young woman named Kristina Mailliard and her friend Gary Denny shared fruits and vegetables from their garden with local seniors. When they discovered the needs of their older neighbors, they decided to hold a harvest festival for the senior community. This developed into a group of 100 members.
In a period of two years, the group came to be known as The Grey Bears and had 1,000 members, each one paying $1 a year. They were giving out about 600 bags of groceries each week. The group’s activities were written up in The Wall Street Journal and People Magazine and, in 1976, The California Grey Bears became incorporated as a non-profit organization.
Ralph Moceo, a grower of artichokes, Brussels sprouts and asparagus, was important in the development of the Grey Bears. He donated the use of his warehouse on the Westside of town and served as a go-between for the local farmers and the Grey Bear gleaning crews.
By 1984, the membership had grown to 2,000, making it necessary to move to Brown Bulb Ranch. In 1985 they were able to purchase a lot at 2710 Chanticleer Avenue, which is the current location of The Grey Bears.
By 1986 they had refurbished an old chicken coop on the property into the Brown Bag Program warehouse where the weekly food distribution operations continue to this day.
Michael Manfre was the Executive Director and Lynda Frances was the Office Manager. She was soon promoted to Executive Director, a post she held until 2011.
Volunteers rolled newspapers for local florists and nurseries as a money raising activity and operation S.C.R.A.P. (Santa Cruz Recycling Alliance Program) was incorporated as a fund raiser and to help local businesses recycle their cardboard.
In 1992, Grey Bears purchased an adjacent lot and opened a full time Thrift Store. In 1996, the purchase of a third lot enabled them to separate the Brown Bag program from the Recycling Center. They also entered into a contract with Santa Cruz County to manage the Recycling Center at Buena Vista Landfill.
And, in 2000, through a joint collaboration with the County Board of Supervisors, they opened a full time public Recycling Center on their Chanticleer property.
2002 marked the year the Grey Bears filled a growing need for e-waste recycling, providing facilities for recycling of computers, printers, TVs etc. In 2004 the group purchased four Earth Tubs to deal with food waste, and installed a Composting Pilot Program for the County.
Next came a Computer Lab and classes offered in Computing, Spanish, Cooking, Taiko Drumming and Chair Yoga. A furniture warehouse was added to the thrift store and the Brown Bag program was delivering to 3,400 members.
In 2011, Executive Director Lynda Frances retired after 25 years and Tim Brattan was selected to succeed her in managing the nonprofit organization. Membership stood at 4,000 and 1,400 seniors attended the 37th annual Harvest Picnic.
The popular Computer and Electronic Store was opened for the public, a refrigerated truck and 2 coolers were added for the Brown Bag Program.
In 2013, the Grey Bears addressed another need by holding the first Repair Café where volunteer “Fix-it Coaches” taught members of the public how to repair their electronic devices, appliances, furniture, etc.
Grey Bears distributes 2.6 million pounds of food to seniors and to local charities that serve seniors every year through their Brown Bag Program. The recycling programs diverts 18,000 tons of waste from landfills every year. Volunteers are the heart and soul of Grey Bears – from gleaning, quality control and composting, assembling and delivering weekly bags of groceries, to running the Thrift Store and Computer Electronics Store, staffing the office and helping with classes and events.
Now, the Grey Bears are poised to celebrate their forty-year anniversary with the introduction of a new logo and a new name at their annual Harvest Day Picnic on September 24 at Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz.
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California Grey Bears – Supporting Seniors, Recycling Resources