The inset picture on the cover is the only existing photo of

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2 The inset picture on the cover is the only existing photo of Founder Mike McGarvin in a Franciscan robe. Mike was a Secular or Third Order Franciscan, wherein he vowed to pattern his life after Jesus in the spirit of St. Francis. However, Secular Franciscans don t take vows of chastity and poverty, and generally lead standard lives, having families and working outside of the Church. The picture was taken before Mike became a Secular Franciscan; at the time, he was considering entering the First Order as a friar. October has special significance at Poverello House, because October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis in the Catholic calendar. As we ve noted for many years, Poverello means Little Poor Man, a reference to St. Francis of Assisi. Mike was always a man with good instincts, but seldom good at long-range planning. When he and Mary put together batches of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he started passing them out in Fresno s Chinatown, he was following those instincts, which had been honed by his association with the Franciscans and the Poverello coffeehouse in San Francisco. Perhaps in the back of his mind, he saw in the future an organization serving the homeless, but if so, it was not his primary focus. He just saw a need, and in his forthright manner, took it upon himself to address that need. A few days after he d passed away, a woman came to visit Mary McGarvin. The woman was from the local order of Secular Franciscans, and had heard about Mike s death from the news. She brought to Mary kind words, a brown Franciscan habit, two candles, a Franciscan rosary, and a printed copy of the Prayer of St. Francis. That brown robe was displayed at Mike s Rosary and Mass of Christian Burial, a reminder of something that many people either did not know or had forgotten: that Mike was a Franciscan down to his bones. It was Franciscans that saved Mike from a life of self-destruction by welcoming him, teaching him, and showing him God s love in their acceptance of him, with all his flaws, and their acceptance of the poor. They sent the spark of compassion into his dry soul, and the ensuing fire consumed him, until he became someone who wasn t happy unless he was helping others.

3 Poverello House is not allied with any particular church or doctrine, but the Franciscan nature of the place is unmistakable. No matter their beliefs, every donor, volunteer and friend of Poverello has the spirit of St. Francis when they give of themselves to help the wretchedly poor people here. Back in 1973, Mike brought to Fresno the love and hospitality he experienced from the Franciscans in the Tenderloin, and no one associated with him and Poverello House will ever be the same. October is especially significant this year, both because it will mark the 45 th year of Fresno s Poverello House, and it will be the first Feast of St. Francis at Poverello without Mike. We thought it would be a good time to reflect on Poverello s past, present and future. To that end, we spoke with Poverello s President of the Board of Directors, John Frye, and our CEO, Cruz Avila, about where we ve been, and where we re going. Interview with John Frye, Board President Q: Practically speaking, what impact do you think the loss of Mike McGarvin is going to have on Poverello House? A: I would say that Mike s physical presence is no longer here, but his soul is part of Poverello, and I ve made that comment before. I believe the reason all the board members have chosen Poverello as a cause to volunteer for had to do with him personally and the reality he brought to the homeless, the face of the homeless, and the need to care for those individuals with respect and dignity, and I believe that will never change. That is so ingrained in what we have here and the way we want to move forward that his presence will always be a part of Poverello. Q: For a lot of organizations, losing a founder will often result in a loss of direction, a gradual loss of the organization s sense of continuity with the past, and dissolution of the mission. You ve addressed that a little bit with what you ve said already, but can you think of anything else, such as how might these developments be prevented or, at least, managed? A: I m not concerned about that at all. With Mike s health, he kind of became less visible over the past few years than he had been (Continued on next page)

4 (Continued from previous page) before. I truly enjoyed his presence at board meetings, and he always brought the raw reality with a sense of humor about what we re dealing with down here, the challenges that people have, and the challenges we have with helping them. And so, with Mike s reduced visibility and presence, we kind of transitioned while he was alive, and there is a great excitement, I believe, about what Poverello House s role will be in the future. It already is today. It really is the center of discussions about dealing with the homeless issue and how do we transition people from a very dire situation to something more in their control and something proactive so that they can return to a meaningful life. So, as a board member who has been here since 1992, I ve witnessed that, and I believe that we are moving in a direction that Mike would be very proud of. Q: What do you think the biggest challenges will be ahead? A: Well, the first challenge we have is to operationalize what we re about to finish (referring to the warehouse project) and make sure that it smoothly optimizes what we can do with that from an efficiency standpoint. The problem that the homeless have with mental health issues creates an environment that we will respond to, as Cruz will mention. He s proactively involved in that to make sure that whatever is ultimately done, that we have the best interest of the community of Fresno at heart. But there are always challenges finding funding sources to ensure that we can continue on. John Frye and Cruz Avila We ve been very blessed all the years I ve been on the board to have the cash drop when it s ultimately needed, and we ve witnessed that again recently. It s just an amazing history that Poverello has, and the Lord provides when we need it most, and that tradition will continue on into the future. Q: The Franciscan tradition was very important to Mike. Even though Poverello is a nonprofit, nondenominational organization, it still had that Franciscan flavor. Do you see that changing at all?

5 A: Absolutely not. I think St. Francis is a great visual of, and represents well, what we do at Poverello each and every day. Mike embraced that, and it changed his life, and he changed our lives, and I think we just continue to change lives for the better. You know what? The other thing I want to say Cruz called me right after Mike died. I I slumped in my chair, because I wasn t expecting that, because I had seen him when he left the hospital, and he was so in such a great place, and you could tell that he was looking forward to going home, and I was pushing for him to drive by the steel that had been erected just so he could feel all the more proud and amazed at what he had started. But when I got the news, I probably reflected for two hours with the On the Level book, because that had such an impact on my life. The pictures, and the stories in the second book (Papa Mike), at the time, that reconfirmed the choice I had made to be on Poverello s board, because I wanted an organization that really made a difference, I didn t want to be on a lot of different service clubs. There s a picture in there, and I think you have it up here, and it s the young sister and brother, with their eyes, and the story behind them that just hit the heart. So I ve been very proud to be part of this organization. Interview with Cruz Avila, CEO When asked about his perspective on the future of Poverello House without Mike McGarvin, Cruz had this to say: It s hard to grasp (that Mike McGarvin is gone). You see his (golf) cart outside, and he s not in it. It takes time, but the void is never going to be completely gone. But even time won t heal everything, the pain and the emptiness. So we pray, as each day s a new day, and ask for guidance about what we need to do. This was a really hard year because of the losses, not only with my dad, but with Papa Mike. Q: What do you see as the major challenges ahead now that Mike s gone? A: The dynamics of the changing services here in Fresno County. We ve studied it, we ve worked it, we ve been doing the ride-alongs with the homeless task force to see where all our (Continued on next page)

6 (Continued from previous page) homeless population were, where they re living, the conditions, we re doing all the background and research from A to Z to make sure we understand what our clients are going through. Poverello has always been known in the community: strong brand, the model for Fresno County when it comes to serving meals with dignity, compassion, not turning anyone away, always being there, 365 days out of the year. I do believe that one of the major challenges we have is educating folks to understand that we truly are NOT a soup kitchen. That s what started us, that s what Papa Mike worked so hard for, but Papa Mike built so much into this organization that it s incorrect for folks to say that we re just a soup kitchen, because of what Papa Mike and Mary did to get us to the place where we are forty-four plus years later. October 4 th will be our 45 th year of service. Forty-five years! If you look at the evolution of those forty-five years, that in itself is going from good to great, and Papa Mike had always set the example of going from good to great. You follow that I ve always said that the old knowledge and the new knowledge make the perfect knowledge. So when we refer back to those challenges, there are the challenges of service models, of the appropriate ways to engage our clients, to understand and appropriately address their needs and to keep up with the times. Our clients are not the same as they were ten years ago, five years ago, two years ago, even a week ago. There s so much chaos happening out on the streets these days, that we have to keep up with everything, and we need to make sure that we re constantly seeing our clients first and foremost as human beings before we approach any other situation that they re in.

7 Funding has always been a challenge. God has a plan, and we follow it, even though we re not considered a faith-based organization, we work with any and all faith-based groups. And that s what s key for us, that we truly are here to enrich the lives and spirits of all who pass our way, from colleagues and businesses, to friends, clients, staff and board members, it s the common theme for all that we do here at the Pov. Change is inevitable, and it s happening right now. In the midst of this change, we have to be sure that we never forget the Franciscan foundations laid down by Papa Mike. No matter how many things change, we have to remember that the most important thing we could ever do is to love and accept the hurting people that God sends our way, the way Papa Mike did for almost 45 years. Save the date for Friday, November 10, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. for A Gift of Hope, a gala benefitting Poverello House. The event will be held at TorNino s, located at 5080 N. Blackstone in Fresno. Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please call Jeff Negrete at Poverello House at (559) , or him at negrete@poverellohouse.org. To donate online, visit our website at Remember, we now take credit card donations over the phone. Please call (559) , or mail your enclosed envelope to Poverello House.

8 NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID FRESNO, CA PERMIT #2440 Poverello House 412 F Street P.O. Box Fresno, CA (559) FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED Who Are We? A nonprofit, nondenominational organization. Our Mission: Believing in the dignity of every person, at Poverello House we work to enrich the lives and spirits of all who pass our way by stewarding the resources made available to us through Providential and community support. Governance: We have been operating since 1973 and are governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of local volunteer men and women. Future Goals? To provide additional facilities for increased services. How Are We Funded? Primarily through private donations from individuals, churches, businesses, and community organizations. Rules for acceptance and participation in the programs of Poverello House are the same for everyone, without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.