Gloria Lenhart says that helping with 826 field trip program is the highlight of her week, but she also has a lot of other things going on. She’s a San Francisco City Guide who gives free tours of North Beach and Financial District. Her website, www.mysfpast.com, provides information on these tours including where to find downtown rooftop gardens and pocket parks called POPOS (Privately Owned Public Open Space). She has written a tour book highlighting the history, architecture and legends of San Francisco and is getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to turn these tours into a smartphone app. She also runs a series of writing groups for adults at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center. Her memoir, Planet Widow, was published in 2006 by Seal Press in Berkeley and she is currently working on a historical novel that deals with the politics in San Francisco around the time of the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Still, she shows up at 826 every Tuesday morning, taking her place behind the keyboard to help shape a bunch of crazy characters and setting dreamed up the young writers into a cohesive story. She had a long career in advertising agencies and later as a marketing writing for companies like Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo and more. But besides the dozens of books she has produced for 826 field trips, her proudest achievements are her two sons.
To read about all of our featured volunteers, visit the Volunteer of the Month gallery.
