Commendation to Mayor Newsom and DCYF for Family Appreciation Day (McLaughlin)

January 17, 2006

On Sunday, January 8, 2006, the Mayor's Office and the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF) held the first-ever Family Appreciation Day. Over 26,000 San Franciscan families participated in the event with most people attending three or four of the over 20 attractions. Each of these locations opened their doors to the families for free and without compensation. The San Francisco Youth Commission was incredibly proud of the great event and would like to thank everybody involved. We want to acknowledge and thank DCYF and the Mayor's office for their great work in planning the day. We would like to thank MUNI, Public Housing, Recreation and Parks, Public Libraries, and SFUSD for helping with the highly successful public outreach. The event was sponsored by The San Francisco Examiner, and staffed by volunteers from DCYF (and their friends), Deloitte & Touche, and the Washington High School Junior ROTC. The following organizations deserve much credit for their generosity and participation:

Asian Art Museum
Bay Area United Way
Cable Car Museum
California Academy of Sciences
Cartoon Art Museum
Chinatown Alleyway Tours
Chinese Historical Society of America
Coit Tower
Conservatory of Flowers
Contemporary Jewish Museum
de Young Museum
Exploratorium
Giants SBC Ball Park Tours
Haas Lilienthal House
Legion of Honor
Museum of the African Diaspora
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
San Francisco Maritime Museum
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Zoo
S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien
Wells Fargo History Museum
Zeum

The event received much kudos from people all over the city, with comments on the organization and execution of the event. Families from all different ethnic and economic backgrounds came out from all parts of the city and had their adventures together throughout the city. The San Francisco population of youth under the age of 18 is 107,913. To think that over 26,000 youth and their families participated is absolutely mind-boggling.

San Francisco has a long way to go in terms of family friendliness. Through events like this, however, we know that this city can become more open, welcoming, and accommodating for the many families within our borders. This is one small step in the right direction. We strongly urge the city to make this event and events like it annual at the very least.

So again, a big thank you to everybody involved!

-The San Francisco Youth Commission