New Times - San Luis Obispo

Mary Gamlin

Bride of humanity

Mary Gamlin limits her volunteer commitments to three projects a year. "It’s the guilt thing," she confesses. "There is no worse feeling for me than not doing as good a job as I can do. If you’re not doing a good job and making a contribution, you’re not making yourself feel good–so what’s the point of volunteering?"

That means Gamlin says "no" a lot, since she is courted by so many non-profits.

As vice president of client services for Barnett Cox and Associates, one of SLO’s leading public relations firms, Gamlin has skills, creativity, contacts and a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-to work-attitude. But her winning combination of compassion and quirky humor is what really pulls people in.

To distinguish her non-profit work from her people-intensive professional career, Gamlin says she purposely selects non-profits that have "more humanity," like Hospice of San Luis Obispo County. "The Hospice board was more of an honor to serve on. It means so much to be associated with an organization that has such an impact on people’s lives, I take it really seriously," says Gamlin, who has lost both her parents.

Gamlin began her association with Hospice by helping organize the beer festival, but over the past five years her commitment has deepened. Last year she conducted the in-home training, where she says she met many family members who were once assisted by the organization. "Now they want to volunteer. That shows what an impact Hospice has on people’s lives," she points out.

This year Gamlin leaves the Friends of the Library Board after establishing its chocolate festival, but will continue to serve Hospice and stay active in the SLO Rotary club.

And her third "cause célèbre" for 2002?

"My wedding," she says. "I am getting married in less than four months and I thought if I looked at it as another one of my volunteer jobs I wouldn’t get overwhelmed."

–Anne Quinn

Pearl Munak and husband Edwin cooked five turkeys the day before Christmas, but on Christmas day they ate nary a bite. The turkeys were part of a meal for 115 that the Munaks prepared for the EOC Homeless Shelter on behalf of their Paso Robles church, Plymouth Congregational. It was the third meal for the homeless that Plymouth Congregational supplied for the shelter last month, Pearl says with pride.

Despite the fact that she didn’t get a bellyful, Pearl raves about Edwin’s culinary skills. "He’s a master chef," she says. "He made the most wonderful gravy he has ever made–the most wonderful gravy that anybody has ever even thought of."

As president of the Homeless Housing Project, an organization that helps the homeless in the North County, Pearl knows all the dates that the shelter is short a meal, and the first place she turns to for help is her own church.

Pearl first learned that there even was a homeless problem in North County at church. J.D. Main, then-president of the Homeless Housing Project, demonstrated the homeless survival kits he and other volunteers were passing out to those sleeping under the Niblick River bridge. "I thought, this is terrible," she says. "All this stuff is going on and we weren’t even aware of it."

One of Pearl’s top priorities now that she heads the group is to find land for a North County shelter. "It’s sad. Forty percent of the homeless at the EOC Shelter in San Luis Obispo are from the North County."

Even if there is a bed for them there–and there are only 49 beds–finding a way down there can be almost impossible. "And it’s cold and it’s raining," Pearl says.

Pearl and Edwin Munak may never meet the families they help–that’s up to the social workers–but they have the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference. "It’s a good feeling to know that a family has a roof over its head," Pearl says.

Roy Ogden

Angels’ feisty sidekick

Roy Ogden, the San Luis Obispo attorney locked in a battle with the state to save the de Groot Nursing Home, has only wits and words to use as weapons, but he knows he’s not alone. Ogden says that his clients are "on the side of the angels."

After he volunteered to defend the de Groots for free after state auditors demanded they return $180,000 in alleged over-payments, other SLO attorneys called to offer help. "Any one of them will stand up and participate if their services are needed," Ogden says.

Sjany de Groot is the 74-year-old mother of seven, grandmother of 14, and surrogate mother of 13 fragile and terminally ill children. The de Groots care for children nobody else wants–ones who can’t tolerate food, can’t breathe without mechanical assistance, many who cannot talk or walk.

Normally, these children would be institutionalized. Instead, they sleep in a bright, clean nursery in the de Groots’ home, where de Groot cares for them around the clock. They have learned to smile, even laugh.

The way Ogden tells the story, when the parents of one child wanted their child to stay in the loving atmosphere of the de Groot home instead of an institution, Sjany said that she couldn’t keep the child because the expenses would exceed what Medi-Cal pays.

In response to the parents’ pleadings, the de Groots "penciled out" what would be additional expenses for the child. Later, when the child received a legal settlement, that amount was given to the de Groots for the boys’ care. Since the de Groots had always considered this money extra, they continued to bill Medi-Cal.

Last February, Medi-Cal accused the de Groots of double billing for the boy, and demanded $180,000 in reimbursement. The state is now holding back $30,000 a month from the de Groots. There are occasional fund-raisers to help.

Then there is Ogden, and the angels, of course.

–Anne Quinn

After building their dream home, an elegant strawbale house sitting in the middle of 160 acres in the hills behind Cayucos, Jennifer Branes and husband Richard Arfa wanted to share their good fortune. They formed the Branes Foundation to host children from urban centers so the city kids could explore nature.

They also joined forces with Lisa Tanzman, who heads Camp Erutan, to bring children onto the property, which offers a wilderness feeling that many of them have never experienced.

The trio started with day camps, working in tandem with the Morro Bay Parks and Recreation Department. A survey of the children’s interests showed that "we were way ahead of Raging Waters and afternoon movies," says Branes.

The children get to explore the permaculture garden designed by eco-garden specialist Larry Santoyo. The grounds feature a clay pot irrigation system, and the diversity of a rich "food forest," where children can pick fruits and vegetables and explore herbs and flowers.

This summer, the day camps grew into week-long overnighters, featuring music, hikes, arts and crafts. More than 100 children visited this year. Some of the children were homeless, many coming to the outdoor facility from the Homeless Shelter in San Luis Obispo.

"We do it simply to expose kids, who have no other exposure, to the outdoors," says Branes. "They’re used to pavement and the streets. We’re trying to give them some exposure to what they might not otherwise have experienced."