Bread & Roses Executive Director Dave Perron knew Bob Rose when he was the public relations director for the SF Giants. Bob said of his motivation for becoming a volunteer host “I want to give back to my community and help those less fortunate. I’m also a huge music fan.”
Our volunteer host program is an important part of our success. Every year, over sixty percent of our institutional shows are hosted by volunteers like Bob who emcee and facilitate the artists who perform for our isolated audiences around the Bay. Our hosts also send a report with highlights from each show.
Bob captured the experience of The California Honeydrops recent concert for adults in recovery at the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco: "The crowd was so revved up, you could barely hear the words ‘California Honeydrops’ when Dave Perron made the introduction. They opened with their own funky version of the Pointer Sisters’ Yes, We Can Can, as the 100-strong audience began to clap and dance in their seats. Guys were smiling, pointing at their buddies and just soaking in the music. As the Honeydrops ran through their song list, which included many songs from their new two-CD album “Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2,” the sheer joy emanating from the audience began to pour over into the aisles and eventually to an open dance floor to the side of the seating area. It was clear the Delancey Street clients did not want to see the concert end. After a final number, the encore applause was deafening."
Of a summer show presented by two high school students at Fruitvale Healthcare Center, a senior convalescent facility in Oakland, Bob had this to say, “Sometimes magic appears unexpectedly at a Bread & Roses concert. This was one of those moments. Arriana and Kiera Garell, arrived at the facility looking and acting like the teenagers they were… After a beautiful duet of James Bay’s Hold Back the River, little sister Kiera matched Arriana with her own spectacular Etta James classic, At Last. Two older African American women, sitting in wheelchairs in the first row, agreed whole-heartedly. They smiled warmly with expressive faces and held hands in a very touching scene…
"Arriana followed with a remarkable rendition of the Whitney Houston anthem, I Will Always Love You. An elderly white man in a motorized wheelchair, stroked his grey beard while mouthing the words with her. The amazing force of her voice caused a stir outside the dining room, as many more staff and clients hurriedly came up to the open doorways to enjoy the final stanzas… Their next song was one that meant a lot to them personally. ‘This song is about sticking together,’ said Arianna. “It’s about family. You have a family here! We need to love and support each other!” And with that, they sang a very poignant emotional song I Will Never Leave You.
"In my years as a Bread & Roses volunteer, I cannot remember a senior audience being this alert and focused on performers. You could feel the connection they had made. When the song ended, staffer Marc applauded wildly and could no longer repress his feelings. “You guys are the best performers we’ve ever had here! By a lot! Please come back.”
Thank you Bob for being one of over 40 active volunteer hosts for Bread & Roses, helping us present over 600 annual shows for isolated youth, adults and seniors in eight Bay Area counties. See our online application to join our team of Hosts.