Bread & Roses HOPE & HEALING THROUGH LIVE MUSIC

Bread & Roses brings healing and hope through live music to hospitalized and rehabilitating patients of the San Francisco Bay Area. Our performances are meant to uplift people’s spirits during challenging times.

Table of Contents

Uplifting the mind & spirit 3

The healing power of live music 11

Bringing communities hope & healing 19

Get involved 24

4 BREAD & ROSES

Bread & Roses is dedicated to uplifting the human spirit by providing

free, live, quality performances to people who live in institutions or are

otherwise isolated from society. Our performances:

• Enrich the soul and promote wellness through the healing power

of the performing arts;

• Create a sense of community for our professional performers in

a non-commercial setting in which they can donate their talents

to inspire and be inspired by their audiences;

• Provide an opportunity for non-performing volunteers to contrib-

ute a variety of skills and resources that support our humanitarian

services and increase the impact of donor contributions.

Bread & Roses seeks to create a social awareness of people who are

isolated from society, and to encourage the development of similar

organizations in other communities. The audience members we serve

do not have the physical, emotional or financial capacity to attend

live performances. Their circumstances are such that if the live perfor-

mance does not come to them, they will not have access to it.

Through song and dance, Bread & Roses enhances basic care by giving

the healing gifts of love, human contact and support, inspiration and

hope. We understand the healing power of live music, and it is our mis-

sion to bring it to communities who need it most.

Uplifting the Mind & Spirit

Top Right Hospital patients listen to a

Bread & Roses hospital performance.

Bottom Right Lenny McFee plays guitar

for patients at Laguna Honda Hospital.

6 BREAD & ROSES

Changing Lives in the Bay Area

The name Bread & Roses is taken from a poem written in 1912 by James

Oppenheim on the occasion of a textile strike in Massachusetts at which

10,000 women and children marched against brutal working conditions.

Inspired by the poem, singer/songwriter Mimi Farina chose the phrase to

convey the spirit of the agency she founded in 1914. Mimi knew that live

performance has vital, life-affirming powers, and she dedicated her life to

building an organization and a community based on that insight. Her work

continues today, aided by hundreds of volunteers, thousands of donors,

caring celebrities, and the hearts she touched along the way.

Daily Performances

Virtually every day of the year, Bread & Roses shares hope and healing

through live music that we bring to our most isolated neighbors in the San

Francisco Bay Area. Our performances uplift the spirits of children bat-

tling cancer, teens battling substance abuse, families in homeless shelters,

seniors nearing the end of life transition, and others living apart from

friends and family while facing challenging times.

While there are others who visit Bay Area facilities with shows and acts

of compassion, there is no other organization that systematically brings

live entertainment to seniors, adults and children in need.

21

3

6

7

8

4

5

PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL SHOWS IN EACH COUNTY

Sonoma = 1%

Napa = 1%

Marin = 40%

1 San Francisco = 29%

San Mateo = 5%

Contra Costa = 2%

2

3

4

5

6

Alameda = 21%

Santa Clara = 1%

7

8

COUNTIES SERVED IN THE BAY AREA

8 BREAD & ROSES

Above Marian Hubler, Volunteer Host

and Program Director, found Bread &

Roses through her love of music.

A VOLUNTEER’S STORY Finding Life’s Purpose

MIND & SPIRIT 9

MARIAN HUBLER, Program Director

About twenty years ago, I decided that I wasn’t happy with my corpo-

rate office job anymore. I spent all day going to and from a cubicle

doing work that I didn’t enjoy. There came a point when I realized that

I wanted my life to mean something more than what I was making it.

I had been a piano player for almost ten years at that point, and I really

wanted to find something that involved music. I initially volunteered

to become a host for their shows in the Bay area. I thought it would be

fun to do on the weekends and occasionally during the week. Not only

did I have the chance to connect with people in need, but I’d also be

able to watch outstanding local musicians perform on a regular basis.

The first show that I hosted was nothing short of an incredible exper-

ience. I watched a woman smile and break down into tears. It was

amazing to see the transformation of the audience before my eyes

during each show. I knew I had stumbled upon something special.

After several years volunteering for Bread & Roses, I decided to take

my passion full-time as their Program Director. I can honestly say

that I wake up every morning excited to go to work. It’s given my pur-

pose in life, and no longer do I feel that I’m letting life pass me by.

“Bread & Roses holds a special place in my heart. I volunteer

because of the power music has to open hearts and comfort minds.”

— Marian Hubler

10 BREAD & ROSES

The healing power of Live MusicThey are our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters, mothers and

fathers, neighbors and friends. They live in senior convalescent homes,

mental health and AIDS facilities, special needs schools and hospitals.

They are found in shelters for the abused or homeless, drug and alcohol

rehabilitation centers and detention facilities. They often feel lost, alone

and abandoned.

But when Bread & Roses puts on a show, they come to life. They clap

their hands, tap their toes and move to the beat. Like flowers turning to

the sun, their eyes light up, they smile, and song along. Sometimes, they

even get up and dance. They leave feeling a little lighter, a little brighter.

For three decades now, Bread & Roses has been reaching out to people,

maybe people that you know, through song, dance, story and more. Our

performances bring a kind of simple healing, with benefits that medical

research now confirms. It is the healing that comes from letting people

know that they are not forgotten and not alone.

12 BREAD & ROSES

Music therapy is the use of music to promote hope and healing and

to enhance quality of life. The practice may be used to encourage emo-

tional expression, promote social interaction and relieve symptoms.

Music has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Greek

philosophers believed that music could heal both the body and the soul.

Native Americans have used singing as part of their healing rituals. The

more formal approach to music therapy began in World War II, when

hospitals used music therapy to help treat soldiers suffering from shell

shock and other injuries. Michigan State University soon established

the first music therapy degree in 1944.

Medical Benefits Music therapists may use active or passive methods, depending on the

patient’s needs and abilities. Music therapists work with a variety of

physica, emotional and psychological symptoms.

There is supporting evidence, when used with conventional treatment, that

music therapy can help reduce pain, heart rate, breathing rate and blood

pressure. Many medical experts also believe it can aid in healing, improve

physical movement, and enrich a patient’s quality of life. There are no

claims that music therapy can cure cancer, but it is often used in cancer

treatment to help reduce pain caused by chemotherapy.

We Believe in Music Therapy

32

1

2

3

HOW WE PROCESS MUSIC

Hearing Stage

A musical sound and peripheral

phenomenon is linked to the ear

and the auditory nerve.

Feeling Stage

Music is filtered through the thalamus,

relaying sensation, spacial sense and

motor signals to the cerebral cortex.

Listening Stage

Sound is intellectualized as it reaches

the temporal lobe centers, the nervous

system and related mental functions.

1

INSOMNIA Study participants reported a 30% reduction in abnormal sleeping patterns.

DEPRESSION Severity of symptoms in depression patients decreased 33% with music.

MIGRAINES Music induced deep relaxation in 46% of migraine patients.

ANXIETY Music therapy induced calming effects for 60% of women with severe anxiety.

STRESS Almost 60% of a study group noticed a dispersion of stress after music therapy.

PAIN Music helped reduce pain symptoms for 44% of patients after a minor surgery.

14 BREAD & ROSES

Studies in Music TherapyThe American Music Therapy Association recently conducted a series

of studies to further broaden our understanding of the effects that music

has on patients with varying conditions.

Study Results: Decreased Symptoms in Music Therapy Patients

The experiments confirmed a significant decrease in discomfort and

severity of symptoms amongst patients participating in the study group,

including insomnia, pain, stress, anxiety, migraines and depression.

INSOMNIAPAIN

STRESS

DEPRESSION

MIGRAINESANXIETY

LIVE MUSIC’S HEALING POWER 15

-44%

-59%

-60%

-46%

-33%

-30%

Left Vincent Caulfield plays his guitar

for Laguna Honda Hospital patients in

San Francisco.

A PERFORMER’S STORY Connecting a Community

“Thanks to Bread & Roses, I have experienced the healing that

takes place when performer and audience meet heart-to-heart.”

— Vincent Caulfield

LIVE MUSIC’S HEALING POWER 17

VINCENT CAULFIELD, Guitarist for the Gas Men Over the past ten years or so, playing music has become an increasingly

important part of my life. It has brought me closer to the people that I

care about, taught me how I want to live my life and gotten me through

tough times. Playing music for other people gives me perspective and

hope, and I always learn something from my audience whenever I get up

to perform with my band.

On St. Patrick’s Day, I arrived with my band, the Gas Men, at the Laguna

Honda Hospital with a festive green hat and and a variety of instruments.

Our band planned to play traditional Irish music for the hospital patients

to give them some holiday cheer as they recovered from surgery and

underwent rehabilitation.

After a friendly crowd settled in their seats, we began to play. Although

the audience was quiet at first, they seemed to perk up with every song.

A woman in the corner waved her hands in the air and closed her eyes

as she listened to the music. Hospital staff put their arms around the

patients they sat next to, and I could see both of them start to smile.

The show ended with loud clapping and cheering, and an audience that

seemed happier than when they initially walked in.

I found myself filled with emotion several moments during the show,

realizing that there was something special that was happening in this

room. That this was not just an hour of playing our instruments, but

an exchange of healing at its most simplistic level. I felt our music was

connecting a community as we shared something that we all loved.

TO SINGis to love and affirm, to coast into the hearts of the people that listen,

to tell them that beauty exists. — Joan Baez, American Folk Singer

20 BREAD & ROSES

Bread & Roses serves isolated individuals of all ages by bringing free,

live performances to the facilities in which they reside. These individuals

can be economically disadvantaged, physically or mentally disabled, in

recovery, or at risk.

In recent years, institutionalization has increased. For example, more

elders are cared for outside their homes, a greater number of men and

women are living with Alzheimer’s, and drug and alcohol addiction

continues to be a problem for all ages. Children are institutionalized for

an ever-broadening set of social problems, including concerns about their

physical safety, dire poverty, medical and/or educational neglect, mental

illness, and behavioral problems.

Among the many things confined individuals lack is access to the healing

power of the arts. Most of the individuals in our audiences have no oppor-

tunity other than through a Bread & Roses performance to experience the

unique, restorative sensation of being lifted beyond oneself

that is possible through the performing arts.

Bringing isoloated communities Hope & Healing

Top Right Clyde plays trumpet

for a Bread & Roses audience.

Bottom Right Drummers at an

outdoor Bread & Roses event.

22 BREAD & ROSES

600 Annual Live ShowsBread and Roses hosts approximately 600 live shows each

year in the San Francisco Bay area. Our performers play in

a variety of treatment centers, which are represented below.

5%

14%

12%

7%

7%

1%

CHILD DAY CAREREHAB CENTERSHIV SPECIAL NEEDS HOSPITALSDETENTION CENTERS

HOPE & HEALING 23

18%

14%

10%

7%

5%

ELDERLY CARE SENIOR DAY CARE MENTAL HEALTH HOMELESS DISABLED

24 BREAD & ROSES

Left Beth Larksdale listens to the

music at a Bread & Roses event at

her rehabilitation center.

A PARTICIPANT’S STORY Letting Go of the Pain

HOPE & HEALING 25

BETH LARKSDALE, Hospital Patient I feel lucky to say that I have lived a pretty good life. I found the love of

my life at age 20, and we were married for almost 40 years. I had one

beautiful daughter, traveled to many places and met some wonderful

friends along the way.

I met my husband at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, where we both

came to dance every Friday. I still remember the music as if it was

yesterday. Since then, music and dancing was always a central aspect

of our lives. When my husband passed away, and I developed acute

arthritis, I lost both my dancing partners and my dancing legs. It hasn’t

been easy, but I’ve always tried to maintain a positive spirit.

When Bread & Roses visited my rehabilitation hospital, I was so happy

to have a chance to listen to live music once again. It didn’t matter

what kind of music it was, I made sure I had a front row seat. Although

I wasn’t able to dance to the music like I used to with my husband, the

show made me forget about my recent misfortune. I was reminded

about all the beautiful and positive things that I have been fortunate

to have in my life. I closed my eyes, waved my hands in the air and

hummed to the music. I saw some people watching me, but I didn’t

care, I was happy for the first time in a long while.

“Bread & Roses brought me back to a positive

place in one of the most difficult periods of my life.

They reminded me that beauty still exists.”

— Beth Larksdale

26 BREAD & ROSES

There is a growing need for the healing Bread & Roses inspires. We need

your support and thank you for your generosity. There are many ways

you can get involved to support our mission of bringing hope and healing

through live music.

Visit www.breadandroses.org to learn more about any of the following:

Donate

We gratefully accept online donations through our secure donation server

on our website.

Volunteer

Volunteers are needed throughout the year for our daily shows, public

benefit events and to support our staff. We are looking for performers,

show hosts, and event and office volunteers.

Attend a Benefit Event

Bread & Roses produces public concerts and private events to raise

awareness about our mission and to support our program.

Send Us Your Stories

We are collecting stories from those whose lives have been touched by

Bread & Roses.

Get Involved

28 BREAD & ROSES

233 Tamalpais Drive, Corte Madera, CA 94925

T 415.945.7120 • F 415.945.7128 • www.breadandroses.org