Bread And Roses

In Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope and Healing  (c. 1998 p. 174) Judy Collins recalls looking for songs for an album project in 1976.

  “After the death of her husband, Dick Fariña, Mimi Fariña, Joan Baez’s younger sister, had started a nonprofit organization in San Francisco called Bread & Roses, to provide free entertainment for people in homes, jails and hospitals in the Bay Area.  She wrote the “Bread and Roses” melody to a poem by James Oppenheim and I recorded it, using a choir of voices in a church in New York.”  

In her liner notes for the album, also titled Bread & Roses Judy said:  “Songs come from many places, unexpectedly, amazingly.”  She relayed how Mimi had sent her a copy of the “Bread and Roses” poem. She thought it so beautiful that she asked her to set it to music.  Her sister Holly Ann then designed a Bread and Roses tapestry piece featuring a single rose and wove it using hand-dyed yarns which was then used as the art for the inside album cover.      

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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Bread & Roses founder, Mimi Fariña. Yet, her legacy lives on through the work that Bread & Roses accomplishes every day by bringing quality live music to individuals who are isolated and institutionalized. This work is made possible through the generosity of our volunteers and donors. And right now, there has never been a more exciting time to support our work...

• Because you have witnessed the power of live music to transform and and inspire in profound and unexpected ways.
• Because we urgently need your help to continue our important work.
• Because 100% of the board have contributed to a challenge grant to thank you for your generosity - thereby doubling the impact of your gift.
• And because right now, a gift of any size will make you a founding member of our new FOUNDER'S CIRCLE - established in honor of our founder, Mimi Fariña.

Thirty-seven years ago Mimi Fariña founded Bread & Roses with the compassionate desire to offer hope and joy to isolated audiences through the healing power of live music. Since then, Bread & Roses has grown considerably, presenting nearly 600 shows ayear to nearly 27,000 individuals being cared for in 120 Bay Area facilities.

These are some examples of how our audience members have responded to Bread & Roses shows:

"The music makes me want to live longer," said an elderly woman living apart from family and friends in a convalescent home for low-income residents.

"Today became the best day of my life," said a teen at a juvenile hall after a Bread & Roses performer invited her to the stage to sing.

"Please know that your organization will be remembered the duration of my lifetime for the gift of hope you have given me through music and song," said Don, a man recovering from addiction.

Join the Founder's Circle today and ensure that Mimi's caring legacy lives on. In doing so, you will inspire hope, change a life, and bring comfort to those who need it most.

Video courtesy of Michael Mc Connell at Media Local Studios.

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New This Year!

Join Bread & Roses Holiday Sing-Along Chorus

And Bring Good Cheer To Our Isolated Audiences in December!

Bread & Roses is sponsoring a holiday sing-along for several of our facility audiences with a chorus of volunteer singers co-led by singers Claudia Russell and Marian Hubler.

Anyone who enjoys singing holiday songs is welcome to participate. Each program will be approximately 45 minutes to an hour. If you interested in being part of the group, you can do one show or all, which will be held in the East Bay, San Francisco and Marin.

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