CHARITIES
Among other good works such as support for Episcopal Charities at Grace Cathedral, Clausen House in Oakland has traditionally been a special charity of the San Francisco Commandery. Clausen House is a teaching and training facility for youths and adults who are developmentally challenged, or who suffer from cerebral palsy or autism. Clausen House continues to enjoy a remarkable success in assisting their charges in their preparation for successful independent living as working adults. Other direct charities include the George Mark Children's House, which on opening in early 2004 was the first hospice in the United States created specifically to care for terminally ill children.
The Commandery of St. Joseph helps support the San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School. Founded in 1987, the SJCC has provided more than 15,000 "at-risk" disadvantaged, young men and women (mostly minority) with the academic education, hands-on learning, and development of basic skills such as leadership, communication, computer literacy, and employment training needed to enter and succeed in the Silicon Valley skilled workforce. Last year, the St. Joseph Commandery supported the Peninsula Volunteers "Meals on Wheels" program which is crucial to recipients desiring to remain independent. Without this program, many would subsist solely on canned foods, if they ate at all during the day. A dietician who is also available to provide personalized advice to the clients supervises the preparation of meals provided. Specifically, the St. Joseph Commandery supported a project to help remodel the kitchen facilities to enable both expansion and improvement of the volunteers' service. In previous years, the St. Joseph Commandery has also assisted the San Juan Bautista Child Development Center in San Jose. As the only facility in the area where low-income working parents can leave their children under supervised medical care, the Center offers a much-needed service. The Commandery offered strong support to the Center for an up-to-date infirmary similar to the Knights Inn recently completed by the Commandery at Camp Okizu, a medically staffed summer camp for children with cancer and their siblings. The St. Joseph Commandery has also collaborated closely in the expansion of the Nicki and Joe Parisi House on the Hill in San Jose, a home enabling drug addicted mothers to live with their children while they undergo a court-directed drug rehabilitation program with an outstanding success rate of over 70%, and the Clean Slate Program in San Jose for laser removal of tattoos for reformed gang members who have chosen to improve their chances for a new life.
The Military Commandery of The Western United States of America has supported several local Bay Area armed forces and military veteran related charities in the past, including the Veterans Home of California in Yountville which was the Military Commandery's focus charity for 2006. The Veterans Home of California in Yountville provides care and assisted living for veterans of the Armed Services and is currently planing a new wing for rehabilitation of wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. In 2007, the Military Commandery chose to help support the Veteran's Administration Hospital "Hometel" facility operated by the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. The VA Hospital "Hometel" facility is a very much needed residence with motel-type rooms for wounded or seriously ill outpatients recovering from surgery or extensive medical treatment at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Beginning in 2008, the Military Commandery has chosen to help support the newly formed American Legion Post 911 in San Francisco. Post 911 is the first of its kind within the American Legion to be dedicated to the new Global War on Terrorism era veterans who have honorably served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries.
