Outreach Activities

Outreach activities at City Center include cooking and distributing meals to formerly homeless people; providing dharma books, pen pals and meditation classes for prison and jail inmates, and activities with families in transitional housing. We welcome volunteers for the following outreach activities. See below for details.

  • Food offerings
  • Activities with children and families
  • Prison correspondence
  • Other outreach activities

Book Sale

The proceeds from City Center’s biannual sales go to support Zen Center’s outreach activities to prisoners, to families in transition, to those in rehabilitation facilities, and other venues.

Activities with Children and Families

Zen Center organizes field trips and other events for children and families in neighborhood transitional housing. Volunteers with ideas, energy, transportation, talents, and/or planning skills are warmly invited to get involved. Contact the Outreach office at outreach@sfzc.org.

Zen Center Prison Program

Prison Correspondence: We match prisoners who wish to discuss their Buddhist practice with volunteer pen pals. We are looking for people with an established practice, an understanding of basic Buddhist teachings, and about half an hour a month. All mail comes through the Zen Center office and you may, if you wish, choose a pseudonym to protect your anonymity. In addition, we have a fund which allows us to send Buddhist books to prisoners at no cost to the pen pal. Guidelines, a sample first letter and on-going support are provided.

If you are interested in the Prison Correspondence Program, please contact Outreach Coordinator, Ellen Simpson, at ellen.simpson@sfzc.org.

Meditation and Stress Reduction in Jail: We visit the San Francisco jail on a regular basis bringing meditation and stress reduction practices to the incarcerated. 

Sitting & Discussion Group for People in Recovery

Mondays 7:30 – 9 pm

This is a drop-in group for those interested in exploring the connection between Buddhist teaching and practice and recovery work. See our Meditation in Recovery web page for more information.

Other Outreach Activities

We currently offer meditation and stress reduction classes at the West Side Apartments (a residential facility for retired people) and Lighthouse for the Blind.

We are very interested in creating and strengthening ties with local organizations and welcome inquiries. Contact the Outreach Coordinator, Ellen Simpson, at ellen.simpson@sfzc.org.