Sonoma Valley Woman’s Club launches ‘You Can’t Quarantine Love’ campaign

The Sonoma Valley Woman's Club has launched a 'You Can't Quarantine Love' campaign, an effort by local women to both boost morale for Valley residents while also supporting the hungry and homeless.

The club is selling lawn signs featuring the slogan on a sliding scale, from $15-$50 each, and will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds to homeless-services nonprofit Sonoma Overnight Support (SOS).

'People have no idea how great the need is,' said SOS Executive Director Kathy King in the press materials announcing the campaign. 'Since the shelter-in-place restrictions have drastically reduced our volunteer force and our ability to serve our clients safely, we've gone from spending $2 per person per meal to $10. Fortunately, we've had several local restaurants help us make meals, but the cost difference to feed our clients is huge.'

Sonoma Valley has roughly 250 homeless residents, of which SOS feeds up to 40 per day and currently shelters up to 12 per night, through their partnership with Sonoma Alliance Church at 125 E. Watmaugh Road. Since March 17, when the county ordered shelter-in-place and social distancing regulations, SOS has been unable to welcome volunteers, and no one under the age of 65 can make food from their home to donate. 'We can't cook or accept food anymore, only donations. This is just the beginning of a much bigger homelessness problem in the Valley,' King said.

SOS went from serving meals buffet style to sending clients with food to-go, prepared by local restaurants, packaged safely, and distributed from Burlingame Hall on West Spain Street, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., including breakfast, snacks and lunch.

Since installing an ADA portable shower set-up across from the Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Building in Sonoma on April 11, they have been able to provide 110 showers, while still facilitating safe social distancing between their clients. 'The homeless like to be clean, too,' she said.

Woman's Club President Alison Kilmer is working to motivate the club during these challenging times with renewed vigor. 'Our communications team put everything together in a matter of days, and there was a lot of enthusiasm around the project,' Kilmer said.

Inspired by 'The Love in the Air is Thicker than the Smoke' signs that appeared during the 2017 wildfires, Kilmer explained that the 'You Can't Quarantine Love' program is a way to remind everyone in the community that we're all in this together.

Woman's Club lawn signs are available for purchase through their fundraising efforts on Facebook. Members of the club will be making deliveries around the community over the next few weeks.

SVWC's lawn signs are available for purchase through their fundraising efforts on their website. You can place your order at sonomavalleywomansclub.org. Members of the SVWC will be making deliveries around the community over the next few weeks.

Those who want to pay by check can send it to:

Sonoma Valley Woman's Club Foundation

P.O. Box 674

Sonoma, CA 95476'

Those who want to make donations directly to SOS can do so either online at sonomaovernightsupport.org/donate-now or by sending a check in the mail to Sonoma Overnight Support, P.O. Box 748, Sonoma, CA 95476.