News & Impact

KGO-TV, ABC 7 by Carolyn Tyler Two of San Francisco’s most well-known personalities are dealing with an enormous challenge. What they are going through highlights a national problem facing seniors. Marian and Vivian Brown are in the San Francisco Hall of Fame. But now they are fighting to stay in the city they love even though the health care they now need is hard to find and very expensive. Marian and Vivian Brown are identical twins; colorful characters in San Francisco since they arrived from Michigan more than 40 years ago. See More from KGO-TV & ABC 7… Read More

San Francisco Chronicle by Willie Brown When it comes to San Francisco icons, the Brown twins – Vivian and Marian – with their signature matching outfits, dazzling blond hair and even more dazzling smiles, have been as much a part of the city as Coit Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge. And they likely have been photographed as often as well. Read More from the San Francisco Chronicle… Read More

Our travel portion of the journey has concluded, but our experiences and memories will always be with us. Below are reflections from the final days of the Legacy Tour. July 10, 2012 Yesterday we traveled southwest in the direction of Tel Aviv. One the way we visited a unique farming program that educates groups on agriculture in Israel. I learned that Israel farms in the sand which is amazing and that the state has patented a few agricultural techniques. We were treated to fresh carrots that we plucked from the earth and tomatoes off the vine… all were delicious.  A… Read More

July 8, 2012 Today, we went to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. It was absolutely magnificent and well thought out. The museum focused on the remembrance of the unnamed victims of the Holocaust. We had the opportunity to explore on our own and fill our heads with so much information. The countless photos of people before the Holocaust had a particular impact on me, because you could see the souls of the people. Their personality and humanity was crystal clear through those photos.After spending about four hours there, we had a discussion with Gil Hoffman, a political journalist with the Jerusalem… Read More

After our first few days in Jerusalem I can honestly say it feels like we have been here forever…. like coming home again. Enjoy our photos and reflections… tomorrow we venture south to the Negev and then on to Tel Aviv.  You will notice the introduction of some beautiful photography taken by Alex, Legacy Tour college fellow. Quite impressive!  July 7, 2012 Israel- the final leg of our journey. When we landed in Tel Aviv, we recited the Shehekianu, a prayer for new beginnings. Being here is certainly a new experience for all of us! In Poland and Germany we… Read More

July 6, 2012 Warsaw is 1000 times different than both Berlin and Krakow on the outside, and that was the first thing I noticed. It has much larger buildings, bigger lights and it is more like a classic city. But as we got more familiar with the synagogues and Jewish community I realized that it was more similar to Krakow than anymore believed it to be. In short, there was once a thriving Jewish population… then the war. Following the war there was racism with communism. And now it has a small Jewish community…similar to Krakow. However, this was put… Read More