Gia, a volunteer, enjoyed drawing with kids at the new community center. One Saturday morning, she sat down with a little girl and began helping her learn to read.
The girl, about 4 years old, returned to The Kove looking for Gia. This time, she had a gift.
“A pencil, for helping her learn how to read some books,” Gia, a Dominican University student, recalled. “I almost cried. It was literally the sweetest thing that happened to me all week.”
That’s the kind of moment executive director Sally Newson had in mind when she launched The Kove two months ago at San Rafael’s Northgate Mall.
The idea started a few doors down, at Karma Club, the teen hangout Newson founded in 2023. Adults would peek into the windows and tell her they wished there was something like it for them.
Newson went to work and built one.
The Kove is open only on Saturday mornings, when working families can come. Neighbors of all ages gather to socialize and enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack. Children work on art projects. Some people shop for groceries at the food pantry, then settle in for a talk by local physicians and experts on topics like aging well and women’s heart health. Everything is free.
SF-Marin Food Bank partners with the pantry, known as The Kove Market. It’s the only program that requires enrollment, which neighbors can complete on site.
Health is a big focus at the community center. In addition to the weekly talks, area providers offer services including screenings and flu shots.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., according to the CDC, and The Kove scheduled a presentation to address it. On Oct. 10, Dr. Ines Sherifi of MarinHealth will speak on women’s heart health.
Next up, a UCSF team will offer Marin County residents vascular health screenings to help identify potential problems before they become serious. The screenings run from 11:15am to 2pm on Oct. 17. Assemblymember Damon Connolly is scheduled to welcome the crowd.
Marin Community Clinics will also be at the event to connect people with medical care and follow-up resources. For those who need to enroll in Medi-Cal, clinic staff can provide assistance, Newson said.
With the arrival of fall, The Kove has arranged for Sutter Health to give seasonal flu shots to anyone who stops by Oct. 24.
Loneliness takes a toll on health, too. A 2023 advisory from the U.S. surgeon general linked social isolation to a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.
The Kove was designed to bring people together and ease loneliness. Each week, the Neighbor Connection Hour invites everyone to stay after the featured talk and get to know one another. The approach is already working, according to Newson.
“It’s not like you just get your groceries and you leave,” she said. “They go over to get coffee, and there’s a volunteer who says, ‘Oh, let me get your coffee’ and then starts talking to them. And you see them soften.”
A woman experiencing homelessness has come to The Kove every Saturday since the start, Newson said. Recently, the woman sent her an email.
“And she said, you have no idea what this means to me,” Newson recalled.
Saturday mornings at The Kove have a way of turning strangers into friends. Newson has already noticed people exchanging phone numbers.
“When they’re at The Kove, they feel like they’re part of something,” she said.
The Kove is open 10am–noon, Saturdays, inside Northgate Mall, 5800 Northgate Dr., Suite 80, San Rafael. Free admission. Visit thekove.org for more information.
