FOCUS Newsletter: Summer 2025
Dear Friends of Epiphany,
When I share the history of the Daughters of Charity coming to San Francisco in 1852 and starting the first orphanage, the predecessor of Epiphany Center, I always state that the Daughters could not have served God’s most vulnerable children these past 173 years without lay people through every generation. In the in the summer issue of our FOCUS newsletter we celebrate one of those people.
On June 19th, we thanked God for Dr. Linda Perez for her 35 years of healing service here at Epiphany Center. When they saw that it was not enough to take care of the babies born affected to drugs, Dr. Linda and Sister Estela put in place the programs that focused on the healing of their mothers and for all these years, we have nurtured women and children to better lives.
Dr. Linda is an amazing gift to the children through our children’s mental health program, to our parents through her trainings to our early childhood education staff, to all of our staff through her sharing of her expertise in infant and child development and trauma informed care.
We were recently honored to welcome our oldest living donor, Zvi Danenberg, who will celebrate his 100th birthday this July. A retired schoolteacher, Zvi was introduced to Epiphany Center through his friends Milt and LaVerne Reiterman and had long wanted to visit. His visit is also featured in the latest issue of FOCUS. During his time with us, Zvi expressed deep admiration for our programs and heartfelt gratitude for the impact we have on women in recovery—especially for the difference our work makes in the lives of their children.
*Yes, we do have deceased donors whose legacies continue to support Epiphany today and one such donor named us in his trust in1919 and it continues today! He was the gardener of Governor Leland Stanford.
Zvi taught science at San Francisco high schools before retiring in 1985. A classical music enthusiast, he owns over 36,000 LPs. He's also known in Larkspur for logging over 1,000,000 steps on the Arch Street Steps—climbing 139 steps 21.5 times every morning. “I feel blessed to do what I do at my age. I feel young. I'm still interested in people and the world.”
I also want to extend my sincere thanks to each of you who support us—whether by sharing your time, talents, or resources. Your generosity makes our work possible. I invite you to read the full newsletter, where we celebrate many of you and highlight the incredible impact you've helped us achieve.
Blessings to you and all whom you love. Have a safe, happy and healthy summer,
Sister Betty Marie Dunkel, D.C.
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