After over three years of work, the Ever Upward project to install a sculpture at the northwest corner of Mission Street and Geneva Avenue is done!  On November 1, 2013, we unveiled the completed sculpture.  It was truly a proud moment in our community’s history!  We are very grateful to our lead artists Isis Rodriguez and Jason Gilmore, along with all of the volunteers, funders – especially the Community Challenge Grant Program, donors, and supporters who helped to bring this sculpture to the neighborhood.

I would like to invite you to continue supporting this great project by nominating Ever Upward for a Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN) Award. Produced in partnership with the CCSF Community Challenge Grant Program, the NEN Awards are dedicated to elevating and celebrating the tremendous work that residents and organizations do every day to make San Francisco a great place to live. As is the tradition with the NEN Awards, community members nominate each year’s awardees! We are encouraging community members to nominate Ever Upward as this year’s BEST COMMUNITY CHALLENGE GRANT PROJECT. Please complete this online nominations form and let us know who you think deserves to win in one, or all, of the categories. Visit http://empowersf.org/nenawards/  to vote anytime before Friday, December 6.

Here’s the top three reasons why we think Ever Upward should win:

1.  It is the Excelsior’s first sculpture!

2.  It honors our great neighborhood here in the Excelsior! Standing 14-feet tall at the intersection of Geneva and Mission, the forged metal flame atop the mosaic column was erected in honor of the Excelsior’s long tradition of immigrants and working class families who endeavor to raise themselves ever upward.

3.  It is the product of a community design and build process that involved hundreds of community members over a three year period during which the Excelsior community dedicated over a thousand cumulative volunteer hours from start to finish!

If you have any further questions about the project, click here to go to the project website.  Thanks again for your continued support of grassroots community projects and public artwork in the Excelsior neighborhood!