Carrying Light and Care into the New Year
As we begin a new year, I hold you close in thought and heart and wish you moments of warmth, rest, and connection. At Care Through Touch, we continue showing up with presence and compassion where it is needed most, offering care that reminds people they are seen and valued. Each week, our practitioners serve across San Francisco’s “Bethlehems,” where touch becomes a form of recognition and dignity. This year brings real challenges with reduced funding, but it also underscores how essential this work is. We are deeply grateful for your support, which sustains this circle of care and connection.
Dear Friends,
As we step into a new year, I find myself holding all of you close in my thoughts and heart. Wherever this message finds you, I hope there are moments—small or spacious—of warmth, beauty, connection, and rest. Moments where you feel seen, nourished, and reminded that you matter.
At Care Through Touch, we are entering this year with a clear intention: to continue showing up with presence, compassion, and steady, tender care—especially where it is needed most. We know that life holds its “10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows,” and we also know that gentle, human connection can make those sorrows more bearable and those joys more deeply felt.
Each week, our practitioners continue to travel to today’s “Bethlehems”—the Tenderloin, Bayview, Mission, SoMa, and beyond—meeting people where they are. What we witness again and again is that touch is not just physical; it is recognition. It says: You are not invisible; we see you, and you are worthy of care. In these moments, light spreads quietly but powerfully—one person at a time.
As we begin this year, we also want to share honestly that CTI, like many community-based organizations, is navigating real challenges. Reduced funding at both the city and state levels means we are having to be more thoughtful, creative, and resourceful as we sustain our programs and care for the people who rely on us. While this moment asks more of us, it also reminds us how essential our community truly is.
Your support—whether through donations, advocacy, volunteering, or simply sharing our work—has always been what makes our care possible. If you are able to continue supporting CTI in the year ahead, please know that your generosity directly fuels a felt sense of belonging, dignity, and healing for our most vulnerable neighbors. And if support looks different for you right now, your presence and belief in our work always, always matters deeply!
We enter this new year grateful for all that has been, and hopeful for what we will continue to build together. Thank you for being part of our circle of care, for sharing light in your own way, and for walking alongside us.
With deep gratitude and loving wishes for the year ahead,
Mary Ann Finch
Care Through Touch Institute
Our founder, Mary Ann, and longtime massage practitioner and volunteer, Tobi, sharing a moment of connection at one of our long-standing partner sites.
March 2026: Community in Action
This Women’s History Month, we honor the women whose compassion and leadership have shaped CTI from the beginning. Inspired by Mother Teresa’s encouragement to founder Mary Ann Finch, CTI has grown over four decades through the hands of countless women who carry this work forward. Many begin as volunteers at CTI sites and continue spreading compassionate touch into new communities, reflecting our mission to seed service and healing. We also recognize Board President Vivian Clausing and Sister Eileen Johnson, whose journeys with CTI continue to extend its impact across generations.
This month, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, we pause to honor the women whose compassion, courage, and quiet leadership have shaped CTI’s story from the very beginning.
CTI itself began with a simple act of encouragement. When Mother Teresa asked our founder, Mary Ann Finch, to return to San Francisco and serve those most in need of touch and healing, she planted a seed. Over the past four decades, that seed has grown through the hands and hearts of countless women who have carried this work forward—often quietly, often humbly, but always with deep care.
At the heart of CTI are the practitioners and volunteers who bring compassionate touch into the world every day. Many begin their journey by serving at one of our community sites—and over time, they carry the work outward into new spaces, relationships, and communities.
This ripple effect has always been at the heart of CTI’s mission: to seed service, build community, and spread healing touch wherever it is needed.
Below are two stories of two women who embody the values of CTI and reflect how our mission and reach continues to grow in ripple effects.
Lisa, once a CTI client and now a licensed massage practitioner, provides regular care across CTI partner sites—offering a moment of caring touch to the community.
Message from Our New Board President
This month we are delighted to introduce our new Board President Vivan Clausing, who began her journey with CTI when she was trained as a practitioner seventeen years ago. As a volunteer massage therapist for about 10 years Vivian has given over three thousand free massages. Her leadership reflects the heart of CTI’s values: service rooted in compassion, experience, and community. We are grateful for her leadership as CTI continues to grow and expand its impact.
Board member Vivian Clausing provides one of her many thousands of healing foot massages to a beloved community member.
“Go and serve the poor with your hands and your spirit.” These were the words that I heard as I stood in front of the relics of St. Clare in Assisi. My great aunt and grandmother had been reiki masters so I had already been initiated into the world of healing by touch. But at that moment, I realized that I was being called to touch not just family members, but those who had no one to offer safe touch to them.
I completed CTI’s massage certification program in 2009 and began to volunteer at several of CTI’s sites offering seated chair massage, foot massage, and compassionate presence. It was a joy to be part of the CTI community and it was transformative.
During lockdown, I thought of CTI often and donated when I could. Post pandemic, I was delighted to discover that not only was CTI still in business, but it was also thriving. Through new partnerships with massage schools CTI had recruited a new generation of skilled therapists with expansive hearts. Now as one of the old timers, I am excited to serve CTI as Board Chair, as we continue to build relationships and carry our work into the future.” — Vivian Clausing, CTI Board President
Volunteer Spotlight: Sister Eileen
Few stories capture the heart of CTI’s vision to seed service and create a ripple effect of compassion better than that of Sister Eileen Johnson.
Sister Eileen Johnson massages Foote, a longtime CTI client who has received consistent care for more than 20 years.
After retiring from religious service, Sister Eileen became a certified massage therapist and volunteered with CTI for 12 years giving over seven thousand massages to people experiencing homelessness at sites across San Francisco. Through this work, she experienced a profound shift—from initial discomfort and distance to deep empathy and genuine human connection—embodying CTI’s and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth’s shared commitment to honoring the dignity of every person.
Inspired by these experiences, Sister Eileen carried the practice back to her own community in Kansas, where she now offers massage and compassionate touch to retired and infirm Sisters in her order.
In this way, CTI’s work continues through her ministry—extending healing, relationship, and care across communities and generations.
Treat for the Feet — Holy Thursday 2026
Treat for the Feet is a long-standing CTI tradition held on the Thursday before Easter, reflecting our values of service, humility, and human connection. On April 2, 2026, CTI volunteers gathered across four San Francisco sites to offer over 40 foot massages to unhoused and marginally housed community members, along with socks and small treats. With nine volunteer practitioners, including all three Board members, the day highlighted both the intimacy of foot massage and the importance of presence and dignity in care. It also marked a meaningful step in our post-pandemic rebuilding, as returning volunteers and Board members worked side by side in support of the community.
Treat for the Feet has been a cherished CTI tradition for over XX years. We hold it on the Thursday before Easter- a day associated with service, humility, and caring for one another — values that guide CTI’s work every day, regardless of faith. For us, it’s about showing up with respect, presence, and human connection.
This year’s Treat for the Feet was a beautiful reminder of the love and impact Care Through Touch embodies . On Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026, CTI volunteers set up at four sites across San Francisco, offering our annual day of foot massage to unhoused and marginally housed clients and community members seeking respite and care.
With nine volunteer massage therapists — including all three of our Board members, who have been long-time volunteers — we provided over 40 deeply relaxing foot massages throughout the day. Each person also received a new pair of socks and a small bag of treats, a simple gesture that always brings big smiles.
Foot massage may seem small, but for our clients — and for our practitioners — it carries a profound sense of connection. Unlike our regular seated massages, foot massage is deeply intimate, for some a sacred exchange. The massage therapist faces the client, creating a space to honor another human being with gentleness and respect. The smiles and occasional warm embrace after a massage say it all.
This year’s event also marked an important milestone: we are slowly rebuilding toward our pre-pandemic levels. Seeing so many dedicated practitioners return — and watching our Board members roll up their sleeves alongside them — was a powerful reminder of the community that sustains CTI’s mission.
Treat for the Feet is more than a special event. It’s a moment of dignity, connection, and care on the street — and a reflection of the heart of CTI.
Meet Lisa — From Client to Community Healer
If you’ve ever visited one of CTI’s weekly massage sites, you’ve probably been greeted by Lisa’s bright smile, playful spirit, and easy laugh. She has a way of making everyone feel at ease — warm, open, inviting, and always ready to bring a little joy into the room. Lisa first came to CTI as a client, seeking comfort and connection. Over time, she found healing, belonging, and purpose — and eventually was invited to step into the role of healer herself.
For the last several years she has volunteered twice a week at two CTI sites, including Ladies’ Night in the Mission, a women‑ and female‑identifying–only space that has become a refuge for many who return week after week. Lisa is a grounding presence there — someone who listens, laughs, and creates a sense of safety for everyone she touches.
And she never arrives alone. Her beloved turtle, Claude, goes everywhere with her. In the photo featured here, Claude is nestled in a planter enjoying the warm day while Lisa gently waters him — a small, tender moment that captures her gentle, nurturing nature.
Lisa brings that same tenderness to her work with clients. Foot massage, she says, holds a special place in her heart. With tears in her eyes, she shared what Treat for the Feet means to her: “Holy Thursday is very special to me… the anointing, the foot washing, the sacredness and intimacy of honoring another human. We try to convey that through the foot massage. I find it very connected and beautiful.”
Lisa embodies the heart of CTI: connection, compassion, and the belief that healing grows through presence. Her journey from client to healer — with Claude faithfully by her side — is a testament to the power of community and the ripple effect of care.