Arts organizations are getting letters in the mail that previously awarded funding for their current programs from the National Endowment for the Arts has been cancelled. I feel for affected nonprofit groups and organizations like Kitka and SF Jazz, who have had support rescinded for ongoing projects.

Kitka excels in the vocal performance of traditional folk music from Eastern European countries like Bulgaria and the Ukraine. One of its groups, the Marin Kitka Community Chorus, has given several concerts connected to the Bread & Roses nonprofit where I serve as executive director.

“Few words can do justice to the harmonious voices that emanated from the stage,” Volunteer host Tracey Rose said. “It was uniquely spellbinding as a window into the music, customs and cultures of countries far removed from our own.”

Professional jazz vocalist Sherri Roberts and pianist David Udolf recently shared songs from their new show “I’m Hip: A Tribute to the Hep-Cat Singer-Songwriters of Jazz.” These talented musicians, veterans of the vibrant community in and around SF Jazz, generously crossed the bridge from San Francisco to Marin to bring joy to the isolated seniors my group supports.

The Bay Area arts community is a web of inter-connected relationships. As a social-service provider, Bread & Roses is in a unique position at the center of a giant hub connecting performing artists to the audiences of our nonprofit institutional partners. We understand the unique role of the arts in bringing people together through the connections that happen every time performers share their best gifts with folks who need uplifting most.

We can do a great deal to stay “in the joy” by supporting the performing arts as well as the nonprofit social-service organizations that are deeply meaningful to us. As Marin’s own rock star Huey Lewis once said, it is a “win-win” for the artists to get back as much as they give. This is true for all of us. Every time we go to hear live music or support an organization we care about, we are also lifted up beyond the indifference of this chaotic time.

Marin-based motivational speaker Michael Pritchard often recalls how the late Mimi Fariña, who founded Bread & Roses in 1974, left a strong legacy by her example of a lifetime of service to others. Her values of setting the stage for human kindness still guide us today.

We put on more than a show a day for every day of the year. We see how live performance, music, dance and storytelling are all ways to bring people together in joy.

Last year, we celebrated our 50th anniversary. We are committed to reinventing and reinvigorating our mission to stay afloat. We expanded our program during the pandemic by bringing live music to the recipients and volunteers at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

“It was special to see our ‘regulars’ drive through each week, usually with great live music from Bread & Roses,” staffer Peter Young said recently.

Your support of performing arts and social-service organizations brings joy to others and is critical at this time for their basic survival. Pritchard recalls how his friend, the late Robin Williams, wished that all of us would “live as ourselves in courage, giving our best gifts to those who need them most.” We find that, as we facilitate creative artists to give back to disadvantaged folks, there is synchronicity. We are all connected.

All of us are impacted in different ways by actions on the national scale. You can help us sell out our upcoming benefit on May 29 at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley. We plan an outstanding concert titled, “Lebo and Friends Play Dylan.” Those joining us will experience the joy of a talented collaboration playing iconic acoustic and electric tunes by Bob Dylan interpreted through their own unique lens.

Proceeds support live music for our isolated institutional audiences. Everyone who attends will directly help us lift those in our collective community who need it most. We encourage you to give back to those artists and organizations that contribute most to your quality of life and bring you joy.

Dave Perron is executive director of Bread & Roses, a Marin-based nonprofit organization. Email info@breadandroses.org.