Why San Francisco's Rick and Cathy Osgood have a relentless devotion to the Salvation Army   

As the Salvation Army in San Francisco puts on its fourth annualRing in the Season holiday luncheon fundraiser this month, the Armywill take time to honor a most gracious and gregarious couple, Rick andCathy Osgood, for their dedication and generosity that surpasses allseasons.   

The Osgoods have worked in behalf of Salvation Army programs for about 15 years 

Their commitment has been unshakable. The honorary committee for the event includes Larry Baer, John E. Cahill Jr., Warren Hellman, Frank Jordan, Mary Jo Kovacevich, Ellen Newman, Charlotte Maillard Shultz, Lisa Stevens, and Barbara and Richard Rosenberg.   

Rick, the chairman of the investment bank, Pacific Growth Equities, and Cathy, a former deputy district attorney in Alameda County, are modest about their contributions. How modest? So modest that during a two-hour visit to their Richmond district home, they did not once mention the upcoming luncheon in their honor. In fact, they seemed a little sheepish about being recognized for their generous efforts. The Osgoods are playing a big role in a big Salvation Army project — the most ambitious to date — the construction of the new Tenderloin Housing and Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. The project, when completed, will have a major impact on the notoriously beleaguered neighborhood.    As we chatted with the Osgoods one afternoon last month, their three children poured into the kitchen, just home from school. They're a good-looking collection of kids: Madeline, 13; Charlotte, 12; and Joseph, 11, who was quick to assist our photographer, Jane Richey.
   

Rick and Cathy attend the First Baptist Church, but did not meet at church. They met the old-fashioned way: at a Super Bowl party. We first spoke with Cathy Osgood before her husband came home from work and we asked how she and Rick first got involved with the Salvation Army:

    CATHY: It really all started when Rick and I began to go to church. It was through our church experience that we really wanted to begin to give back to really deepen our faith. The church is really an urban church, very diverse. I also like the Market Street location. The church experience, and our faith, combined with my working in the criminal justice system, I developed a passion for helping at-risk kids so they could avoid going into the criminal justice system in the first place.

    Cathy began to mentor kids in the neighborhood, then her own children were born. One thing led to another, then all of a sudden, she found herself among a group of volunteers going down to the Tenderloin. That began Cathy and Rick's introduction into the Tenderloin. That was about 15 years ago.

    CATHY: We just realized there were a lot of kids living in the Tenderloin, and it was an intense place to live. After our kids were born, we still kept our connection to the Tenderloin. At the suggestion of a friend, we got into a van and took a tour to see what the Salvation Army does in the Tenderloin. "We said, why not?"

By then, I think Rick and I were interested in doing work with the poor.