FRANCISCA DE CASTRO GUEVARRA, born in San Francisco and a daughter of Filipino immigrants, has made volunteerism her vocation and avocation for the past 28 years. Fran left a career in banking in 1969 to join the Volunteer Center where she has been a driving force in broadening the focus of services to underserved parts of the county and especially in recruiting people of color as volunteers. In 1990, she conducted the Bay Area’s first Volunteer Center conference on cultural diversity and volunteerism. This conference served as the prototype for similar programs in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Altos, conducted by the Strive for Five volunteer campaign. Since 1980, she has worked to expand youth services and volunteer programs, resulting in the current Volunteer Center Youth Board. During the same decade, she has worked to expand volunteerism in the private sector and in 1996, she conducted a management training session for representatives of 18 European countries at the 1996 Volunteurope Conference in Rome. She was also an Olympic torchbearer.
