Angels of Napa

From a pickle jar to a nonprofit

When Molly Banz moved from England to Napa in 1959, she not only brought along her tendency to call people she meets “love” or “darling”, but also a sense of caring and responsibility for others cultivated from childhood.
    Banz was running Molly’s Seafood and Grille in Napa in 1999 when she learned of a local grandmother who had lost her daughter and two grandchildren to a devastating house fire. She was outraged upon reading that the grandmother had no money for the funerals. “What the heck is going on?” she remembers thinking. “If this were in England, the government would pay!” Banz put a pickle jar out at the restaurant and a notice in the newspaper, asking restaurant guests to donate one dollar. That pickle jar ended up collecting $27,000—enough to cover the funerals, as well as assist in a down payment for a new home for the grandmother and the one young granddaughter she had saved.
    Although Banz insists she knew nothing about nonprofits, that wasn’t the first time she opened up a pickle jar to help people in need. Molly’s Angels became a nonprofit organization in 1999. (Her restaurant, briefly renamed Molly’s Angels Café, closed in 2004.) The premise is that if every family in Napa County donates just one dollar a month, funds can be available to residents who fall victim to fires, natural disasters, terminal illness or domestic harm. “When I moved to Napa, there were 35,000 people here,” Banz says, “Now it’s 75,000. If everybody gave a dollar, can you imagine the money we’d have, the number of people we could help?” The largest single amount raised so far was $55,000, to retrofit a home and purchase a specially equipped van for a young man severely paralyzed in an accident.
    Today, the group’s primary focus is on senior citizens and families in crisis; it typically receives two to three requests daily via applications that are then approved by the board. Circumstances can range from families unable to pay their utility bill or buy groceries, to a senior citizen unable to find or pay for a ride to the doctor’s office. This last item is how Molly, her husband Don and many of the volunteers spend most of their time—offering free chauffeur service in the well-known Molly’s Angels van.
    Over the years Molly’s Angels has received numerous accolades, such as the U.S. Congress’ Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition “Pay It Forward” Award, Napa Citizen of the Year, and the Daily Point of Light Award from President Bush. About 3,000 families have memberships and the third annual fundraiser in September raised around $20,000. But times are still tough, and the pickle jar still gets low. The group does not receive any grants or funding, and especially with the high cost of gasoline these days and the number of people requesting help, the cash simply doesn’t go as far as it used to.
    Although described by fellow volunteers as “hard-headed” and needing to take a day off once in a while, Banz has no plans to stop. But she encourages others to follow the same path. “It would be lovely for somebody to start their own group,” she says, “and I could help them.” Members of Molly’s Angels meet the first Tuesday of the month, and anybody interested in learning more—either to volunteer or to start their own group—is invited; please call ahead to make reservations.

For more information, visit mollysangels.com.

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