Community Matters: The Friendship Club
The Friendship Club
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Listen here
On this episode of Community Matters, we’re honored to speak with Sherman Allen, Executive Director of The Friendship Club, the 2025 recipient of the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s Quiet Inspiration Piñon Award. For more than four decades, The Friendship Club has provided a safe and welcoming space for individuals in recovery from alcohol and drug addictions. Today, the Club hosts fifty 12-step meetings each week, produces a podcast with 20,000 listeners worldwide, and offers a hybrid Zoom Room that keeps its community connected while supporting mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.
_____
About Community Matters
Our monthly radio show invites subject experts and community leaders to talk about the challenges and inequities our region faces and possible solutions that could contribute to its growth. Hosted by Santa Fe Community Foundation staff, Community Matters airs on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:00 PM on KSFR (101.1 FM). Listen to past episodes here.
Community Matters: Free Flow NM
Free Flow NM, founded in 2020 by Laurie Merrill, combats period poverty and menstrual stigma through large-scale product distribution, innovative programs like Period Pods, and community education across northern New Mexico. Under Laurie’s leadership, the nonprofit has provided over 750,000 menstrual products while reshaping community attitudes toward menstruation with dignity and equity.
Community Matters: Dollars4Schools
Dollars4Schools provides public and charter school educators in Santa Fe with the resources they need to bring creative classroom projects to life and meet essential student needs. Whether it’s art supplies, science kits, or basic necessities, local donors make it all possible — one classroom at a time.
Community Matters: The Power of Community-Led Giving, Part Two
The second installment of our special two-part Community Matters episode continues the conversation with leaders of the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s identity-based giving circles. From celebrating cultural resilience to advancing equity and joy, this episode shines light on the power of community-led giving to shape a more inclusive and vibrant New Mexico.
