On Friday, February 26th, over 375 community leaders came together at the Universal Sheraton Hotel for an evening of fun, fundraising and celebration in support of Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV’s Enriched Neighborhoods® for Veterans.
This year’s event, chaired and emceed by Karen Brown, proved to be an enormous success, raising over $250,000 towards Habitat SF/SCV’s Enriched Neighborhoods®. Habitat SF/SCV is currently under construction on Phases 2 and 3 of a 78-home Enriched Neighborhood® for Veterans in Santa Clarita, and is currently in the beginning planning stages of a 50-home Enriched Neighborhood® for Veterans in Palmdale.
During the program, guests got an inside look at how their generous donations helped the lives of the families that Habitat serves. Several families shared video clips and thank you messages showing off their new homes and how well their families are doing.
Long-time Habitat supporter and legendary actress, Kate Linder, lent her assistance during the evening’s “Live Auction,” enthusiastically presenting the wonderful trips and experiences up for auction, and doing her best to encourage bidding wars between guests.
The evening also included the presentation of the Hammer of Hope Award to two honorees who are very important to the Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV organization. Doreen Shine, long-time chair of the Family Home Visit Committee and Builder’s Ball Committee, was honored by several family members who have had their lives changed by her generosity. The Sanchez and Siggins families, who moved into their new homes in Santa Clarita this summer, showed their gratitude by sharing their memories of Doreen and presenting her with her Hammer of Hope Award.
The second Hammer of Hope Award went to another honoree who has proven to be an enormous support of Veterans and our Enriched Neighborhood® communities, Anheuser-Busch. For the last several years, Anheuser-Busch has been a huge support in both funding and volunteering. The employees from Anheuser-Busch come out several times a year, helping to build these homes for our low-income Veteran families. Whether it be filling sand-bags, building cinder-block walls, or hanging dry wall, they return day after day to help move the construction process along for these deserving Veteran families. Senior General Manager, Luis Cayo, was honored to accept this award, which was presented by Senator Robert Hertzberg, and spoke of his own experiences out on the build sites. Luis was also excited to present another generous donation of $35,000 to Habitat SF/SCV and can’t wait to get back out on the construction site!
Citi Community Development made a generous donation in the amount of $85,000. They also shared a video talking about the financial training that is provided to our new homeowners and the difference it makes in the lives of these families.
Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV would like to thank all of the guests who came out for this special evening to honor our Hammer of Hope recipients and raise funds to “build homes for the brave.”
See more photos from the event on our Facebook page