Los Gatos Weekly-Times
Homes
Realtors raise $75,000 for homeless program
By Rose Meily
To make sure no one in the Silicon Valley area is homeless this winter, Realtors and affiliates of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors raised $75,000 for the Housing Industry Foundation during Home for the Holidays, the association's largest charitable event of the year.
The ninth annual Home for the Holidays, which was held at Club Avalon in Santa Clara on Oct. 12, drew nearly 500 people. Most of those in attendance wore colorful costumes as part of the event's Halloween theme. The evening featured a gourmet buffet, live and silent auctions, a raffle and dancing to live music by the Garage Band. Brian Bernasconi of Alain Pinel Realtors and Dave Eshleman of Finet of Saratoga served as masters of ceremonies, and Adam Gottstein was the auctioneer.
There was much to celebrate as many people, in the true spirit of giving, participated in the live and silent auctions. The winner of the big raffle item--a $2,500 trip for two to Puerto Vallarta--was Jack Soma, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Cupertino.
Funds raised during Home for the Holidays go directly to HIF, a nonprofit charity that helps individuals and families in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties either remain in or return to stable housing. Emergency housing grants, which are at the core of HIF's homeless prevention program, assist individuals or families with rent, mortgage, utilities, security deposits and certain repairs on a one-time emergency basis.
"It's always a great party, and people seemed to have a good time. There was lots of participation, and it was fun to see so many people in costumes," Debbie Wade, HIF executive director, remarked.
HIF is supported by the apartment, real estate and building industries. Wade said the foundation's administrative costs are shouldered by board members, so the money raised from the Home for the Holidays event goes directly to the people in need. The funds raised by the Realtors at the charitable event make up 20 percent of HIF's budget.
"HIF is thrilled to have SILVAR as such a close partner. We're very grateful," said Wade.
"If you missed the ninth annual Home for the Holidays benefit for the Housing Industry Foundation, you really missed out on a good time for a worthwhile cause," said Dale Anne Collings, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, who co-chaired the HIF planning committee with Robert Reid, a Realtor with Keller Williams. "I have never had so many positive comments from those who attended about how much fun they had, how great the decorations were, how tasty the food was, what fabulous auction items we had, how good the band was. I'm so excited to be affiliated with this event since it benefits our own local communities."
Wade, Collings and Reid thanked everyone who participated in the event, especially the sponsors, donors and volunteers.
"I would really like to thank the many people who participated to make the event possible, especially the planning committee that worked so hard for many months and the sponsors, donors and people who attended the event," said Wade.
"The volunteers work so hard all year to organize the benefit, and the Realtors and affiliates are wonderful at supporting the event with donations, sponsorships and then participating in the auctions at the event itself," said Collings. "It really was a great evening. My thanks to all who participated. We couldn't have done it without you!"
Realtors and affiliates thank the sponsors of this year's event, especially the following major sponsors: Coldwell Banker of Northern California, Home Loan Experts (a division of World Savings), Siamack Shariat/Banker's Network, Keller Williams Realty (Cupertino and Palo Alto offices), The Sereno Group, American First Realtors, Bank of America and Alain Pinel Realtors.
Members of the HIF committee who spent many months planning the event along with Reid and Collings include Sharon Butler of Silver State Mortgage, Mark Falcone of Countrywide Home Loans, Diane Fiorina of Cort Furniture Rental, Jackie Jackson of Coldwell Banker, Steve Kim of Bank of America, Kay Maurer of Home Loan Experts, Tina Medeiros of Keller Williams, Michael Miehe of Stewart Title, Kim Nettleman of First American Exchange, JoAnn Ong of The Staging Crew, Diana Parham of Intero Realty, Diane Renna of Old Republic Title, Mickey Shaevitz of Coldwell Banker and Silicon Valley Association of Realtors development director Kelly Dadsetan.
Donations are accepted year-round. The Housing Industry Foundation website is www.hifinfo.org, or call Debbie Wade at 408.369.9900, or email Debbie@HIFinfo.org.
