| Events |
Cheers for Charity Raises over $9,000 for SAMCAR Foundation
On Wednesday October 18, 2023, the San Mateo County REALTORS® Foundation hosted Cheers for Charity, a fundraiser event at Devil's Canyon Brewing Company in San Carlos, bringing together around 100 SAMCAR members, staff, and friends for food and drink, live music from the AS IS BAND, a trivia contest and generally fun evening that raised $9,200 to benefit housing-related charities in San Mateo County.
View photos by Kevin Burleigh on Flickr
Volunteers from SAMCAR's Special Events Committee welcomed guests to Devil's Canyon and distributed drink tickets and entries into a door prize drawing for several prize packages. Later on, volunteers encouraged guests to form teams for a trivia contest hosted by SAMCAR Affiliate member Steve Cresci. Guests enjoyed a delicious BBQ buffet provided by pop-up caterer LORD OF THE RIBS, and beer from Devil's Canyon Brewery and select wines. Creating an energetic atmosphere for the evening was the AS IS BAND with Gary Pellegrini, Bob Garrison, Dave Stone, Mike Ramezzano, Ron Gurewitz and Brian Withycombe. Local business and members also donated an assortment of valuable prize packages (listed in the digital event program), which were awarded to the winning trivia teams—Pineapple King, Team Tapper, and The Homies—as well as to the lucky door prize drawing winners.
As one of the signature #SAMCARGivesBack fundraising events, Cheers for Charity directly benefits the SAMCAR Foundation so the group can provide grants to local charities for the remainder of the year.
Each quarter, the Foundation Council reviews grant requests from local charities and proudly supports organizations including HEART of San Mateo County, StarVista, Samaritan House, Caminar, CORA, Rebuilding Together Peninsula, LifeMoves and many others.
Funds for these grants are raised at fundraiser events like the Cheers for Charity in addition to direct contributions by SAMCAR members. Among the sources of fundraising for this event was a very generous $5,000 donation from THE KIRBY FOUNDATION, as well as a direct donation from Realtor member Bobbi Decker, and a portion of the proceeds from no-host drink sales donated by Devil's Canyon Brewing Company.
Cheers for Charity not only provides funding for Foundation grants, but also creates opportunities for essential face-to-face interactions among real estate colleagues, in an informal and fun setting.
SAMCAR events are possible in large part thanks to generous contributions from annual sponsors—organizations that make annual contributions to SAMCAR to fund association activities and charitable fundraising.
Planning and staffing these events are only possible with the support of SAMCAR staff and the Special Events Committee, a group of SAMCAR members who volunteer their time to plan and staff events, chaired by Andrea Bologna and vice-chair Celeste Pagan in 2023 with support from volunteers Naz Amir, Toni Burrows, Jim Enes, Marlin Handley, Val Hardwick, Betcy Jacob, Haydee Marshall, Ann Palermo, Craig Thorson, Anne Rodrigues Toth, Michelle Velez, and Suzan Wallace. These committee members are responsible for collecting prize donations, setting up for the event, running the guest check-in table, making announcements and much more to ensure an enjoyable experience for attendees.
The SAMCAR Foundation encourages housing-related nonprofits operating in San Mateo County to apply for grants from www.samcarfoundation.org Grant application deadlines are February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15 to be considered during that quarter.
