Events

On Thursday, August 4, SAMCAR members and friends gathered at San Mateo Central Park for the annual Member Appreciation Picnic. Guests enjoyed boxed lunches from Esposto's Catering and a hosted bar, as well as games like giant Jenga and cornhole, and an opportunity to meet and connect in person outside on a sunny day in San Mateo. SAMCAR partnered with the Food Recovery Network to fight food waste and work to end hunger by donating excess food from this event. Surplus boxed lunches and individual bags of potato chips were donated to the LifeMoves First Step For Families, which provides interim shelter and services to 39 families experiencing homelessness in San Mateo. Photography of the event was provided by Affiliate member Craig Burleigh. View more photos on Flickr. Many thanks to SAMCAR members and friends for joining us for the picnic and to our 2022 Corporate Sponsors for making this event possible.

On Thursday, June 16, 2022, for the first time in nearly two years, the San Mateo County REALTORS Foundation hosted "Cheers for Charity"—an in-person fundraiser event at Dominic's at Oyster Point in South San Francisco—bringing together SAMCAR members, staff, and friends for dinner, drinks, raffle prizes and live music from the As Is Band, raising more than $5,900 to benefit housing-related charities in San Mateo County.

2022 SAMCAR President Jessica Eva and the Board of Directors were officially sworn into their term by special guest Installation Officer and National Association of REALTORS Past President, Vince Malta, at SAMCAR's 2022 Installation ceremony on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at the Grand Bay Hotel in Redwood City. Also honored were SAMCAR's Past Presidents, Outgoing Directors and Committee Chairs, and award winners for 2021 REALTOR of the Year, Affiliate of the Year, and Community Service Awards.

Thanks to the generous support of SAMCAR members, sponsors and community, our 2021 #SAMCARGivesBack fundraising campaign has raised $41,000, far exceeding our initial fundraising goal. Supported by unique fundraising events including "Thursday Night Live," this year's fundraising campaign drove community involvement and generous giving, which allowed Foundation Trustees to approve quarterly grants to numerous housing-related charities throughout the year. Read more for an overview of what the SAMCAR Foundation has been able to accomplish with your support.

On Thursday, August 5, SAMCAR members and friends gathered safely outdoors at San Mateo Central Park for the Association's first in-person event in over a year and a half—the SAMCAR Member Appreciation Picnic. No ice breakers were necessary as colleagues jubilantly conversed face-to-face after primarily seeing each other only on screens for such a long time. Guests enjoyed boxed lunches from Esposto's Catering and a hosted bar, as well as games like giant Jenga and a cornhole competition, and raffle drawing for donors to the #SAMCARGivesBack charitable fundraising campaign (for which the event helped raise an additional $1,095). In the spirit of giving back, extra boxed lunches didn't go to waste but were instead donated to the LifeMoves Maple Street Shelter in Redwood City. Photos of the picnic were captured by SAMCAR Affiliate member Craig Burleigh Photography. Many thanks to SAMCAR members and friends for joining us for the picnic and to our 2021 Corporate Sponsors for making this event possible.

In case you missed it, you can now view a recording of SAMCAR's first-ever virtual variety show "Thursday Night Live" (originally aired on Zoom on May 20, 2021) on YouTube! Hosted by Jessica Eva and featuring performances by (in order of appearance) Erik Winkler, Ann Palermo, Vivienne Kelvin, Mark Martinho, Alfredo Mendoza, Michelle Velez, Anne Rodrigues Toth, Toni Burrows, Marlin Handley, Gregory Strang & Suzanne Sims, Alan Kirth, Kathy Wall, Anna May, and Gary Pellegrini with special appearances by Jesse Gutierrez and Gina Zari, and produced by High Dive Studio, watch entertaining musical and comedic performances in support of the SAMCAR Foundation's #SAMCARGivesBack 2021 charitable fundraising campaign.