The theme of our annual Gala Luncheon “Stepping Stones to Success” on September 15th was chosen in honor of the members of the board of Stepping Stone Foundation (San Francisco Women’s Rehabilitation Foundation) for their incredible generosity and vision which is bringing to fruition, our long held dream of expanding our program to house and serve more women. We were thrilled to have two members of their board, Cynthia Miller and Jennifer Sousae, join us for this event. We presented them with custom made awards for this occasion.
We also honored Jody Colbert as our outstanding graduate for 2019. Jody is Native American and after graduating from Gracenter in 2016, she returned to her tribe in Oklahoma and her gifts and talents were quickly recognized. Jody became the President of Southwest Chapter of the American Indian Chambers of Commerce Oklahoma and recently graduated from the Leadership Native Oklahoma. She started her own business, Mother Earth Floral Design. It is the first Native American florist in the country, using beaded handwork on bridal bouquets and vases, and includes native tribal plants in the floral designs. She is also an Executive of the Warrior Women Society.
Kay Westerberg was also recognized as our outstanding Volunteer in gratitude for providing her time and talent to our gardens at Good Shepherd Gracenter for the past 9 years.
The event featured an amazing silent auction, which was automated, thanks to GiveSmart, and it went on-line a week before the luncheon, to allow non-attendees to participate.
Our volunteer “Personal Shoppers”—wearing bandanas or scarves with stones on them—were available to assist any guests with bidding—and outbidding! There was lots of exciting activity going on right up to the last minute before the auction closed.
There was also a very exciting live auction with much coveted items, including a ride for 10 people on the San Francisco Fire Boat–-followed by dinner at HiDive, 8 Day Hopper tickets to Disneyland/California Adventure, a 2 night stay for 14 people in an amazing home in Yosemite and an unbelievable collection of SF Giants memorabilia!
Charles Gall, our Master of Ceremonies, Auctioneer, Silent Auction Organizer and Volunteer Extraordinaire, gave the guests one last opportunity to support Gracenter by raising their paddle to designate a donation at whatever level they chose.
Throughout the event we enjoyed music from Jazcat Mobile Entertainment and caught many memorable moments with the photo booth and its many props.
The luncheon ended with picking the winning tickets for the raffle and giving away the beautiful centerpieces that had been carefully and uniquely created by the students from the City College of San Francisco Horticulture and Floristry Dept. Following the event, everyone was then invited to an Open House at Gracenter.
Our goal was that this event would serve to raise funds, friends and fun and all three were well accomplished! It was also the result of many hands and hearts working together in support of the courageous women at Gracenter who are taking their own stepping stones to success! Thanks for your support!
