Posts Tagged ‘Junior League of San Francisco’
It is that time of year again- The Junior League of San Francisco Home Tour! I look forward to this event all year long. I might be slighly biased- I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to chair the event in 2006 (The Give My Regards to Broadway Tour) but if you haven’t been, you shouldn’t miss this tour. Think stunning homes, great architecture and fabulous interior design. The tour is features private San Francisco residences most people never have the opportunity to explore.
Now celebrating its 15th year, the Tour has been recognized by national media such as the Wall Street Journal as one of the nation’s premiere residential tours. This year the event will take place on October 2 and 3 in the Gold Coast of Pacific Heights – an exclusive section of Pacific Avenue between Divisadero and Lyon.
I have put together a slide show with a sneak peak at some of the homes’ interiors. I can’t show you the exteriors because the addresses are not able to be released until you arrive at the tour, but let’s just say- this tour is off the charts!
Photos courtesy of Kira Stackhouse of Nuena Photography. Video features sound. If you are unable to see this video in your reader, click here
The Evening Home Tour + Preview Party takes place on Friday, October 2 at the Hamlin School from 5:30 – 10:00 pm. This event provides an intimate setting in which guests can view the homes before they open to the public, with door-to-door service and an exclusive cocktail reception. Tickets are $165/person.
The Home Tour takes place on Saturday, October 3 takes place from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and enables members of the public to walk through some of San Francisco’s most architecturally distinct residences. VIP tickets are $115 and include door-to-door service, viewing of a museum-quality art collection, and tasting of culinary delicacies from Bay Area restaurant chefs. General admission tickets are $65.
Highlights include:
* A 5,000 square foot home built in 1918 with some innovative “green” elements – such as a sustainable garden that naturally recycles water via a hydroponic system to a koi pond, and a garage partly made of recycled milk gallon containers.
* A former three-unit apartment complex built in 1936 that has been transformed into a spectacular, brand new home with 10,000 square feet on four levels, plus a 2,500 square foot roof terrace with city and bay views.
* An Edwardian residence designed in 1910 which has recently undergone a significant renovation, taking great care to keep the integrity of the original home while adding in modern inconveniences.
I have seen a LOT of home tours. The Junior League of San Francisco’s is NOT to be missed.
About The Junior League of San Francisco
The Junior League of San Francisco, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. Since its inception in 1911, the Junior League of San Francisco, Inc. (JLSF) has provided the community with an estimated 6 million volunteer hours and more than $22 million through direct community grants, advocacy, and membership training and development.
As a problem surfaces within the community, the JLSF is frequently the first organization to recognize and address the issue, providing volunteer energy, financial assistance and public support. Often in collaboration with other community groups and/or the public sector, the JLSF designs and launches a program, then works to achieve community impact and measurable results. For the period 2007-2012, the JLSF focus area is to Support and Strengthen Families in Need. This focus is defined as supporting Bay Area families in need via direct service, advocacy and grantmaking. Volunteers participate in programs that promote comprehensive services focused on meeting life’s basic needs and strengthening all generations within the community with community partners such as:
As you know, I often like to talk about the causes I am involved with outside the real estate business. This isn’t about real estate, but it is about something important impacting families in our community…
On Saturday, I will get to speak to 200 women in the Junior League of San Francisco about domestic violence at a training event. Domestic violence is an issue I have always been passionate about. Shortly after college, I volunteered at a shelter for battered women in Mesa, Arizona. Working in the shelter directly with women and children impacted by the horror of domestic violence forever changed my life and viewpoint.
In the years since then, I have worked with a variety of different community programs that support victims of domestic abuse. What I never expected was to see it first hand with a dear friend. Imagine waking up one morning to find a text message from a close friend saying she was in the hospital because her husband had beat her up. Severely.
I am not going to go into details here, but the thought of it makes me shake with anger. Many times people think domestic violence is an issue that impacts poor people. Immigrants. It doesn’t impact the educated, the rich, the successful people.
Well, anyone who thinks that is wrong. Domestic violence is occurring in Marin County. It is occurring in San Francisco. It is happening in Pac Heights, Kentfield and Ross. Highly educated women are being abused.
This is a short version of two stories I will get to speak about on Saturday:
Amanda Norris, 21 Killed October 27, 2005
Her ex-boyfriend harassed and threatened her for three years, once even carrying her down the street in an attempted kidnapping until someone sprayed mace on him. Her ex-boyfriend was on probation stemming from his multiple acts of domestic violence against Amanda when he murdered her and shoved her body in the trunk of his car.
Amanda Branson, 35 Killed May 11, 2002
Amanda was a mother who was stabbed to death the night before Mother’s Day in front of her two children. Police found a bouquet of red roses and a Mother’s Day Card that her husband wrote promising everlasting love. Her husband was convicted of murder.
(*name and some details changed to protect identities)
I hope these stories make you sick. They should. Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten. In fact, at least one in every three women in America has been beaten, coerced or abused during her lifetime and over one-third of the murders in America take place between family members. Tragically. the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that up to 90 percent of battered women never report their abuse.
Women you may know are being abused. They may not look like victims of domestic violence, but it is happening. If you or anyone you know need assistance, there are many local resources.
For more information:
- In Marin, contact Marin Abused Women’s Services- http://www.maws.org/
- In San Francisco, contact La Casa de las Madres- http://www.lacasadelasmadres.org/