We try to have a fun fundraiser of this type on a regular basis. They often sell out, and this one didn’t disappoint. “We even ran out of wristbands,” said Hannah Schmunk, our Director of Communications at POH. “The most amazing part of this fundraiser is that we didn’t have to spend a cent! Everything from the tequila to the venue was generously donated.” Admission to our fundraiser cost just $5 in advance/$10 at the door, and there were over 100 attendees which rose $605 for our services.

The price included four liberal samples of innovative drinks featuring Tres Agaves Tequila, which was donated by the company. Tres Agaves Tequila is award-winning, 100% agave tequila from Mexico. Their corporate offices are based in Oakland, our neighboring city across the bay. “We’ll probably go through six bottles tonight,” Jamie Chilberg from Tres Agaves estimated at the event. “We love to support the community – and even better if we can build awareness about good tequila at the same time.”

The competition took place at The Royal Exchange in Downtown San Francisco. Brian Trottier, Royal Exchange Manager, was the creative mind behind the concoctions. “Creating the drinks was a moment of panic that turned into inspiration,” he said. And he was particularly inspired by the Super Bowl XLVI (as well as the artisanal quality of the tequila).

Introducing the Cocktails:

1. Teq-Eli Manning: A delightfully tropical mango margarita with Tres Agaves Tequila.
2. Giant Killer: A sweet, spicy and minty margarita featuring Tres Agaves Tequila.
3. Pat’s Punch: A party mix of pomegranate liqueur, St. Germain, Lime Juice and Tres Agaves Tequila.
4. Tom Brady Collins: Tres Agave Tequila and a smooth Tom Collins blend.

At the end of the night attendees voted for their favorite tequila cocktail.

“This event was a great way to showcase exciting drinks, our friendly Royal Exchange staff, and a diversity of patrons,” said Sarah Hirshland, Director of Marketing for Royal Exchange. “The Royal Exchange is an old-fashioned pub in the city, and we like to give back by doing all sorts of fundraisers that support the city and local non-profits. We’re happy to help good causes like Project Open Hand.”

The man who connected the dots for our fundraiser was Kevin Blum, founder of SF City Dish, a local guide to the Bay Area’s best restaurant promotions, happy hours, and events. City Dish organizes and sponsors special events, and Blum saw this as a great opportunity to showcase local spirits and a historic pub while supporting a great cause. “Project Open Hand is tremendous, and this is a successful partnership.”

All of us at Project Open Hand are ever grateful for everyone who brought this night to life and made it a success. It was a win-win for all.

Now you’re probably wondering which cocktail won. It was a close call, but the people have spoken and…the Tom Brady Collins stole the show! So get a bottle of Tres Agaves Tequila, a yummy Tom Collins mix, and try making your own rendition.

And, stay tuned for next month’s fundraising mixer. Friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to be the first to hear about it. You won’t want to miss out on having fun while supporting a good cause!

Posted by Amber Ricchetti, guest blogger for Project Open Hand. Connect with her on Twitter @Gldnamby

Looking for a fun Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetheart?

Here are a few great ideas that benefit Project Open Hand’s meal and nutrition services:
1. Our Exclusive Valentine’s Edition Almond Butter: Butter for Your Lover

2. Compassion Blend – The perfect wine to share with your loved one on Valentine’s Day! By purchasing this wine, you provide 2 weeks’ worth of meals for someone in need.

3. 2012 Project Open Hand Calendar – Featuring a beautiful series of watercolors by local artist Gary Bukovnik

Click here to view other Project Open Hand Store items!

Join us on Saturday, February 4th for a FREE scoop of Open Hand FlufferNutter ice cream from our dear friends at Humphry Slocombe, makers of the weirdest, tastiest, and most charitable ice cream in San Francisco. The good people at Humphry Slocombe will generously donate 400 scoops to raise awareness and funds for Project Open Hand. Donations will be collected on site the day of the fundraiser, and HeardAbout will donate $1 for every scoop that’s redeemed (so make sure to come get your ice cream!).

Click here to claim your free scoop voucher!  They’re gonna go fast, because who doesn’t love a little fluffy, nutty goodness that supports a great cause?

We will be at Humphry Slocombe on Saturday giving out free samples of our famous, hand-crafted POH Peanut Butter. If you like it, you can buy a tub for just $4, and your purchase will provide a full meal for someone in need.  Hope to see you there! 

The special “stop-loss” funding for San Francisco was originally eliminated by Congress on Dec. 17, 2011, when they passed a $1 trillion spending bill to stop a government shutdown. The initial cut resulted in a devastating 16% loss of Ryan White CARE Act funds for San Francisco, and about a $200K loss for Project Open Hand.

For those who aren’t familiar, Ryan White was a 13 year old boy who was diagnosed with AIDS in the ‘80s.  Ryan and his mother, Jeanne White Ginder, paved the way against AIDS-related prejudice and discrimination, and helped bring about national AIDS-related awareness and education. Although Ryan did not live to see the passing of the bill (he died in 1990 at age 18), his name and powerful message live on in the Ryan White CARE Act.

Three decades later, San Francisco continues to carry the message of Ryan White, and improve circumstances for those living with HIV/AIDS. “Building upon the tremendous leadership of Leader Pelosi in Congress on the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act, San Francisco will continue to sustain investments in HIV/AIDS care and treatment,” said Mayor Lee. “Despite continued historic budget challenges, we remain committed to funding critical care services for those living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco.”

This budget supplemental is especially significant to Project Open Hand and the community we serve. Now that our core Ryan White funding won’t be reduced this year, we can continue to provide services with love – such as home-delivered meals and groceries – to those living and struggling with HIV/AIDS. The support of our generous donors and volunteers also enables us to continue providing nutritious food to those in need.

Other local groups benefitting from the budget supplement include the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, SF Food Bank, Positive Resource Center, and many other centers supporting San Franciscans living with HIV/AIDS.

Funding and maintaining services like these are necessary to improving the quality of life for the 15K+ San Francisco residents living with AIDS; half of whom don’t have health insurance (according to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation).

Although this budget boost is positive news, non-profits like Project Open Hand aren’t completely in the green; funding to backfill the cut after July will be part of the overall city budget discussions for FY 2012-13, so be sure to get out there and make your voice heard!

Posted by Amber Ricchetti, guest blogger for Project Open Hand. Connect with her on Twitter: @Gldnamby

100% of ticket sales will benefit Project Open Hand’s meal and nutrition services.  Don’t miss this ultimate happy hour party!

Click here to purchase tickets for $5 online.  If tickets are still available, they will be sold for $10 at the door.

Join us on Sundays at BeatBox from 4pm-8pm for cheap drinks, great music, a sunlit dance cloor, and community fundraising! Enjoy souldful, energetic, and uplifting sounds from San Francisco’s Next Top DJs:Russ Rich, Byron Bonsall, Brian Maier, Christopher B, and Kevin Lee.

This is one of the few daytime, sun-drenched dance floors in the city! Hit the dance floor for only $5 (cash bar) or get your cocktail on with our $15 booze bust! Booze Bust includes a choice of Miller beer, a weekly margarita special, and a weekly cosmo special from 4-7pm.

Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand, Folsom Street Events, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Leather Alliance.

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please call 415.447.2316 or email events@openhand.org

For more information, check out the Sundayz Facebook page.

Join us on Sundays at BeatBox from 4pm-8pm for cheap drinks, great music, a sunlit dance cloor, and community fundraising! Enjoy souldful, energetic, and uplifting sounds from San Francisco’s Next Top DJs:Russ Rich, Byron Bonsall, Brian Maier, Christopher B, and Kevin Lee.

This is one of the few daytime, sun-drenched dance floors in the city! Hit the dance floor for only $5 (cash bar) or get your cocktail on with our $15 booze bust! Booze Bust includes a choice of Miller beer, a weekly margarita special, and a weekly cosmo special from 4-7pm.

Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand, Folsom Street Events, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Leather Alliance.

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please call 415.447.2316 or email events@openhand.org

For more information, check out the Sundayz Facebook page.

Join us on Sundays at BeatBox from 4pm-8pm for cheap drinks, great music, a sunlit dance cloor, and community fundraising! Enjoy souldful, energetic, and uplifting sounds from San Francisco’s Next Top DJs:Russ Rich, Byron Bonsall, Brian Maier, Christopher B, and Kevin Lee.

This is one of the few daytime, sun-drenched dance floors in the city! Hit the dance floor for only $5 (cash bar) or get your cocktail on with our $15 booze bust! Booze Bust includes a choice of Miller beer, a weekly margarita special, and a weekly cosmo special from 4-7pm.

Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand, Folsom Street Events, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Leather Alliance.

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please call 415.447.2316 or email events@openhand.org

For more information, check out the Sundayz Facebook page.

For more information about Valencia Cyclery and this event, please click here or call (415) 550-6600.

Date is to be determined. Check back soon!

To sign up to volunteer to support Project Open Hand at the AIDS Walk SF, email events@openhand.org.

 To help support a current walker, click here. 

For information on becoming a registered walker/fundraiser, or for more information about this event, click here.

To sign up to volunteer to cheer on walkers at the 2012 Avon Walk in San Francisco, please email events@openhand.org

2012 marks the 42nd anniversary of the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade. The theme is “Global Equality” and the event will be held over the weekend of June 23 and 24, 2012. With over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than twenty community-run stages and venues, the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation.

The two-day celebration takes place in Civic Center Plaza and the parade, which takes place the Sunday morning of the event, kicks off from Beale Street along Market and ends at Market and 8th St. in the heart of downtown San Francisco. 

We invite YOU to join Project Open Hand as we march down Market Street in celebration of this year’s Pride Parade! Sign up to march by emailing communications@openhand.org or calling (415) 447-2412.

To sign up to volunteer in Project Open Hand’s Beer Booth at the 2012 PRIDE Parade, email events@openhand.org

Click here for general Pride details.

Sean Ray and friends return to the Rrazz Room for “NO DAY BUT TODAY”, the 10th annual Cabaret to Fight AIDS.  This highly anticipated evening of cabaret benefits the programs and services of Project Open Hand, the bay area non-profit dedicated to providing “meals with love” to people living with HIV/AIDS, the homebound critically ill and to seniors in San Francisco and Alameda County.

Donna Sachet once again hosts this heartfelt evening of great music which features accomplished performers from throughout the bay area – plus special guest stars!  This annual fundraiser has raised thousands of dollars for various AIDS service organizations since it began in 2002.  This year’s show will feature a wide array of song styles including show tunes, standards, pop hits, and country tunes.  There will also be great raffle prizes to win!

Singers include Jeanne Batacan-Harper, Wade Marshal Crosson, Beth Elliott, Jorge R. Hernandez, Sean Ray, Ryan Rigazzi, Pia Trinidad-Sprague, Steve Valdez, and Thena Yacap-Zaragoza.  With Michael Grossman on piano, Daniel Fabricant on bass, and Erika Johnson on drums.

Tickets are $35 in advance ($40 at the door).  Special VIP premier $50 tickets include a pre-show champagne reception and preferred seating.

Click here for tickets and more information.

PLEDGE is a weekly fundraiser hosted by PLEDGEMASTERS DJ CHRISTOPER B & DJ BRIAN MAIER, that encourages a spirit of flirtatious camaraderie while raising funds to benefit local non-profit organizations which help the community thrive.  At each party, volunteer PLEDGE Brothers, organized into FRAT HOUSE teams, will engage in friendly competition to find creative and fun ways to raise the most money possible for Project Open Hand, including raffles, ABSOLUT shooter sales, PLEDGE PADDLE photo ops, gogo guys dancing for donations, and more surprise elements introduced by the Brothers each week. 

For more information about PLEDGE, go to DJ CHRISTOPHER B’S website.

Major sponsors of this weekly event include: ABSOLUT Vodka and Gloss Magazine.     

*To sign up to volunteer at one of these weekly PLEDGE events, please email events@openhand.org with the dates of your availability.

Join us on Sundays at BeatBox from 4pm-8pm for cheap drinks, great music, a sunlit dance cloor, and community fundraising! Enjoy souldful, energetic, and uplifting sounds from San Francisco’s Next Top DJs:Russ Rich, Byron Bonsall, Brian Maier, Christopher B, and Kevin Lee. 

This is one of the few daytime, sun-drenched dance floors in the city! Hit the dance floor for only $5 (cash bar) or get your cocktail on with our $15 booze bust! Booze Bust includes a choice of Miller beer, a weekly margarita special, and a weekly cosmo special from 4-7pm.

Proceeds benefit Project Open Hand, Folsom Street Events, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Leather Alliance.  

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please call 415.447.2316 or email events@openhand.org

For more information, check out the Sundayz Facebook page.

On a typical morning at the office, I picked up my mail and sat down at my desk to read it. The first letter I opened was from Daniel Etter and I was astonished. I knew that I had to meet this generous, selfless boy.

I visited Daniel at his family’s house in Oakland on a sunny afternoon and he was full of ideas. We sat down at the kitchen table to make a birthday card for a client and got to talking. “Hannah, I have a lot of fundraising ideas that I want to tell you about,” he began. His first plan of action was a bake sale and he proudly exclaimed, “My mom makes a killer toffee and granola!” He planned to station his bake sale on a busy sidewalk in the downtown area near his home. He would make a sign that explains it is a fundraiser for Project Open Hand and he would even sell the pomegranate jelly he makes at his “Grammy’s.”

Daniel’s next fundraising idea was to sell the fruits and vegetables that he grows in his impressive garden. Throughout the year he grows cabbage, beans, tomatoes, broccoli, chard, cucumber, carrots, basil, lemons, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and more.  Daniel has an amazing knowledge of gardening. As we walked through his garden he exclaimed, “I just love this! I’m so excited!” He explained that he had a lot of work to do but he was ready for the challenge.

We walked to the front yard to see his family’s rose garden. “Smell the red ones, Hannah. They smell the best!” he advised. I inhaled and the scent was incredible. Daniel planned to make bouquets from the roses in his garden and sell them. Again, all proceeds would go to Project Open Hand.

On Friday, November 11, 2011 - over a year later – Daniel came to Project Open Hand to present the money he had fundraised throughout the year. He had held several successful bake sales, sold bouquets and fruits and vegetables grown in his garden, he had worked in his family farm, and he had even asked for donations instead of birthday presents. Daniel raised an incredible $631.46.

Daniel is an inspiration. His desire to help can be a lesson to us all: No one is too small to make a difference.

Check out photos of Daniel’s visit to Project Open Hand: