A Taste of Santa Cruz

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A Taste of Santa Cruz Raises $30,000 To Help Fund Housing Grants

Moving the annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz” to October this year provided guests with more room to enjoy food, wine, networking and shopping at the auction. With over 300 guests in attendance, this year’s event, held on October 16th at the MAH, raised more funds than last year for the Santa Cruz County Realtors Housing Foundation closing cost assistance program.

“People loved being outside, being warm, and having more space.” ATOSC volunteer Connie Landes, Sereno Group, said. “We were very happy with the new live auction opportunity of asking the guests to donate through a “fund a need” program. We are very fortunate to have generous community members who helped us surpass our fundraising goals.”

New restaurants came on board this year to support the annual event fundraiser, now in its 14th year and the raw oyster bar was a highlight of the event.

“Each year we work on making the event better for the guests and we had so many compliments from the attendees that they had a fantastic time and enjoyed the wonderful food and wine being served and had more room to enjoy the event overall.” David DeTeso, USBank and Chair of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation stated. “It is VERY rewarding to know all the work that our volunteers put into the event, along with the sponsor and restaurant support, helped us raise $30,000! We can not thank everyone enough for their time, dedication and energy.”

If you missed the Taste of Santa Cruz this year, mark your calendar for next October when we will be holding our 15th annual event.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for helping us make the event possible:

ATRIUM SPONSORS:
Bailey Properties
Bay Federal Credit Union
Chase Bank
Century 21 M&M Associates
Coldwell Banker
David Lyng Real Estate
Santa Cruz Lending
Stearns Lending
Opes Advisors
US Bank
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Xchange Solutions

GALLERY SPONSORS:

Band of the West BNP Paribas
Intero Real Estate Services
Karma Mortgage Solutions
Seabright Mortgage Company
The Madani Team
TIAA Bank
Vista Properties

In Kind Sponsors:
Blue Adobe Mortgage
Santa Cruz Sentinel

And HUGE KUDOS to our volunteers who donated their time to ensure not only that the event was a success, but that everyone had a really good time!
BIG THANKS especially to the planning committee who work for five months to make A Taste of Santa Cruz come together each year.

ATOSC Planning committee:
David Deteso
Connie Landes
Suzanne Schmidt
MJ Stearns
Inez Pandolfi
Shelly Vomvolakis
Selesa Webster
Will Allanson
Jerry Starr

Event Volunteers
Lela Willet
John Nink
Kim Havbo
Tamar Frey
Michelle Pappas
Jeff McCormac
Sherri Barcus
Loren Morse
Michelle Pappas
Kristie Goes
Brooke Squyres
Linda Pawlik
Liz Seeley
Spencer Hayes
Candie Noel
Kathy DeTeso
Kristie Goes
Jacob Willett
Linda Pawlik
Liz Seeley
Dwayne Dawson
Sandy Kaplan
Janet Vanzanen
Karen Schenk
Lori Doan
Lori Lester
Alex and Caroline

The Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation was established in 2003, to bridge the gap to homeownership in Santa Cruz County. The mission of the Housing Foundation is to assist residents in our community realize the dream of homeownership by providing education, financial programs, and by supporting organizations who embrace our goals. Visit us at www.sccarhf.org or call for information (831) 464-2000.

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Taste of Santa Cruz Raises Almost $25,000 For SCCAR Housing Foundation Grants

Over 500 attendees enjoyed the 2017 “A Taste of Santa Cruz” fundraiser on November 9th at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and raised a near record amount of funds for the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS Housing Foundation.

“We were unsure how changing the venue was going to affect the over all experience of the Taste of Santa Cruz this year and we were thrilled that not only did our tickets sell out two days before the event, the first time we have ever sold out of tickets ahead of time, but all the attendees loved the MAH,” stated David DeTeso, Chairman of the SCAR Housing Foundation and chair of the fundraiser. “Raising an almost record amount of funds to help local residents stay in our community by providing down payment assistance was the icing on the cake. We cannot thank our sponsors, vendors, volunteers and the community enough. This was truly a group effort and we are extremely grateful.”

The funds raised from the event will help fund closing cost assistance grants, which have helped dozens of first time home buyers become homeowners in Santa Cruz County in the past 13 years.

The Taste of Santa Cruz featured 2 local breweries and 15 local wineries, mostly members of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winery Association, for the first time this year, which drew wine lovers from around the county. 17 local restaurants brought their culinary talents to offer tastes to the attendees while sharing their hospitality and good will. Local real estate brokerages and mortgage companies were the main sponsors who provided the table space for both the wineries and restaurants.

The SCCAR Housing Foundation would like to thank these sponsors for coming on board to support this year’s “A Taste of Santa Cruz”

Atrium Sponsors: Opes Advisors, Sereno Group Real Estate, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Bailey Properties , Bay Federal Credit Union, David Lyng Real Estate, Santa Cruz Lending Group, Chase, US Bank

Garden Room Sponsors: Century 21 Showcase, Everbank, Habitat for Humanity, Intero Santa Cruz, Century 21 M&M and Associates, Stearns Home Loans, XChange Solutions

In-Kind Sponsors: Blue Adobe Mortgage, Century 21 LAD, Coastal Homes Magazine, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Monterey Bay Properties, Wells Fargo – Dan Fish

Thank you also goes to the volunteer steering committee for endless hours of hard work, brainstorming and commitment:

David DeTeso-US Bank-Chair

Connie Landes-Sereno Group-Co-chair

Chris Clayton-Sereno Group

Suzanne Schmidt-Old Republic Title

Inez Pandolfi-Century 21 Lad Realty

Will Allanson-Allanson Insurance

Jerry Starr – Santa Cruz Wine Growers Assoc.

Lela Willet -Anderson Christie, Broker Associate

We hope we see you at the 2018 “A Taste of Santa Cruz”!

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“A Taste of Santa Cruz” Offering Booth Sponsorships for Revitalized Culinary Event

photo of MAHDavid DeTeso, US Bank, Housing Foundation, Chair

Have you been to the revitalized Abbott Square Marketplace in Santa Cruz yet? Have you been inside the Museum of Art & History within Abbott Square? If not, you are in for a treat as we hold Santa Cruz’s premiere culinary extravaganza, “A Taste of Santa Cruz” in this new venue for 2017 on Thursday November 9 at the MAH from 5:30 – 9:00 pm. Booth sponsors will be located within the three floors of the museum serving up the best wine and cuisine Santa Cruz County has to offer. How can you get involved in this exciting event?

The Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors Housing Foundation is currently seeking booth sponsors from within the real estate community to pair up with local restaurants and wineries to make this year’s fundraising event one of the best yet! Showcase your food, wine or business to an audience of over 600 event attendees and foodies! This event is going to be the talk of the town, so you will want to secure your space now! . We are also seeking in kind sponsors and donations for our silent and live auctions.

Tickets will be available for sale on Friday September 15th for $45 in advance on EventBrite and $55 at the door.

Celebrating 13 years, this annual fundraising event benefits local low income first time home buyers through the Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation’s Closing Cost Grant Program

I am thrilled to be at the helm of “A Taste of Santa Cruz” this year. My goal and that of our committee is to not only host a tremendous and fun event, but also raise a record amount of funds for our grant program. The need has never been greater to keep the social fabric of Santa Cruz County vibrant with a diverse community of residents owning homes in our County. With median home prices reaching over $850,000, innovative homeownership programs are more important now than ever, The Foundation grant program, which helps teachers, first responders and other key neighbors, provides funds that are magnified several times over because the grants are almost always combined with City, State and Federal programs as well a family help and other groups like Habitat for Humanity. The Taste of Santa Cruz has raised over $380,000 for the Closing Cost Assistance Grant Program, placing over 250 families in homes of their own from the community support of this event.

“Abbott Square is the new cultural hub of Santa Cruz and we believe the new venue will breathe fresh energy into the event”, DeTeso added. “Join us in raising funds for a great cause and having a fantastic night out at the Museum!”

Please contact Suzanne Schmidt, 831-419-5956 or [email protected], for sponsor booth sign up forms and donation forms. Visit www.atosc.com for event details and be part of the conversation on the Taste of Santa Cruz Facebook page or Twitter @atasteofsc.

The Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS® Housing Foundation was established in 2003, to bridge the gap to homeownership in Santa Cruz County. The mission of the Housing Foundation is to assist residents in our community realize the dream of homeownership by providing education, financial programs, and by supporting organizations who embrace our goals. Visit us at www.sccarhf.org.