Time Lapse Construction of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House

Check out this fun time lapse video of the start of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House at Mission Bay! We broke ground on September 17, 2014, and will open our doors to 80 families per night in January, 2016! Read more about the project here: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

UCSF Mission Bay Day in the Life Simulation

I don’t think anyone has ever had this much fun in a hospital!

To help the doctors, nurses, and support staff get ready for the opening of the new UCSF Hospitals at Mission Bay, last week was the first of several “Day in the Life” simulations, where volunteers came together as patients and family members in real-life scenarios.  Family House staffers (and about 30 other volunteers) got to check out the new hospital, be pretend patients and parents, work with our partners at Child Life, and even got to see the helicopter (Bear Force One) take off from the helipad. We’re so excited about all the ways that this new facility is going to be able to serve thousands of Family House families every year!

Click here to read about the new Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House that is currently under construction, just blocks from the new UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital at Mission Bay:  http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

Groundbreaking of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House

What an auspicious day! Thank you to everyone who helped make the Groundbreaking of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House possible!

Thank you to Nancy and Stephen Grand and all of the donors who have contributed to the Capital Campaign! Thank you to our Board Members for your endless support! Thank you to all of the families in attendance and those who we have served, and will continue to serve! Thank you to the Mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee, Supervisor Jane Kim, and everyone from the city who led us to this important day! Thank you to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and Chief of Police Greg Suhr for being present and for all of your support! Thank you to the Archbishop Riordan High School Marching Band and the San Francisco Police Mounted Unit for setting the wonderful celebratory atmosphere! Thank you to all of the volunteers, to everyone from our building team (Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors, Cambridge Construction Management, Mission Bay Development Group, Goldfarb and Lipman, Susan Diamond, Platinum Advisors, Northern Trust, Equity Community Builders, Capital One Commercial Banking, Northern California Community Loan Fund, Marshall Lamm, Novogradac, Building Blox), and to everyone from the community who could come to Mission Bay and help us celebrate this momentous occasion!

You can still contribute to the Capital Campaign: https://familyhouseinc.ejoinme.org/

View all of the photos of the Groundbreaking: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyHouseSanFrancisco

Click here to read the latest on the Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

Family House in the Business Times

Did you see the Family House supplement in the San Francisco Business Times?

It outlines the past and future of Family House, including our move to Mission Bay. Check it out:

http://www.familyhouseinc.org/images/press/san-francisco-business-times-supplement-september-2014.pdf

Calling All Angels - Thank You!

Thank you, #FHAngels! Together, we raised over $66K for the new Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House! You really stepped up to show your love for our little global community. Thank you!

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html

Calling All Angels Update

Family House CEO Alexandra Morgan gives an update on the Calling All Angels crowdfunding campaign at http://indiegogo.com/projects/calling-all-angels

Our first Mission Bay success!

Our first Mission Bay success!  Thanks to the overwhelming response of letters in support of the new Family House at Mission Bay, we are happy to report the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency has approved our petition to move forward with land acquisition.  We still face several more Committees before the land is officially ours, and we appreciate your ongoing support and love!

Read the latest about the Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House at Mission Bay: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House - Architect Plans

You’ve heard a lot of talk about the new Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House at Mission Bay, but have you seen the plans yet?

Here are some photos of the architect’s 3D model, as well as the latest architectural drawings for the new house.

The new building will have 80 bedrooms: floors 2-5 will each serve 20 families per night, split into 2 “neighborhoods.”  Each “neighborhood” will have its own living, dining, cooking, and laundry space.  There are several bedroom sizes, dependent on the size of the family staying, and all bedrooms will have en-suite bathrooms!  We are very excited about the private, outdoor courtyard on the second floor, as well as the exercise room and teen rooms, and the parking lot on the ground floor.

We’ll be just a few blocks from the new UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, and we can’t wait to open our doors!

If you haven’t yet donated to our Capital Campaign, please consider making a gift through our Calling All Angels campaign page at http://indiegogo.com/projects/calling-all-angels

Read the latest about the Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House at Mission Bay: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

Family House: Over Three Decades of Serving Young Patient Families

by Gail Berkley
Sun-Reporter Volume 67 Number 16, Thursday April 18, 2013

Imagine if you have a seriously ill child who is hospitalized miles away from home. As a parent, you would want to spend almost every moment possible at the child's bedside and commuting to and from the hospital daily would only add to your stress. For over 30 years Family House in San Francisco has fulfilled a vital need for parents facing such challenges.

Family House provides a caring home away from home for parents of seriously ill children who are patients at University of California San Francisco Benioff Children's hospital.

As UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital prepares to move to a new location in the city's Mission Bay area, Family House also plans to relocate to serve families in brand new facilities.

In order to make the move, Family House must acquire land and construct a new building in the vicinity of the hospital. Plans are under way to ensure that families will receive the same care, comfort, and compassionate housing completely free of charge while their child receives care at the new hospital. The agency hopes to open the new facility by 2016.

"We are grateful to Mayor Lee and City Administrator Naomi Kelly for their strong support of our move to Mission Bay," said Executive Director Alexandra Morgan. "Their ongoing support, along with their staff, has been critical to helping us relocate with the new children's hospital and continue serving the most vulnerable members of the Bay Area community."

Founded in 1981, Family House provides temporary housing free of charge at two locations to the young patients' families. To qualify for the housing families must live more than 50 miles from UCSF. Families are referred by pediatric social workers and many of them live at or below the low-income status as determined by UCSF.

With a $1.5 million annual budget, the non-profit organization serves an average of 34 families per night. The two current locations sustain a nearly 100% occupancy rate and can accommodate 107 people per night. Over the course of a year more than 2,000 families are served, according to agency statistics.

Working in conjunction with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, the agency strives to provide family-centered care for patient families.

One family that has made repeat visits to Family House is that of a young girl named Sharita. Now 9, Sharita has had a kidney transplant. Her aunt and guardian, Suprena Dickson of Clovis, first stayed at Family House in September, 2011 for about 2 months. After that, she has come to Family House for short visits a few times a year.

The families of children undergoing bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy, and radiation are the agency's most common guests. Family House also accommodates those facing other life-threatening childhood illnesses such as fetal surgery, transplants, and cardiac patients when space is available.

For more information on Family House log onto www.familyhouseinc.org.

Calling All Angels Update

#FHAngels, all we can say is WOW! The first week of the Calling All Angels crowdfunding campaign is coming to a close, and we’ve passed the first 1/3 of our goal - thank you!  Over 100 Family House Angels have already stepped up and donated to the campaign, and even more than that have been on board to help us spread the word.

We’ve got great perks for donating, including autographed items from the Grammy Award-winning SF band Train, and the chance to make your mark on the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House - the new building that will be funded, in part, by this campaign.

We still need your help to make this campaign a success!

Visit http://indiegogo.com/projects/calling-all-angels and watch the new video - Jack’s Tale

Donate whatever you can to help us realize the new building

Share the campaign link on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.  The bigger the reach, the better! And be sure to tag yourself as one of our #FHAngels!

We’re off to an outstanding start, and with your help, we’ll cross the finish line before the campaign is closed.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

UCSF Ice Cream Social

Thanks to the doctors, nurses, and hospital support staff at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital for attending our ice cream social earlier this week! It was so great for the staff to meet all of you, and have a chance to get to know you. So many of you we've heard of, and even talked to on the phone for years, and can now put a face to the name! And thank you to Three Twins Ice Cream for sponsoring treats for the event. We love and support the same families, and we appreciate all you do for the sick kids at the hospital. Much love! 

Read the latest about the Nancy & Stephen Grand Family House at Mission Bay: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/mission-bay.html

View all of the photos! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152728034300277.1073741859.148667470276&type=1

Cabernet for Connoisseurs 2014: A Letter from Dr. Art Ablin, Family House Founder

Dear Karen, Neil and the 2014 Cabernet Committee:


What a wonderful event!!!

We raised a lot; I don’t know exactly how much or if it was more or less than last year’s Cabernet, but that doesn’t make it any less spectacular than it was.  It was the best.  There is nothing anyone can put into words that describes the excitement there, gobs of beautiful young volunteers opening doors and giving directions,  the swizzling glasses and smacking lips in the wine tasting rooms, the careful and orderly arrangement of the displayed silent auction items and the constant, hum-drum pace of the auction.  The talks that Neil, Alexandra, and Dick Grace gave so eloquently brought home the Family House Mission and of course having the Ferrick Family there with young Jay’s presence on the stage left no doubt about what the evening was for. I know we raised over $500,000 on people just raising their numbers, to say nothing of the rest of the wine and other items.  It was absolutely the best!

Congratulations to all who had anything to do with this spectacular event.  Anyone there and all those who were not able to make it, can not help from being so proud to be a part of Family House.  We may not be the greatest, but one thing for certain:  there are none better.

Thank you Neil Committee and all the many others that made this possible.

Debbie and Art Ablin

Check out the event photos from this momentous night: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153810632270277.1073741990.148667470276&type=1

Click here to find information on upcoming Family House events: http://www.familyhouseinc.org/events.html