SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Amy Underwood and Betsy Biern attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Ricarda Rodatus, Christian Rodatus and Sarah Price attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Anthony Schiller and Moira Lion attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Drew Altizer)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Wayne Osborne, David Trujillo, Alana Trujillo, Amy Underwood and John Anderson attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Charlotte Saeta and Georgia Dean attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Drew Altizer)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Carlos Guerrero, Scott Granger and Dana Edgar attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Karen Schwarzbach and Erica Williamson attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Jen Osman and Jennifer Rego attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Robert Klinger and Mantra Robinson attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Julie Ann Pincus and David Pincus attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Raghu Raghuram and Latta Raghuram attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Pat Harbison and Joe Harbison attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Drew Altizer)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Elaine Barden, Mike Pisenti and Tracy Pisenti attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Abby Noche and Michael Malcolm attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Evelyn Hu, Denise Glagau, Theresa Misho, Victoria Modrick and Kate Shrout attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Ali Benz, Jill Kearns and Sasha Sokhis attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Carol Perlicio, David Milsten, John McCaffrey and Cindy McCaffrey attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Kate Morrow, Alexa Bartlett, Kim Hopper, Marti Pozzi, Cara Binns and Robin Nelson attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Drew Altizer)
An Evening of Wishes, with Make-A-Wish
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6 - Steve Laub, Sam Jadallah, Sarah Price and Kathy Jadallah attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo - Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area held its annual Evening of Wishes gala at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, on Friday, March 6, raising enough money to grant the wishes of nearly 50 local children. The evening’s theme was Wishes in Bloom, celebrating the budding transformational power of a wish.
Sam Jadallah, Kathy Jadallah, Sarah Price, Ricarda Rosato, Christian Rosato and Steve Laub attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo – Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography)
“We’re so grateful for the generosity of everyone involved with this year’s gala,” says CEO Betsy Biern. “We know from research that children who have wishes granted build the physical and emotional strength needed to fight a critical illness. So, you’re helping us improve children’s quality of life and health outcomes. We can’t thank you enough for your support of our mission.”
Lena Strickling attends Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo – Drew Altizer)
Lena Strickling—a wish alum, former intern, and current wish-granting volunteer—served as emcee of the event. Two other wish kids gave performances to standing ovations. Finley and her friends performed an inspirational dance routine to Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.” Apu, whose wish is to be a children’s book author, gave an advanced reading of her book, Johnny’s Big Moment, to be published soon. The evening’s wish speaker was Kristina Stein, whose daughter’s wish to swim with dolphins came true in 2016. Jonathan Mayes and Varetta Mayes attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo – Drew Altizer)
Nearly 400 guests enjoyed an elegant evening of cocktails, wine tasting, dinner, and a rousing live auction hosted by Liam Mayclem. Winemakers pouring at the “Wish to Meet a Winemaker” station included Bricoleur Vineyards, The Duckhorn Portfolio, Ghost Block Estate Wines, Harbison Estate, Italics Winegrowers, Ladera Vineyards, and Roy Estate.
Jonna Mazet, Hannah Mazet and Claire Lindsey attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo – Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
The live auction raised close to $100,000 thanks to generous donors, including the Oakland A’s, Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers, One Market Restaurant, and New York Times bestselling author Annie Barrows. Celebrity pop portrait artist Blake Jamieson donated two paintings, raising $17,000 in support of wishes. A private screening and dinner package donated by Francis Ford Coppola Winery raised $16,000 and a private suite at The Eagles concert at Chase Center, donated by Slack, raised $10,000.
Adam Hemberger, Dani Hemberger, Charlotte Saeta, Andrew Saeta, Rishi Dixit, Georgia Dean and Will Dean attend Make-A-Wish Gala 2020 on March 6th 2020 at Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, CA (Photo – Arthur Kobin for Drew Altizer Photography)
More than 70 donors contributed to the Adopt-A-Wish, raising more than $200,000. Thanks to a generous matching gift from the Sobrato family, this means the chapter will be able to grant 40 wishes throughout Northern California.