#MightyRealGala

PRC’s Mighty Real affirmed the power of transformation and human connection.

Posted on November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 by Seth Abrahamson

PRC is thrilled to share about its incredibly successful Mighty Real Fundraising event that took place on Thursday, November 9^th, at the stunning venue, Saint Joseph’s Arts Society. This fabulous evening, named after the signature song, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” of our generous benefactor and disco legend Sylvester, was a celebration of transformation and human connection that raised essential funds for our programs that help more than 5,000 individuals each year to transform their lives for the better.

This year’s theme was transformation, and we curated the evening to showcase how PRC’s services transform our clients’ lives, the progress and growth we have experienced within PRC over the last year, and the power of human connection.

Front entrance of Saint Joseph’s Arts Society

Even the venue was a symbol of transformation. Saint Joseph’s Arts Society itself was transformed from a church that closed due to earthquake damage to a breathtakingly beautiful community gathering space and outlet for local artists to display their work. Its location around the corner from PRC’s Integrated Services Center in the heart of the community we serve made it the perfect space for the evening.

A guest writes a letter of encouragement to a PRC client

A home covered in mirror next to a statement explaining how PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance supports clients as part of a scavenger hunt

The winning bidder of a disco heart holds up the item to display to nearby guests

Attendees were encouraged to engage in fun and informative activities as they enjoyed decadent food, libations, music, and community connection. Both staff and clients attended as ambassadors, giving everyone an opportunity to meet the people changing lives, and to hear directly from individuals who have benefitted from them. We enticed guests to explore the unique venue through a curated scavenger hunt to find one-of-a-kind disco items created by PRC’s Seth Abrahamson, each relating to one of our five main program areas, and were later auctioned off. As inspirational energy filled the space, we offered guests an opportunity to write a message of encouragement to a client, an uplifting note from a community that believes in them and is cheering them on. Genuine smiles filled the room from start to finish.

PRC Clients Ranella Benzarti and Porshay Taylor looking and feeling Mighty Real

A pivotal moment of the evening transpired as PRC CEO Chuan Teng encouraged guests to raise a light in response to a series of questions that genuinely reflected their life experiences. For instance, if they knew someone in recovery, if they had lost someone to a substance use disorder, or if they believed transformation is possible.

Guests hold up small electronic candles indicating a connection to someone who has been affected by substance use disorder or mental health

The evening included inspirational speeches from PRC CEO Chuan Teng, PRC Employment Specialist and former client Jasmine Conley (watch here in case you missed it), Sylvester Pillar Awardee Joshua Gamson, Keystone Service Awardee San Francisco Pride represented by Executive Director Suzanne Ford, Outstanding Corporate Partner Awardee Wells Fargo represented by VP of Philanthropy and Community Impact Lorenzo Cordova, and San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

Volunteers greet guests as they enter the breathtakingly beautiful Saint Joseph’s Arts Society

A live auction included trips to Italy, Hawaii, and a year of dining out at 12 of San Francisco’s finest restaurants. Guests also gave generously by participating in the fund-a-need paddle raise which culminated in the ability to purchase backpacks for clients filled with emergency provisions.

To close out the evening we danced to the live sounds of DotCom and the Noise. Even this had a connection to transformation as the band’s lead singer shared how he’s benefitted from PRC’s supportive services.

With our community’s support, we accomplished something incredible. Together, we raised funds for PRC’s essential services, which are vital for San Francisco’s most vulnerable individuals.

A Mighty Real thank you to our event chair Darren Smith, event co-chair Nichole Wiley, the incredible volunteers for making the night a smooth success, PRC staff and client ambassadors, and our generous sponsors: Janice Berthold Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Daniel Hancock & Kent Roger, Scan Medicare Advantage, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Allied Universal, Chevron, Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, Kaiser Permanente, Josh & Dana Frieman & Brian Schneider and Robert Lieberman, JP Morgan, Michael Niczyporuk & Rachel Forisha, Nuveen Real Estate, Anonymous, Brayer Electric, CBF Electric & Data, Hayse Group Inc., JLL, Leo Levenson Consulting & Rebecca Levenson Consulting, Quest Diagnostics, Skyline Construction, and San Francisco Bay Times (see our write up on page 20).

The full photo gallery from the evening can be accessed here.

If you would like to extend your support of this year’s Mighty Real, you still can.

If you were unable to join us for this uplifting evening, don’t worry. We would love for you to join us for one or both of two nights of holiday cabaret at Songs of the Season, on Tuesday, and Wednesday, December 5th, and 6th, at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.

Tickets are now on sale

6th Annual Mighty Real Gala, A Resounding Success

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Seth Abrahamson

PRC is pleased to announce the extraordinary success of its 6^th annual Mighty Real Gala on Friday, November 4, 2022. Taking place at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel and attracting nearly 330 guests, this incredible evening raised more than $250,000 for PRC’s essential services for San Francisco’s most vulnerable individuals.

“The overwhelming support of this year’s Mighty Real Gala is a testament to this community’s commitment to helping San Francisco’s homeless and other vulnerable populations with whom we work every day. It was a powerfully emotional and momentous occasion as we symbolically passed the leadership torch and honored our retiring CEO Emeritus Brett Andrews for his visionary leadership of the organization for nearly 20 years. I’m honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to share this moment with our community and by the love and support I’ve received.” shared PRC Interim CEO Chuan Teng.

Highlights of the evening included a heartfelt and symbolic transfer of the leadership torch from CEO Emeritus Brett Andrews to Interim CEO Chuan Teng and impassioned and emotionally expressive speeches from Gala Chair and PRC Board Member Nichole Wiley, PRC client Stafford Hemmer, and Senator Scott Wiener. The sentiment and devotion for PRC’s clients and services was brimming throughout the ballroom. The festivities were ushered in by Master of Ceremonies extraordinaire Kelly Russell, who presided over an exciting live auction and Fund a Need, and the afterparty was energized by the entertaining seven-piece band, Last Wave.

Guests were also treated to award presentations of the Outstanding Corporate Partner Award to the Law firm, Pillsbury, Winthrop Shaw, and Pitman, the Keystone Service Award to The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, PRC’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award to retiring CEO Emeritus Brett Andrews, and the Sylvester Community Pillar Award to Latrice Royale. Between Tito’s specialty cocktails and a fabulous performance from Drag performer, recording artist, and reality TV Personality, Latrice Royale, the evening proved to be a touching tribute to those served by PRC’s services.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who attended and supported PRC during the live auction and Fund a Need, our dedicated volunteers, and our generous sponsors: Janice & Thomas Berthold, Chevron, David McCrory and Andrew Chen, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, AT&T, DivcoWest, Eastdil Secured, JLL, JP Morgan, Kaiser Permanente, Nuveen Real Estate, Quest Diagnostics, Revel Architecture & Design, Brian Schneider and Robert Liberman, Stockbridge, TMG Partners, ABM, Allied Universal, ARG Conservation Services Inc., CBF Electric & Data, East Bay Rental Housing Association, Giampolini Courtney Masonry Restoration, Landis Communications, Inc, Metro Services Group, Newmark, San Francisco Community Health Center, Skyline Construction, and Transwestern.

If you would like to extend your support of this year’s Mighty Real Gala, you still can.

Photo Gallery from PRC’s 6th Annual Mighty Real Gala

PRC’s Mighty Real Gala

PRC’s 4th annual celebration of Hope, Resilience, and Pride, returned to the elegant Four Seasons Hotel on Friday, November 4th, 2022 at 6:00 PM. This successful fundraising event raised more than $245,000 for PRC’s lifesaving, integrated social, legal, and behavioral health services to help the City’s most vulnerable populations.

A special thank you to our sponsors, everyone who purchased tickets, our honorees, and our incredible volunteers.

The “Bridge to Betterment” PRC’s Logo Made of 62,000 Mirrors, By PRC Employee Seth Abrahamson

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by Seth Abrahamson

Brett Andrews and Mayor London Breed pose in front of the step and repeat sign at the 2021 Mighty Real Gala

If you attended PRC’s Mighty Real Gala earlier this month, you probably saw a shimmery logo in place of the traditional step and repeat wall, and maybe even took a picture or two next to it. This was my gift to PRC and to everyone here who makes it their mission to help others improve their lives. I had recently finished a similar piece for myself and after sharing pictures with my colleagues, was asked to create this vibrant piece of art.

It’s likely that my love for making art out of mirrors stems from my childhood memories of watching my mom make stained glass. I would help her cut and grind each piece shaping the fragile, yet sturdy medium into a vibrant backlit puzzle. Some projects were composed of thousands of intricate shapes of all colors and took months of precision to complete. I assume this was where I learned the patience required for my iteration of transforming glass into art.

Live music is another big passion in my life and at the center of almost every performance space is a disco ball: beautiful in any light but shine a focused beam on it, and it returns a spectrum of rays creating a mesmerizing sense of motion. My partner, Ron, asked me to make us both disco ball hard hats for a local street fair a few years back, and that’s where my passion for mirrored art began. The hats became quite popular and from there my imagination took off. I began cutting the already tiny mirrors into much smaller pieces, using a variety of colors, to cover just about any object with intricate and detailed designs. When my colleagues asked me to create this logo out of mirrors, I jumped at the opportunity.

The logo is titled “Bridge to Betterment” and represents PRC’s values: warm and welcoming, bold and inspiring, knowledgeable and optimistic. To me, the logo represents a bridge on the road to self-improvement, split into the ups and downs one faces when embarking on this type of journey. To be a part of something with such a powerful message makes me incredibly honored, and I’m excited to have been given the opportunity to share it with our community.

Four feet in diameter, the logo contains more than 62,000 individual blue and silver glass mirrors, each measuring five millimeters squared or smaller. The average thumbnail is roughly the size of six to nine mirror tiles. The base is made of a 3/8 inch thick piece of plywood to be sturdy yet light, and the mirrors make up two-thirds of the total weight of the finished piece. For the most part, I’m able to place the mirrors close enough together to give the appearance of smooth clean curves, but there are also thousands of smaller tiles that were cut to fill in the gaps. If you walk through my home while I’m working on a project of this size, you’re likely to leave with a piece of mirror stuck to your shoes or socks. I know I’m constantly finding them in the laundry.

The mirrors come in pre-scored and broken sheets and have a web-like adhesive backing. I cut the sheets into strips, which I then twist and bend to stretch the adhesive backing to allow for curves. Many of the mirrors are placed one at a time, especially towards the center. The use of additional glue is needed to permanently secure each tile to the base or object. To cut the mirrors into smaller pieces, I either score them with a glass cutter and use jewelry pliers or my fingers to break them, or I use small cutting pliers and cut them similar to if I were using scissors. Amazingly I have only experienced a few very minor cuts.

I began with the three spans of the bridge and the letters, each of which took roughly three hours to complete. I then moved to the outermost circular and worked inward to maintain the resemblance of the grooves on a vinyl record. In the beginning, each circular row took roughly 30 minutes to complete, and I became keenly aware of my four-week deadline with each row. I happily devoted my nights and weekends to get as much done as possible, and in a way, it was a sort of Zen for me. I would frequently become entranced and lose track of time.

In the end, the project took 97 hours of deeply focused work, 11 square feet of blue mirror tiles, and 5 square feet of silver tiles to complete. I then attached the logo to a floor-mounted flat-screen TV stand, and it was unveiled on Friday, November 5th, during PRC’s Mighty Real Gala, at the San Francisco Four Seasons Hotel. Camera flashes could be seen all night as guests posed for pictures next to it, and others felt compelled to rub their fingers across the smooth surface as they marveled at the level of detail. The logo now shimmers in the natural light filling the common space in PRC’s offices for everyone to enjoy. If you join PRC at one of our future events, there’s a strong chance you’ll get to take a picture next to it too. To say that I’m proud of the result is an understatement, and I hope the logo will be enjoyed for years to come.