Flying high this year, the 2nd Annual Party for Change, was held in one of the spectacular hangars at the Sacramento Executive Jet Center. This unique, spacious setting provided an exciting environment where guests could share an exquisite meal while revealing their generosity and celebrating the 30th anniversary of Saint John’s Program for Real Change – an incredibly worthy program committed to helping mothers with children take control of their lives, get work and make real change stick once and for all.
Walking past the bright red doors and shiny executive jets lining the pathway to the Party for Change jet hangar was just the beginning to an evening of sensory delights. Several hundred guests, and VIP’s in the world of food, wine, art and music joined to celebrate this significant milestone for the Program for Real Change. Launching off the evening were handcrafted artisan cocktails, superb local wines, and tasty hors d’oeuvres prepared by a leader in the Farm to Fork world, Sacramento chefs, Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B & L and Chef Jay Veregge of Ten22.
During the cocktail reception, a gracious Maureen Gagliardi, Director of Career Education and Placement Center, shares, “When women come into the program, we tell them we are a program to help them get to work. We are a combination of vocational learning and instructional learning. We are not a housing program. We’re about helping them sustain housing when they get it, so the first month is about stabilization. By month two, we start them three days a week at Plates Cafe and Catering to get them out and realizing they have potential.”
As a Lifestyle Correspondent for GEV Magazine, I frequently write about the culture of other great cities and the exceptional food and wine of Napa and Sonoma. However, as a Sacramentan, I know we have extraordinary restaurants, vineyards, artists, musicians, and a cultural scene that when nurtured will finally burst out of the box from which its been held so long. It was a nice feeling to participate in Saint John’s Party for Change and partake in the culinary and artistic talents of our region’s best. And best of all –- watching big-hearted Sacramentans bring in over $340,000 for women and children in need of making real life changes, so that they too can stand on their own two feet for life.
Saint John’s Guest Blogger
Tamara Strasser
Food & Wine Correspondent
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