Rockstar Volunteer: Jillian Wong, Intern

Meet Jillian Wong, a recent Family House intern. Hear why volunteering at Family House is so important to her and her entire family, and about the difference you can make by volunteering at Family House.

Family Stories: Tauriel’s Family

Family House Family Stories: Sharing the brave and inspiring stories of families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. This story features Tauriel G and her family, from Whiteriver, Arizona - they  have been staying at Family House in San Francisco for over a year while Tauriel undergoes treatment at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Hear how Family House helped keep their family together in a time of crisis.

Staff Spotlight: Anna Lark

Name: Anna Lark   

Where did you grow up?
Ceres, CA

Position at Family House:
Hospitality Services Coordinator

Reason for working at Family House:
My family stayed at Family House while my brother went through treatment for AML. I loved Family House and always wanted to give back. I feel really happy working in an environment with people from all over the world who all have amazing stories to tell.

Favorite thing to do in San Francisco: 
I love to draw random people on public transportation.  I love spending days walking through Golden Gate park and stopping at the botanical gardens, the Academy of Sciences and the DeYoung Museum all in one day.

What makes you special?
I often make art for the families who stay at Family House.
       
What’s the story behind the photo?
This is me with one of our clients, Joseph. He put the fire truck on my nose, of course.

Volunteer Spotlight: 7-Eleven Bay Area

It’s clear that the 7-Eleven Golden Gate Market team is a family, and they really work together to make a difference in the Bay Area. Market Manager Robert Young encourages the hard work of Community Relations Leader Mindy Layon, and together, they work magic for Family House. They champion Family House at every turn, and do their best to rally the support of approximately 100 Bay Area 7-Eleven stores.

Robert’s team of Field Consultants (Mark Kwasigroch, Tim Lankford, Jamaal Brown, Khae Alvarado-Poblete, Nicole Wyatt, Don Hayden, Janae Dominguez, Trina Metoyer, Jim Rasmussen and Mindy Layon) are all very involved, and there is a core group of Franchisees (Harry Brar, Destiny Nguyen, Jasama Patel, Raj Uppal, Amar and Raman Johal, Sindy Singh, Basel Aldabyani, Kuljit Matharu, Phyllis Shideler, and Neil Khoury, just to name a few!) that help with donations and volunteering, as well.  “Its important that our stores are involved with the communities they serve, and it’s a lot of fun”, says Layon.

It all began four years ago when Young, Layon, and a group of 7-Eleven franchisees volunteered at the Family House on 10th Avenue. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s a good partnership for us, it gets us involved with the community, and it gives us a way to give back to the less fortunate,” recalls Mark Kwasigroch. The group helped by disinfecting toys and organizing donated items - when they saw the impact they were having, they were hooked.  “There is a certain amount of reward to giving back. In some ways it’s kind of selfish because it makes you feel good. It’s really rewarding,” admits Tim Lankford.

Since 2013, they have contributed to Family House in a huge variety of ways: they’ve donated product (coffee and pizza are the biggest hits); set up kiosks in stores to collect cash donations and pantry food items; hosted fundraising drives to purchase gifts for the Family House Secret Santa Program (10 families so far!); volunteered doing projects around the house; hosted parties for Halloween and the Super Bowl; and made surprise visits to drop off all kinds of goodies for our families. Harry Brar says, “We love spending time with the kids and the families - letting them know that there are people out there who care about them. It’s just about caring, and sharing, you know?”

When the team heard about the Capital Campaign to build the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House, they upped their game, and just had to see the progress for themselves. Jamaal Brown points out, “It’s not just the sick kids who go to the hospital - it’s the families, the parents, too - they need the support system - and Family House provides it all for no charge. These families come from all over, and it helps out tremendously. Even giving two hours of your time is a huge help - it makes the kids feel better and have a better day.”

Jasama Patel remembers the first time she volunteered at Family House: “It was a humbling experience for me, because it could be my kids [who are sick]. Don’t take things for granted; you never know when it could be taken away. I’m looking forward to bringing my kids here to volunteer. You see how everyone here cares.”

As we approached the one year anniversary of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House, Robert’s team couldn’t wait to help. They donated a ton of food for the party (200 hot dogs, sides, beverages, and more!), and even took turns manning the grill so everyone could have fresh dogs!

We appreciate all that the Bay Area 7-Eleven team does for our families, and we’re so glad they’re part of the family!



Watch the video we put together featuring 7-Eleven volunteers: