Hip, Hip, Hooray! 2021 Virtual Event is a Smashing Success

July 2021

From their office desks and living room sofas, more than 100 HIP Housing supporters gathered online on Wednesday, May 26th, for our “At Home with HIP!” virtual event and fundraiser.

With custom cocktails named after local landmarks in hand, our supporters heard agency updates from our Executive Director, Kate Comfort Harr, as well as the personal story of Self Sufficiency Program client, Elisabeth Ocampo. Congresswoman Jackie Speier introduced our keynote speaker, Dr. Kathryn Edin, author of $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America.

In her speech, Dr. Edin drew connections between the loss of the social safety net and the national rise in homelessness. She also emphasized that any solution to homelessness must integrate low-income individuals into the larger community, while also ensuring that they can live with dignity.

“At Home with HIP!” was an enormous success, thanks to the generosity of donors from across San Mateo County and our event sponsors. We raised more than $165,000 for HIP Housing’s Recovery Fund, which will move HIP Housing’s staff, operations, and clients from pandemic mode to life-changing recovery mode.