Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Marin Valentine’s Ball is a time-honored tradition that benefits three critical youth-focused Marin nonprofits: Side by Side, North Bay Children’s Center and the Godmothers of Catholic Charities St. Vincent’s School for Boys. All three organizations collectively help to ensure that all Marin children and youth have a chance to thrive, regardless of their circumstances in life.
Traditionally, the Marin Valentine’s Ball is held each year in February, but due to Covid-19 this year’s event was pushed to April 29. It drew an engaged crowd of more than 300 to Peacock Gap Golf Club in San Rafael, where event-goers noshed on fare including local oysters from Hog Island, were entertained by strolling acrobatic contortionists and later danced to the grooves of one of the Bay Area’s most popular cover bands, Wonderbread 5. Liam Mayclem, Emmy Award winning radio and TV personality, was the evening’s host.
$250,000 was raised during the course of the evening, which will support more than 3,000 youth and their families.
In addition, organizers honored two outstanding community advocates with awards: California State Senator Mike McGuire was presented with the Hal Brown Memorial Philanthropy Award for his support of children and youth locally and state-wide; and Mary Denton, Side by Side’s former CEO, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Notable event attendees included Chris Brown, Darin & Christine Bosch, Andrew Broughton, Lisa & Al Brayton, Katie Rice, Chris Roeder, Ricki & Ray Syufy, Brain & Suzanne Trainor, and Russell Woods.
Sponsors included Brayton Purcell, LLP, CBRE, Enlow Associates, Marin Sanitary Service, Trainor Commercial Construction and Make It Better Media.
For more on Marin:
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- Three Top Animal Sanctuaries Create New Scholarship Program to Help Young Animal Welfare Leaders Pursue Careers in Ag
- Stories of Survival: Isabel Allende’s Latest Novel, “Violeta”, Set During the Time of the Spanish Flu
A freelance writer in Marin who writes about family, kids and parenting, Glass is the mother to one son, one dog and a hamster named Miss Geri. When she’s not writing, trekking up steep hills in Marin or driving her kid to sports practice, she and her family spend time in their tiny cabin in Lake Tahoe. She avidly supports the California Academy of Sciences, a world class science museum and research institution, and the Institute on Aging which provides much needed services to Bay Area seniors and disabled adults. Glass is obsessed with baking the perfect loaf of banana bread, something she makes so often she no longer needs to look at a recipe card.
