The Delancey Street Foundation's own web page is too modest for the incredible party they helped me…read morehost - so three cheers to Yelp! First of all, Delancey Street's event manager is dynamite, and she handles everything from space rental to catering to audio/visual equipment to room set up. Among the variety of venues I could rent at their well-tended center on the Embarcadero boardwalk, I chose the spectacular Club Room. The photo on their web page shows only the balcony from the outside - wow!, you should see the view from the *inside* overlooking the San Francisco waterfront and the awesome west span of the Bay Bridge! My friends were floored by scenery as well as a most memorable sunset, with light reflecting off Yerba Buena Island.
Our evening program was staffed by a host of gracious and friendly Delancey Street residents who greeted us at the gate and ushered guests up to the Club Room for the evening. The event coordinator had arranged the space so we could easily and comfortably navigate the flow of people picking up name tags, enjoying healthy cocktail food, ordering wine and beer at the bar, or visiting out on the balcony. When it was time for our formal program, the staff had set up a laptop projector and a large screen with a podium and microphone - all situated so that the guests could have clear views from seats around round tables across the room.
For our party, we ordered the healthiest combination of cocktail food on the Delancey Street menu. It was delicious - and abundant. For dessert, we caved into the chocolate cake and gingerbread cake. :-) The Restaurant below had kindly agreed to make a few additional cakes for us even with only a couple day's notice, and I'm glad we did because it was so good that only a few pieces were left at the end!
During our program, I had invited our event manager to say a few words about their residential center for people who have hit rock bottom and found a way to Delancey Street from a path that otherwise would have led to prison. The guests listened intently as she described their program for helping residents recover, take responsibility for their lives, learn three marketable job skills, and teach other residents around them. It was truly a teachable moment about human potential. People started to put the dots together - Oh, so you are the Delancey Street Movers, too! The spirited applause from the guests was deeply gratifying for the staff, and I was heartened to see friends approaching the residents working the party to ask them more about their experience.
The Delancey Street Foundation supports itself through the many enterprises its residents operate like the movers, the Christmas tree sales, their restaurant - and the catering and space rental business. Though the party wasn't cheap to host, I don't think there is any place on the San Francisco waterfront with the same combination of easy access (BART, Muni, CalTrain, bike, and plenty of parking), healthy food prepared at a terrific restaurant, flexible and adaptive floor plans, ready A/V for music and slide shows, ample staff support, and purposeful profits - all for about $35/person for the whole evening, including tip, tax, drinks, equipment rental, staff, space, the works.
When the program was over, some guests wanted to linger, so I was happy to be able to invite friends to simply join me for a drink at the Delancey Street Restaurant right down stairs - marvelous. I hope someday I get to do it all again, but in the meantime, I highly recommend taking advantage of this amazing venue and the remarkable people whose personal investment in the success of each event makes it all the more magical.
