What is Family House?

Founded in 1981, Family House is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization providing temporary housing to families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at the University of California Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco. UCSF is one of the leading pediatric cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Qualifying families live more than 50 miles from UCSF, and many live at or below the low-income status. Our two locations sustain nearly a 100% occupancy rate and can accommodate 107 people per night. Over the course of a year we serve more than 2,000 families. Visit www.familyhouseinc.org for more information. 

IMAGINE:

Having to get ready within hours,
dealing with the emergency room,
a crying child,
new doctors,
multiple tests,
and a diagnosis of cancer.

When a child gets sick and needs the specialized care offered at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, entire families are often uprooted and displaced from anything familiar at a time of great uncertainty.  Although parents or guardians are welcome to stay in a child’s hospital room, this cannot take the place of the homelike environment of Family House.  Siblings are often the most affected by a family members illness and providing stability and a sense of normalcy for everyone allows parents to be parents in and out of the hospital.  

To help these vulnerable families, the first Family House opened in 1981 by the head of Pediatric Oncology at the time, Dr. Arthur Ablin & his wife Debbie - housing 10 families per night. A second house opened in 2002 to house 24 additional families, all free-of-charge.

However, this is still not enough. Housing 34 families per night provides free, temporary housing for fewer than half of the families who need it.

Calling All Angels:

In 2015, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital will open its new facility in San Francisco’s Mission Bay.  Family House is committed to continuing to provide our families with the unique combination of housing, comfort, and care that has been our signature for more than 30 years; Therefore, Family House will build a new facility at Mission Bay: The Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House will more than double our current housing capabilities to accommodate 80 families per night.  We are CALLING ALL OUR ANGELS to help BRING THIS CAMPAIGN HOME.

Your contribution will enable us to: 

• House 100% of the families traveling to San Francisco for their child's treatment.
• Provide these children access to world-class medical care and potentially life-saving treatment.
• Ease day-to-day stress of parents and families during the most difficult time of their lives.
• Bring our Capital Campaign HOME!

Train, our Angels

The multi-platinum, San Francisco-based band Train made its first mark on music history in 2001 with the Grammy Award-winning song "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" and chart-topping singles like "Meet Virginia" and "Calling All Angels." The band earned its third Grammy in 2011 for the worldwide smash "Hey, Soul Sister" from the album Save Me, San Francisco. "Hey, Soul Sister" hit #1 on US radio charts and in 15 countries abroad and was the top-selling single of the year in the US. Save Me, San Francisco has sold over one million albums worldwide and over ten million tracks. Train's most recent album, California 37, contains the global hits "Drive By," and "50 Ways to Say Goodbye." In 2011, Train launched the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Company, which benefits Family House. Through the sales of their Save Me, San Francisco Wine and Ghiradelli Chocolate, Train is contributing to the new Family House and funding the Train Music Room. Get on the "train" and become a Family House "Angel," too. Visit savemesanfrancisco.com for more info.

Other Ways You Can Help

• Donate! There are great perks for supporting the campaign
• Share! Crowdfunding campaigns work best when friends-of-friends get involved. Use the hashtag #FHAngels to let people know you're participating
• Retweet and share! Follow @familyhousesf on Twitter and Family House SanFrancisco on Facebook and help us spread the word to your networks.
• Want to do more? If you want to be a campaign leader and really help us spread the word, email Joey Kotfica at jkotfica@familyhouseinc.org to get some campaign materials you can use.

Thank you for being a Family House Angel!