Our sincere thanks to H.M. Consul General Ms. Priya Guha for graciously hosting our Patron, Premier and Corporate level members on March 12th at a special reception to recognize their continued support of the BABC and to present our donation check of $20,000 to
Raphael House.

In welcoming our guests, Ms. Guha recognized the importance of the special relationship between the
British Consulate General and UK Trade & Investment and the BABC membership, and thanked all present for their role in strengthening the economic and people to people ties between Northern California and the Bay Area.

It was a wonderful evening honoring the efforts of so many members who devote their time and effort in keeping the BABC community thriving. BABC President Nicholas Unkovic stated “The BABC is truly blessed to have such a robust membership base who recognize the importance of the transatlantic relationship between the UK and the USA, specifically the importance of community. Furthermore, there is nothing more important than giving back to our community and our partners at Raphael House contribute greatly to that effort as well. It is truly a symbiotic relationship and one that we strongly support.”

The evening also set the perfect stage to present the BABC’s $20,000 donation to Raphael House and recognize the great work of Raphael House in helping at-risk families re-build their lives and find stable housing and jobs after falling on hard economic times. “The BABC is proud that, through the support of its generous membership community, it is able to partner with such a worthy and important cause, not only financially with a portion of the proceeds from its annual Christmas Luncheon Fundraiser but also now through the recently created BABC Raphael House Task Force”, stated Kathleen Kimura, BABC Christmas Luncheon Committee Chairperson. “Our thanks to Simon Elliot, BABC Board Director and Director of Business Development at
Aramark & Lifeworks Restaurant Group, for leading the Raphael House Task Force”

“The BABC Raphael House Task Force is a group of passionate BABC Member volunteers who are seeking to deliver life changing opportunities for Raphael House Families through various structured programs and it is great to see that in such a short space of time, just two months in fact, our community of BABC Member volunteers have already accomplished so much,” stated Simon Elliot. “These programs are designed to easily allow our member organizations to incorporate Raphael House Task Force initiatives in to their own Corporate Social Responsibility engagement efforts and as a community, show how the BABC can deliver a real measurable impact.”

Member organizations that would like to join the efforts of the BABC Raphael Task Force should reach out to Stephanie Favaloro Elliot (stephanieelliot1@gmail.com) for more information. Organizations and individuals interested in Membership in the BABC should contact Jo Healey, Executive Director of the BABC (jhealey@babcsf.org).