'Homes for the Holidays' Raises Funds for Foothill Presbyterian Hospital

            Not only do many kick off their holiday season with Glendora Village’s Holiday Stroll, this year on Friday, Nov. 22, but the fun continues for many with “Homes for the Holidays” on Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

            The annual benefit for Foothill Presbyterian Hospital presented by its Auxiliary in the tour’s 38th year is a reason to celebrate all day long that Sunday, reports Chris Purkiss, FPH Auxiliary volunteer (serving twice as Auxiliary president) and owner with her husband Wes of Hill Top Real Estate in Glendora Village.

            “So many people tell me they start off with breakfast and then go on the Home Tour, and enjoy the refreshments we offer at the hospital afterward,” Chris says.

            Tickets are only $20 in advance, $25 the day of the tour. Tickets are available through Paypal on the tour website, and at the Foothill Presbyterian Hospital Lobby Shop, Hill Top Real Estate (223 N. Glendora Ave., Glendora) and Coldwell Banker Millennium (134 N. Glendora Ave., Glendora).   

            Usually, three homes are featured each year; this year there are four holiday showcases.

 

            “Mostly I network with interior decorators and other real estate agents to find out which homeowners would be interested in being featured on the tour. Many homeowners are recommended by their friends or neighbors because their homes are so beautiful for the holidays.”

            Most homeowners decorate their homes themselves; some hire interior decorators for the task.

            

          All of this year’s homes are pictured on the “Homes for the Holidays” website, including an historic house located on Grand Avenue across the street from FPH (see photo at left).

            “There’s a lot of history in that home,” Chris explains. “We actually have a photo taken from that house showing orange groves where the hospital is today.”

            In addition to refreshments served at FPH, tour guests can do some holiday shopping from handcrafted gifts featured at the FPH Lobby Shop and made by the Auxiliary Craft Guild, as well as crafters in the community

            Opportunity baskets are offered at each home on the tour. Chris explains that 100 percent of proceeds from the tour go to the hospital – an estimated $25,000 each year of the tour.

            Chris has volunteered with the FPH Auxiliary for about 14 years, starting out working at the hospital’s front desk. Six months later she was working on the home tour. The Auxiliary’s efforts helped the FPH Foundation build the new Emergency Room.

            “I really love to volunteer and I love the hospital,” Chris says. “It’s a great place to volunteer” and invites anyone interested in joining the Auxiliary to call her at (626) 393-2993.

            For more information about the 38th Annual Homes for the Holidays home tour, call (626) 857-3102 or visit www.fphhometour.com