To create your own, click on the button that says "Create Your Own Fundraiser" or click here. 

If you need any help, please give us a call: Curt Lauber at (805) 687-0788 ext. 15.   

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Growing Up with Hillside House: David and Jeff Gorham and a Family Tradition of Giving    

Jeff as a boy scout

David Gorham grew up in the orange groves outside of Los Angeles. His older brother by two years, Jeff, was

born with cerebral palsy and came to live at Hillside House when David was just 4 years old. So, from as young as he can remember, David and his mother would take the day to drive up to Hillside House, which was on Ontare Rd back then, and take Jeff out to lunch in town and then go shopping for any things Jeff was needing.  

At first, because almost no restaurants or stores were wheelchair-accessible, they would go to a drive-in restaurant and eat in the car, then bring Jeff back to Hillside House and do the shopping themselves. As accessibility improved and Jeff got an electric wheelchair, they went out to a nice restaurant and Jeff enjoyed going along to the big department stores. 

Jeff came home to stay for a few years after a serious operation, but the family soon found they just couldn't provide the specialized care he needed at home, even with full-time aides, so Jeff came back to Hillside House in 1952 and lived here until he passed away this past month at the age of 73. When asked how his brother felt about living at Hillside House, David remembers, "From his point of view it was perfect. He always said, 'This is my home,' and never wanted to leave. He was very comfortable at Hillside House, loved Santa Barbara and going to the wharf, and bragged about Hillside House." 

David's mother was a passionate supporter of Hillside House from the start. She served on the board and was our leading individual donor for many years, so Jeff remembers as a child hanging out at Hillside House while his mother was in a board meeting.

When David went away to college on the east coast and then moved to Oklahoma City to become a Latin teacher, soccer coach, Associate Headmaster of Fundraising, and eventually Administrator, at the Casady School he saw less of his brother for a while. But when his mother fell ill around 1992, he started to come out to visit regularly and took over the responsibility of looking after his brother's care at Hillside House. He also took on the family tradition of generously supporting Hillside House.  

"I promised my mother I would care for Jeff," David says. "I knew it was my duty and that Hillside House was struggling financially. It's like tithing. It's very important to me. Hillside House supplies a wonderful life for those residents, and most people don't even know it's there."  

Jeff Gorham

Over the years David has watched Hillside House grow, adding day programs for the residents so they can get out during the day, have jobs, go to school, be involved in all sorts of activities, and engage with others. Medical care has become much more modernized, as it has everywhere, and Executive Director Pam Flynt Tambo brought awareness of the need for fundraising for Hillside House. In the 1980s Hillside House staff helped arrange for Jeff to start taking trips to such places as Las Vegas, Hawaii, Monterey, Disneyland and San Francisco. In the past 13 years, Jeff got a one-on-one aide, Richard Blake, who became his closest friend. David says, "Richard is an amazing man. He made Jeff's life so much better."     

Jeff was a bright, vocal and witty man. As a boy, he had been a member of the boy scout troop at Hillside House and loved being outdoors. As an adult, he was very active around Hillside House, encouraging other residents to make the most of their lives, helping them develop their abilities, and participating in fundraisers. He had a loom and loved to weave and knit and was also an avid reader. Jeff was well loved by the staff and residents, brightening our day with his wit, and he also had a girlfriend at Hillside House until she passed away last year.  

David says, "Jeff loved Hillside House, and it was very relieving to have found such a good home for him." David recently honored his brother with a major gift in his memory. Thank you, David, for all you and your family have done for Hillside House! 

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Welcome, Joanne, our newest resident!    

Looking Back at 2012: A Year of Accomplishments                  

• Thanks to a generous grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation we purchased new online training courses for our direct care staff. These courses deliver in-depth training and test our staff on a number of special subjects important to our population,  emphasizing compassion, communication and understanding of the special needs of our residents. 

• This year we were joined by new residents, Garth, Daisy, and most recently, Joanne. All three are doing very well and have become a part of our Hillside House family.

• Six of our residents enjoyed an 8-week course of the Hearts Therapeutic horseback riding program, thanks to a generous grant from the Henry Bull Foundation. The residents have been thrilled with the experience of getting to ride a horse, learning greater muscle control, communication skills and confidence, and getting outside to enjoy exercise for body, mind and spirit.

• We have just received a grant from the Herbert and Gertrude Latkin Charitable Foundation to purchase much-needed, new outdoor furniture for our residents, including a new picnic table and chairs, new recliner chairs, and a new glider.  

• An extraordinary grant from the Assistance League this year enabled us to purchase software and iPads to upgrade our nursing care and to coordinate care throughout all our programs, as well as funding new patient lifts, a portable suction machine, new mattresses, and program enrichment for our residents. All of this means better care for our residents.

• We had a record-breaking year at our annual fundraising event, the Sunset Soirée, bringing in just over $81,000 after expenses to support the day-to-day care of our residents at Hillside House.

• George and Marlene Riemer increased the Riemer Trust they cre­ated in 2010 to support Hillside House by $25,000, making $100,000 in total they have placed in trust at Santa Barbara Fdn. for Hillside House.     

• We received major gifts in memory of Tom Dale and Jeff Gorham.

• We transitioned from Pam Flynt Tambo, who led Hillside House for eleven years, to Craig Olson as our new Executive Director, and welcomed new board members Chuck Klein and Cynthy Ardell.

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