Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center / TEL HI

Thank you to our generous Taste 2026 sponsors! ✨

We are feeling so grateful after Saturday’s Taste of TEL HI event, and we want to give a special thank you to the sponsors and partners who helped make this year’s gala possible.

From our Presenting Sponsor, SDSS Global Ltd, to every business, board member, family, and community partner, your generosity helped create a meaningful evening in support of TEL HI’s programs for children, families, and seniors across San Francisco.

We’re excited to share more photos and highlights from Taste later this week. For now, we’re sending a heartfelt thank you to everyone whose support helped bring this special event to life. 💛

✨ There’s still time to bid on unique experiences, local favorites, and special finds in this year’s Taste of TEL HI auction! Support TEL HI and score a great deal on something memorable. Many items are still without bids, so don’t miss your chance to win!

Explore the full auction catalog through the link in our bio and place your bids before the auction closes at midnight on May 31.

Thank you to Avital Food & Drink Experiences, Tom's Beautiful Hair, Joshua Ets-Hokin, Discover San Ramon, SkyStar Wheel, and San Francisco Brewing Co. for their generous support of Taste 2026.

We’re excited to welcome Darya Folsom as the emcee for a Taste of TEL HI 2026! 🎤✨

Darya Folsom is thrilled and honored to be the emcee of this year’s event because she, too, is dedicated to inspiring growth and empowering all people to feel happy, safe, and free.

Darya has been waking up the Bay Area for the past 27 years on the KRON4 Morning News. Now that she lives without alarm clocks and deadlines, she’s using her curiosity, creativity, and gift for gab to help herself and others awaken to their peaceful, loving, true nature. She’s sharing the follies of her ever-unfolding evolution on her “WakeupwithDarya” YouTube channel and her romcomdram-auto-bio, “don’t start your day with the news,” which are right now, as she is, presently in the works. Stay tuned…

We can’t wait to gather in two days for a wonderful celebration and an opportunity to raise vital funds for TEL HI’s programs and services for children, families, and seniors across San Francisco! ⭐️

This month, students, families, and educators from our TEL HI Early Childhood Education programs participated in the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood SFQC Lullaby Project Celebration Concert at Noe Music.

In this special pilot program, families and teachers worked alongside local musicians to create personalized lullabies for the children, with each song reflecting a child’s personality, relationships, language, culture, and classroom connections.

In the video, Ethan and Fynn from North Beach perform one of the songs created through the project, “Sweet Fig and Curious Egg.”

This project reflects one of TEL HI’s Taste 2026 Fund-a-Need causes: expanding music programming in our Early Childhood Education classrooms. With community support, we hope to bring more music, movement, rhythm, language-building, and creative expression to children at both our North Beach and Mission Bay ECE sites. 💛

As we gear up for A Taste of TEL HI 2026, our very own Nestor L. Fernandez II, TEL HI CEO, joined KTVU Fox 2 to share what makes this year’s celebration so special.

This year, we honor “those who serve with heart”, uplifting the individuals who dedicate themselves to our community every day. We’re also proud to recognize David Lazar, Former Assistant Chief of the San Francisco Police Department, as the recipient of the Elizabeth Ashe-Alice Griffith Award.

More than a celebration, Taste of TEL HI supports critical programs for children, families, and seniors across San Francisco—continuing our legacy of impact for generations to come.

Watch the full interview here: https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-ho3d66tqjyc2q4tr

Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center celebrating 136 years of service TEL HI provides free and low-cost programs for kids, families, seniors, and more. CEO Nestor Fernandez joins Mornings on 2 to talk about a special event this weekend to help ensure its legacy for years to come.

🎉A Taste of TEL HI 2026 online auction is now LIVE! 🍷✨

Browse incredible auction packages, exclusive experiences, local favorites, wine tastings, dining packages, sports memorabilia, and so much more, all while supporting TEL HI’s youth, seniors, and families across San Francisco. New items will be added throughout the week, so be sure to check back often. Bidding closes at 11:59 PM on Saturday, May 30, so don’t miss your chance to bid for a great cause and support the next generation at TEL HI.

Start bidding today at TasteofTELHI.givesmart.com

Silent Auction Spotlight: Tahoe Mountain Escape

Forest Suites Resort At Heavenly-Village + Powder House Ski & Snowboard Rentals

Enjoy a relaxing mountain getaway with a two-night stay in a spacious two-bedroom suite at Forest Suites Resort in beautiful South Lake Tahoe.

This winter adventure package also includes your choice of premium ski or snowboard gear from Powder House Ski & Snowboard.

This getaway package includes:
• Two-night stay in a two-bedroom suite at Forest Suites Resort
• Two days of ski or snowboard rentals for up to four people
OR
• Four deluxe ski or snowboard tunes

Valid Dates: February 10, 2026 – April 30, 2027
(Ski rental/tune expires April 1, 2027)

Auction opens May 22, 2026. 📅 Register at www.telhi.org/taste

Yesterday, TEL HI’s Development Team visited McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy) at their San Francisco office for a special breakfast appreciating the team members who volunteered to renovate our garden and assemble our new Legacy Garden Donor Installation earlier this year. ☕️

TEL HI CEO Nestor L. Fernandez thanked McCarthy for their dedication to our shared community, the generations of McCarthy leaders who have served on TEL HI’s Board of Directors, and their trusted role in building and renovating spaces where TEL HI programs now serve more than 2,500 people daily. TEL HI Board Member and McCarthy Vice President of Design Integration, Stefanie Becker, also spoke about TEL HI’s community impact and the strength of this decades-long partnership.

We’re grateful for McCarthy’s continued collaboration and the care they’ve shown our community over the years. 💛

Last week, TEL HI Mission Bay's Early Childhood Education (ECE) program had a mini Free Cone Day of their own! 🍦

Children from each class stopped by the playground for free ice cream, and many proudly brought their own $1 bills to donate, learning early the sweetness of giving back! 💛

Special thanks to Ben & Jerry's for providing the ice cream and to our Mission Bay families and staff for making the day extra fun and meaningful.