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The large kitchen off the living room and dining area will be the site for the Vineyard Homes fundraiser that will take place during the Parade of Homes. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)
Deborah Short figures about 1,000 people stroll through just one house during the annual Parade of Homes — April 12-14 — so why not take advantage of that foot traffic to help a local charity?
Short, owner of Vineyard Homes, is putting her spring parade entry to work as the headquarters for a fundraiser for the S.A.F.E. House, an aid agency for victims of domestic violence. The house also will be turned into a temporary gallery for R.C. Gorman prints, giving the late Navajo artist’s work a little publicity boost. And, of course, Short is hoping to attract some new customers herself.
“I just feel the parade brings in so many people through these homes and I’ve always wanted to give back to the community … and at the same time, we’re benefitting from it,” Short said.
Vineyard Homes donates a portion of the profits from each home sold to the S.A.F.E. House, and Short said the agency needs everything it can get.
During the parade, Vineyard will raffle off a Gorman giclée print donated by the R.C. Gorman Navajo Gallery in Taos. All proceeds from the $5 tickets will go the S.A.F.E. House, and visitors also will be asked to bring items such as women’s toiletries, twin sheets and nonperishable food to donate to the charity.
“What Vineyard Homes is doing in support of S.A.F.E. House during this year’s Parade of Homes is extraordinarily admirable, particularly when you consider that the housing industry continues to struggle some in the marketplace,” said Jim Folkman, executive vice president of the local homebuilding group HAB, which organizes the parade.
“It has been our experience over the years that builders are a generous group, having built a number of Habitat for Humanity homes and through our Home Builders Care program working on numerous community project like this one each year,” Folkman added. “Vineyard Homes does a great job with all the parades they participate in, and this project will just underscore that this year.”
Vineyard’s entry in the parade this year is a Northern New Mexico-style home at 514 Paseo del Bosque NW, near 4th and Alameda. At almost 3,000 square feet, it has five bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths as well as an enclosed sunroom. The $375,000 home features a huge kitchen with a walk-in pantry and butler’s kitchen with freezer, two back patios, and a four-car garage with room for a fitness area.
“I wouldn’t say it’s extravagant,” Short said, “but it’s for a growing family with tons of room.”
If you go …
The Parade of Homes runs April 12-14 and April 19-21. Vineyard will host a kick-off hot dog barbecue from noon to 3 p.m. Friday, April 12 and a wine and cheese reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19. The reception will highlight the importance of the women’s shelter and will feature music and New Mexico wine donated by St. Clair’s Winery.
The S.A.F.E. House offers services to survivors of intimate partner violence and their children who cannot be safe in their own homes.
Executive Director Michele Fuller said she was dazzled by Short’s plans.
“It’s so appreciated,” she said. “We hope it will help raise awareness of domestic violence, which is of epidemic proportions in this state. It’s not often that a business wants to be a lead in that.”
Short herself benefited from the services of the S.A.F.E. House years ago after a divorce.
“I’ve just always been indebted ever since,” Short said. “These poor women are just in such a vulnerable situation and some of them have children and they have nowhere to turn. … I’ve been in that position once and it’s very difficult to pull yourself out of it.”
Fuller said the S.A.F.E. House services “can really make a huge difference in someone’s life.”
The shelter can house 85 people a night, making it the largest domestic violence shelter in the state and one of the largest in the U.S. More than 1,000 families go through its doors each year.
“Our whole job is to help people go from being a victim to being a survivor,” Fuller said, adding that S.A.F.E. stands for shelter and family empowerment.
