Last night’s benefit fundraiser for displaced victims of the June 18 Mission Street Fire was a wonderful thing. About 400 Bernal and Mission neighbors turned out to represent, and while the receipts are still being counted, together the event helped raise more than $10,000 — which will now be matched 1:1 by a generous corporate donor.  Plus, additional donations are still rolling in.

As always, El Rio was fabulous and magical, with an eclectic crowd mingling on the back  patio:

Inside, great bands were playing:

With a DJ spinning in the stylish main bar:

The raffle was a big hit:

This lucky lady won a gen-U-ine painting salvaged from the walls of the fire-damaged 3300 Club, generously donated by the bar’s owners. Quite a souvenir:

Of course, photos don’t give you a full sense of the scene, so here’s a video tour of El Rio filmed live last night from the Bernalwood Mobile Uplink iPhone:

Remember, even if you missed the fun last night, you can still make a tax-deductible contribution to the MEDA Fire Victim’s fund, right here.

It took a lot of work from a lot of people to make this fundraiser happen, so special thanks go out to:

• Glamorous Bernal Neighbor Sana Saleem who spearheaded the event
• Zack Mellette & William Fitzgerald, Google employees who helped organize the event and coordinate the raffle
• The Mission Economic Development Corporation for managing the tax-deductable fund and assisting with raffle sales
• Edwin Lindo, for organizing a relief fund, helping with raffle ticket sales, and being a lot of fun
• El Rio’s Staff for being El Rio, and hosting the event, and donating bar proceeds to the cause
• Virgil’s Sea Room right next door for hosting the overflow and donating proceeds to fire victims
• All the stone-cold sexxxy musicians and entertainers who performed
• All the fantastic local merchants  and donors who contributed items for the raffle
• Ros and her team from the Red Cross, who have been with the survivors at the shelter since the fire
• Carrie Grimes, site lead for the Google’s San Francisco office, who sponsored a fundraiser at the company which over 230 googlers supported.

And lastly, a very, very, very special thanks to…

Everyone who showed up last night! It was a beautiful thing to see so many people from all over the political map coming together for a common cause, at a time when our neighbors needed us most. Our community is our strength.

There’s a big benefit for the Mission Street fire victims happening tomorrow, Thursday June 30, at the fabulous El Rio, and Bernalwood is a co-sponsor.

This is a great event to shower with copious amounts of your cash, because a generous corporate sponsor has agreed to match all the proceeds collected at the door. That means for every dollar you give, the fire victims will get twice as much of your generosity.  Here are the details:

Fundraiser for Survivors of Mission Fire on Mission St & 29th
Thursday, June 30 at 8 PM – 11:30 PM
El Rio – 3158 Mission (@Precita)

Join us for a fundraiser for survivors of the fire that burned down the homes of 58 people on Mission and 29th.

Door fee will be $10 (but no one turned away). We’ll also do a raffle. El Rio is kindly donating all bar proceeds from 8-12 to the fund.

All proceeds will go directly to the familes and will be matched 1-1 by a corporate sponsor. The Mission Economic Development Agency will process all donations and won’t be charging a fee.

You can also donate online here (with MEDA) and here (with Edwin Lindo).

Virgil’s Sea Room (the bar just next door to El Rio) will also be taking donations at the door. If there’s a long line or you want to wait, sit down and grab a cocktail while still helping our neighbors.

Event line up:

• The Old Folks
• Heather Combs
• Equipto
• Snuise
• Francisco Javier Herrera Brambila
• Audrey Howard
• Suzanne – Salsa
• DJ- Daniel Stadulis Galaxy Music

PHOTO: El Rio bowling table, by Telstar Logistics

The Mission Bernal Merchant’s Association has been working hard for the last week or so as the organization has rallied to provide assistance to residents and businesses displaced by the big five-alarm fire.

Today, Tuesday June 28, MBMA member businesses are offering special deals to help raise funds for the fire victims, so it’s a great day to shop and dine on our stretch of Mission Street:

Help our neighborhood rebuild!
Mission Bernal merchant fire relief June 28

Since the fire on June 18, our neighborhood has really come together as a community. Among other efforts, many of the businesses in Mission Bernal are doing their part to help out the residents and merchants that were victims of the fire.

On Tuesday, June 28, we encourage everyone to visit your favorite Mission Bernal business to show your support. Go to dinner at your favorite restaurant. Grab a drink at a local bar or get your hair cut.

Get some ice cream at Mitchell’s – they are donating 25% of their sales tomorrow. Buy art at Secession and we will donate 20% of the purchase price directly to the displaced merchants. Cafe 78 is donating 15% of sales, and Blue Plate is donating the proceeds of meatloaf and mac and cheese sales.

Multiple fundraisers are happening through the neighborhood in support of both the merchants and businesses Take a moment to appreciate the community and send positive thoughts for the rebuild efforts!

Participating businesses will have information on how they are contributing, and how to donate to the neighborhood businesses displaced by the fire. You can also donate through our web site, www.mbmasf.org.

PHOTO: Top, 3300 block of Mission Street after the fire. Photo by Jonathan Koshi