Residents of Sacramento, past and present, have long advocated for support services for the region’s homeless population. What most don’t recognize is how far back such concerns have been raised. In the wake of the Gold Rush of the 1840s and ‘50s, many children were abandoned, with most of them doing their best to survive along the banks of Sacramento’s many rivers.
In 1867, a group of concerned citizens founded the Sacramento Protestant Orphan Asylum, with the mandate of providing care and shelter to children who had nowhere else to go. The orphanage was moved to its current location in 1906, and under its current name has grown to provide an impressive array of services to the local community—a crisis nursery, mental health services, afterschool education programs, residential treatment, family resource centers, and more.
Our own history has long been entwined with the Sacramento Children’s Home. Socotra Capital co-founder John Ingoglia’s mother has been a longtime fundraiser for the organization, and his wife worked at the Home when she was a teenager.
Recognizing the value that the Children’s Home provides, John and Adham Sbeih resolved to look for a way to bring the Home to the public’s attention and provide financial support. In 2009, they reached out to several local real estate brokerage companies and established a rec softball league. Participating firms make donations of $500 to $1,000, and Socotra Capital matches each donation. In 2018 alone, the league raised $10,690 for the Sacramento Children’s Home Crisis Nursery Program.
