
Vern Yip and Bank of America recently teamed up to transform a worn community center at an affordable housing complex into something much more vibrant. You can see the
before shot here. To see how the space was transformed, check out the slideshow.

Remember when I told you about how
Vern Yip was teaming up with Bank of America to transform two Bay Area nonprofits? Well, this morning, I was fortunate enough to attend the unveiling for the Tenderloin Family Apartments. Managed by the Chinatown Community Development Center, it's a safe, high-quality affordable housing property in the heart of the Tenderloin district, one of San Francisco’s lower income neighborhoods challenged by issues such as homelessness, safety, and drug use.

This plate of figs, which is held by Palestinian Nadiya Zaqzuk, represents just a little of the bounty that her garden offers. Zaqzuk, a widow who needed a way to support her six children, can now grow vegetables and fruit in a greenhouse that the organization
CARE provided for her. CARE's mission is to "tackle underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient.

Designer Vern Yip is a household name for many Casa readers, thanks to his judging on
Design Star as well as his hosting and creativity on his tear-inducing show
Deserving Design. Vern is currently contributing his design expertise to two very worthy community organizations, the Tenderloin Family Apartments, which are home to 4,000 low-income San Francisco families, and the
West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, which has been serving youth in this neighborhood for over sixty years. I was thrilled to talk to Vern about his design renovations for these two community spaces.