Helpers House of Couture Jewelry Collection Is Going Under the Gavel

Photo: Lindsay Stevens

Helpers Community, Inc. is doing its best to emerge from the cloud of scandal after a 2016 report in the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that the charity had collected millions of dollars in fashionable assets like designer clothes, shoes, and jewelry, "while spending relatively little on the people with developmental disabilities it purported to serve." The exposé led to a number of changes within Helpers, include the ouster of longtime director Joy Venturini Bianchi, and a pivot away from the Helpers House of Couture resale shop.

Now, all those amazing pieces from the store are being sold.

In its continuing coverage of the Helpers story, the Chronicle reports that designer apparel donated to Helpers is being sold through online consignment store The Real Real, and many of the jewelry items are being auctioned through Michaan's in Alameda. Proceeds from the sales will help fund a new group home for the developmentally disabled.

Photo: Michaan's Auctions

Michaan's already sold about 100 jewelry items from the Helpers collection of more than one thousand items this week, and there will be a second sale on Saturday, March 10 at 10 am. The catalog for this weekend's sale includes pieces from Stephen Dweck, David Yurman, Chanel, Hermes, and Harry Fireside, as well as vintage items. According to the Chronicle, "the pieces were priced, catalogued and grouped by the auction house into 55 lots ranging in price from $100 to $800." The complete Saturday catalog is available online.

If you're interesting in picking up baubles from the Helper's Collection, you can either attend the auction in real life, (2751 Todd Street in Alameda), bid by phone, or place an absentee bid in advance.