The Blind Children’s Learning Center raised $192,000 at its annual gala, held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa.
The Santa Ana-based organization celebrated 50 years of preparing blind and visually impaired children to lead independent lives. Major sponsors included Wells Fargo & Co., Change A Life Foundation, Argyros Family Foundation, Tustin Community Bank, Letner Roofing, Retina Associates of Orange County and Disneyland Resort.
Lisa Fujimoto, executive vice president of Irvine-based Change A Life Foundation, was the event chairperson.
Kristin Macdonald, radio host and motivational speaker, served as mistress of ceremonies and shared her personal story.
She lost some of her vision at the age of 29, due to a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Macdonald has nonetheless had a successful broadcast and public-speaking career, working for a time as an associate producer on various TV shows.
Peggy Blaising, board member of the Blind Children’s Learning Center, was recognized for her 25 years of volunteer service to the organization.
Golf Fundraiser
United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County raised $130,000 at its 18th Annual Life Without Limits Autumn Golf Classic & The Brianna Cup, held at the Santa Ana Country Club.
United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County provides support services to families who have children with disabilities.
The winner of the tournament was the Voit Real Estate Services team, which included Daniel Vittone, Mike Skochinski, Chris Zamora and Joel Griffith. The team wore traditional Scottish kilts and won the day with a collective score of 56.
Major tournament sponsors included SPC Retail Display Group, The Muller Group, Moboco Fine Jewelry and Gems, Paul Hastings, Abbot Medical Optics Inc., 1st Enterprise Bank, The Beresford Family, Dorsey & Whitney, Endless Resources Inc., The David Ball Family, Emery Financial, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aitken Aitken Cohn and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
Dana Dowers, chief executive of DLD Insurance Brokers Inc. founded the tournament almost 20 years ago with Chris Dubia.
The Brianna Cup, a golf tournament fundraiser founded by Scott Pievac, chief executive of SPC Retail Display Group, later merged with the tournament.
School Improvements
The Anaheim Ducks sponsored an $80,000 makeover project at Mattie Lou Maxwell Elementary in Anaheim.
Present and former members of the Anaheim Ducks, Honda Center executives, broadcasters, coaches, season-ticket holders and others gathered to install a permanent street hockey rink on the school playground and other improvement projects at the school. Sponsors of the two-day project included Anaheim Beautiful, Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Operation Clean Slate and Pinnacle Landscaping.
Bits and Pieces
Fullerton firefighters sold pink “Give Cancer the Boot” t-shirts to raise nearly $12,000 to support firefighter Burt Allen’s wife, Sue, who has been battling lung cancer since 2005. The money was donated to Long Beach Vanguard Cancer Foundation, which has helped treat Sue Allen. … Orange County Register seven-day subscribers have been getting $100 vouchers to mail on behalf of a charity of their choice. Aaron Kushner, the new owner and publisher of the Register, has pledged to give $12.4 million in free advertising for nonprofits. … More than 600 Pacific Investment Management Co. employees, friends and family gathered at the firm’s Newport Beach headquarters Dec. 1 to pack 10,000 boxes with holiday meals for needy families in Southern California. … Paul Glowienke and Nate Fikse of Newport Beach-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Mutual Life Foundation and Starlight Children’s Foundation are helping to send a group of Southern California youth cancer patients and their families to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. … Ladera Ranch-based Laura’s House has partnered with the new Family Violence Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law to provide pro bono counsel to victims of domestic violence. … Playhouse Women raised $10,000 for Laguna Playhouse at a luncheon featuring Sharrie Williams, author of The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It. … Irvine-based Team Kids is rallying kids to register a LemonAID stand through Dec. 31, to raise money for American Red Cross to benefit victims of Superstorm Sandy.
