Compiled by Christina Hur
Mission Hospital: $5 Million Pledge
Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo received a $5 million pledge from the family of Adam Williams, a former patient. Williams, of Monarch Beach, was treated at the hospital’s trauma center in 1998 for traumatic brain injury after a motorcycle accident. The money will go toward building a neuroscience floor of a new patient care tower, which is set to start construction in 2007. The Williams’ pledge marks the largest donation for the hospital yet. Mission Hospital is one of three trauma centers in Orange County. The family previously donated $2.5 million toward building the Interventional Surgical Suites as well as funding the Adam Williams Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative. The initiative is an educational program that teaches traumatic brain injury practices, which were used on Adam, to hospitals. The initiative also provides specialized monitoring equipment to help manage patient care.
Santa Ana-based First American Corp. gave $1 million to the Gulf Coast Rebuilding Challenge, a program that uses corporate deposits to provide funds for community banks that lend to homeowners and business owners affected by hurricanes. The program aims to raise $1 billion. Other corporate depositors include General Motors Corp., Microsoft Corp., Home Depot Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Fannie Mae. The program is organized by Promontory Interfinancial Network.
The Orange County Community Foundation, which gives money on behalf of charities, donated more than $162,000 toward a fellowship and to various nonprofits in Orange County. The foundation gave $138,000 from the Wish Upon a Cure’s David P. Campbell Foundation Fund in Mission Viejo to a fellowship for pediatric mitochondrial disease research at the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine. Mitochondrial diseases stem from a body’s failure to produce energy in cells. The foundation is named after David Campbell, who died at 3 years old from Leigh’s Syndrome, one of 40 types of mitochondrial diseases. Orange County Community Foundation also gave more than $24,000 from the Frank & Ruth Bila Charitable Fund to four groups: Coastline Community College Foundation, Saddleback Memorial Medical Center Foundation, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and St. Jude Hospital Inc.
Cruisin’ for a Cure, a Lake Forest-based nonprofit that advocates prostate cancer awareness and treatment, raised $279,000 at its seventh annual car show. All proceeds will go toward the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Cancer Center for prostate cancer research. More than 25,000 people attended. There were more than 3,473 hot rods and classic cars displayed. The event also included free blood testing for prostate cancer.
The Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center Foundation raised more than $100,000 at its fourth annual fall gala, A Decade of Caring. The money will go toward the nonprofit hospital’s expansion. More than 350 people attended.
New Directions for Women, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit drug-and-alcohol treatment center for women, raised $78,000 at its 12th annual Fall Classic golf tournament, silent auction and awards dinner. The money will go toward the center’s programs.
Option One Mortgage Corp., an Irvine-based subsidiary of H & R; Block Inc., donated $50,000 to the Orange County High School of the Arts. The money will be used to fund three events: the school’s 20th anniversary celebration at the Ren & #233;e and Henry Segerstrom Hall, the 2007 Master-piece in the Making Gala and Season Finale 2007. The company also established an emergency back-up system for the school’s electronic data files, and hosted a golf tournament fund-raiser.
The Irvine Animal Care Center raised $32,000 at its Fifth Annual Pet Trek. The money will go toward the center to aid in feeding, housing, providing medical care and finding homes for abused and neglected animals.
The Irvine-based Center for Hope and Healing, a provider of affordable mental treatment to victims of abuse and neglect, received a $20,000 donation from the Weingart Foundation and a $2,000 donation from the Boeing Employees Community Fund. The money from both donations will go toward the center’s therapeutic services.
