Compiled by Purnima Mudnal
Irvine-based law firm Burkhalter, Michaels, Kessler & George LLP and financial services firm Aspen Advisory Group Inc. donated a General Motors vehicle to the Orangewood Children’s Foundation. Alton Burkhalter, managing partner of BMKG, and Oz Abregov, manager partner of Aspen, decided to give away the $25,000 vehicle they had won as part of a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball promotion. The car is set to be auctioned on March 19 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point. Proceeds will go toward Orangewood’s scholarship and other programs for foster teens in the county.
Ayres Hotels Laguna Woods and Ayres Hotel Seal Beach worked with radio station KFI-AM in a fund-raiser for the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. The effort raised more than $700,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims. Ayres Hotels also donated blankets, sheets, bedding and other items to the Afghanistan Relief Organization. Hotelier Donald Ayres III, Nazi Etemadi of Irvine-based Zee Medical Inc. and Ruth Hartman, senior sales manager for Ayres Hotels in Costa Mesa, were part of the effort to help the needy in Afghanistan. Separately, Ayres Hotels of Costa Mesa donated $5,000 for the 15th annual fund-raising walk for Children’s Hospital of Orange County and CHOC at Mission.
The Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, has received a $10,000 gift from Joan Irvine Smith for research to improve the function and appearance of prosthetic hands and arms. Smith made the gift after reading a story in the Orange County Register about a 19-year-old UC Irvine student, Ryan Langan, working on a project to advance prosthetic technologies at the center. Smith is the great-granddaughter of James Irvine, founder of the Irvine Ranch.
The Irvine Health Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to Mardan Center of Educational Therapy in Irvine for its service and dedication to making Orange County a healthier place. The Mardan Center is one of 20 local groups selected to receive the “20-20” Vision grants, awarded by the foundation. The center is a nonprofit special education school for disabled and emotionally disturbed children.
St. Mary’s School, a private school in Aliso Viejo, renamed its annual scholarship award in honor of Melinda Masson, chief executive and founder of the Merit Cos. Now named the “Masson Young Leader’s” scholarship, it was developed by Masson as part of her efforts to mentor leaders. St. Mary’s presents one eighth grade student and one adult with the honor. The eighth grader receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Mission San Juan Capistrano received a $2,000 donation for the conservation of a historic altar candlestick holder from San Juan Capistrano resident Cecelia Mandala. Mandala is the third donor to pay for conservation of one of eight candlestick holders. Serra Chapel is one of the California’s most historically significant buildings and is undergoing a three-year preservation effort.
Jeff Cova of the Gavel Group, which does auctions and consulting to nonprofits, and Pete Deutschman of advertising agency the Buddy Group, supported the annual Fig Classic golf tournament benefiting St. Joseph Hospital Regional Cancer center. The tournament took place in early March at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Course. The Buddy Group designed and developed the 6-year-old tournament’s first Web site and the Gavel Group produced the event and provided auctioning services. The Fig Classic has raised more than $170,000 in its first five years.
Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins LLP, which has an office in Costa Mesa, contributed $815,000 to groups providing relief for Hurricane Katrina victims. Attorney and staff donations totaled $300,000, which the firm matched,adding to its initial pledge of $200,000. Latham & Watkins also will be funding two fellows to provide legal services to the victims. The firm gave $75,000 to fund the two-year fellowship.
Costa Mesa-based James Hardie Building Products provided siding products to the Women’s Shelter at the New Orleans Rescue Mission as part of its renovation efforts. The shelter, which suffered damage during Hurricane Katrina, is close to completing the renovation by nonprofit HomeAid along with Orange-based Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and its affiliates. The 4,000-square-foot shelter reopened in March to mark the six-month anniversary of the hurricane. The shelter houses single women who were evacuated from their homes.
The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives received a pledge from the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce of at least $1 per member, a minimum of $1,100, to help support efforts for the 24 chambers of commerce affected by Hurricane Katrina.
