Compiled by Kelly Ryan
OC United Way Raises $560,000
More than 1,000 real estate professionals and industry leaders raised $560,000 at the eighth annual Orange County United Way Real Estate and Building Industry Luncheon in Irvine. Keynote speaker Terry Donahue of San Francisco 49er fame inspired the crowd to give to the United Way’s Keeping Kids on Track initiative. The initiative seeks to improve youth development in Orange County by promoting higher education and improving self esteem.
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian donated $500,000 to the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. The gift will be used to support research and community outreach programs at the Center for Health Care Management and Policy. The center is a research institute that enables healthcare scholars, students and business leaders to share critical knowledge regarding healthcare issues.
Zov’s Bistro in Tustin hosted its 20th anniversary celebration and donated $41,000 to Serving People in Need and the Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine. The evening included Zov’s cuisine, desserts, martinis, a silent auction and dancing. About 350 people attended the event and participated in a silent auction. Proceeds will be divided evenly between the two nonprofits. Zov Karamardian, founder and executive chef of Zov’s Bistro, was one of five businesswomen presented with the 2007 Women in Business Award at the Orange County Business Journals’ awards luncheon last month.
The Marconi Foundation for Kids donated $175,000 to Mustard Seed Ranch, a nonprofit that provides healing services to abused and neglected kids ages 11 to 17 through horse-assisted programs. Founder Dick and Priscilla “Bo” Marconi donated the money during a ceremony at their Marconi Automotive Museum in Tustin. The money will enable Mustard Seed Ranch to continue its services and extend its outreach to youths in need.
The 30th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County golf tournament raised $153,000. The tournament was held at the Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point and golfers had the opportunity to win tournament awards, prizes and dinner at Monarch’s Club 19. Sponsors of the event included Villa Nova Restaurant, Bowne & Co., Opus West Corp. and Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc., which donated 160 pairs of sunglasses for the tournament players. Big Brothers Big Sisters of OC matches adult mentors with children in need.
The Huntington Beach Restaurant Association’s Taste of Huntington Beach raised $65,250 for local groups. So far, the association has donated $40,000 of the money raised to the Huntington Beach Children’s Library. It also has given $13,000 to the 3/1 Marines at Camp Pendleton on behalf of the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa. Now in its sixth year, Taste of Huntington Beach has raised more than $250,000 for charities.
Orange-based Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County raised more than $38,000 at its eighth annual Humanitarians Against Hunger awards event. The money raised will benefit Second Harvest’s local Kids Caf & #233; programs. The programs provide meals and snacks along with nutrition education to 1,600 children daily at 30 sites. OC native and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura was honored with the 2007 Ed Arnold Humanitarian Award for his commitment to the issues of hunger and nutrition. Starbucks Corp. and State Street Corp. also were honored. At the event, Second Harvest board member and owner of Sundried Tomato Caf & #233; Mark Jacobi performed cooking demonstrations with children from local Boys and Girls Club Kids Caf & #233; programs.
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and Merrill Lynch fulfilled six-year-old Maxime Mobayen’s wish to be a businessman for a day. Mobayen spent the day as Merrill Lynch honorary director, signing off on employee requests and sending orders over the phone. Merrill Lynch also gave him a laptop computer for use at home. Mobayen battles Medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor.
Ten local OC high school students were granted scholarships in the second annual Disney-land Resort Scholar-ship Program,Pursue Your Dreams Through Community Service. At the award ceremony, nonprofits that the students worked with were surprised with $1,000 checks. Each of the 10 students received $5,000 scholarships based on their passion for volunteerism, leadership and academic excellence. Award recipients were: Brittany Hambright, Amanda Richardson, Ann Quan, Jeremy Yamaguchi, Kathleen Salmond, Evan Clark, Brooke Kennamer, Jonathan Ditty, Ryan Kraus and Ashley Nguyen.
The 13th annual Tour De OC bike-a-thon raised more than $35,000 to benefit abused and neglected kids. The fund-raiser was presented by Santa Ana-based Wahoo’s Fish Taco on the campus of Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. About 135 riders participated in the century ride, 55-mile ride and 25-mile ride. Proceeds help Royal Family Kid’s Camp invite 100 children to enjoy a week of camping experience. Top fund-raisers were Vera Teller of Arcadia, Reid Griffen of OC and Tom Cressman of Seal Beach.
The third annual Cabrillo Playhouse Bards & Chards Wine Tasting & Gourmet Dinner generated $10,000 for the Cabrillo Playhouse in San Clemente. The evening was hosted by the Pacific Golf & Country Club and featured a five-course dinner accompanied by a selection of wines from the Bob James Wine Collection. The evening featured cocktails and a selection of domestic cheeses along with sneak peaks at next year’s Playhouse lineup.
IndyMac Bank, the Irvine mortgage lending arm of Pasadena’s IndyMac Bancorp Inc., raised $2,000 for the American Cancer Society by hosting a jeans day at work. The funds will help the society provide free local patient services such as Road to Recovery rides to and from medical appointments and Reach to Recovery one-on-one support for breast cancer.
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County AmeriCorps volunteers spent a week in Biloxi, Miss., rebuilding homes that were lost during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Five OC AmeriCorps volunteers and one OC Habitat for Humanity volunteer will join others from all over the U.S. as part of the annual Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps Build-A-Thon.
