Compiled by Kelly Ryan
The John Crean Family Foundation pledged $10 million to Lutheran South High School, to be opened in Irvine this fall. John Crean, who died this year, was the founder of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. He was renowned for their generous giving. He and wife Donna gave more than half their income to charitable causes. In 1999, Builder Magazine named Crean one of America’s Most Influential Leaders of the 20th century.
$623,000 was raised at the J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center’s annual black-tie gala. JSerra Catholic High School, Steph and Tim Busch and Penny and Jon Fosheim received the 2007 Michael Lewis, Friends of the Disabled Award. Event proceeds benefit the center, which is dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities through horse programs. More than 500 guests attended the gala at the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach.
Irene Vermuelen donated $150,000 to the Orange County council of Boy Scouts of America. The funds will be used to build the Charles & Irene Vermuelen Scout Chapel at the Outdoor Education Center in Orange. The Outdoor Education Center is under construction on 210 acres donated to the council by The Irvine Company.
Snell & Wilmer LLP’s intellectual property team donated more than $150,000 in legal fees resulting in the successful defense for Kids Safety First. Kids Safety First is a national nonprofit group that promotes automotive child safety in underprivileged households. The team of lawyers, led by Ketan Vakil, was able to win a settlement valued at $435,000, including 25,000 child seats and $60,000 for distribution of the seats.
The Designing Women Guild hosted the 2007 Baubles, Bangles & Bags tea event to benefit Working Wardrobes. Attendees donated 1,500 baubles and bags and were able to raise $105,000. Katherine Lang was honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her creation of the Cinderella Club, which collects prom dresses for those in need. Designing Women was created to financially support the programs of Working Wardrobes.
The eighth annual Queen for a Day Awards luncheon raised $43,000 for Maternal Outreach Management System, a Santa Ana nonprofit. The event was presented by Kaiser Permanente and took place at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. Sondra Ames, Raquel Lomeli and Gabriela Velasco were crowned Mothers of the Year. Maternal Outreach seeks to help mothers have healthy babies. This year’s proceeds will fund one year of services for 35 families.
Ten boy scouts raised more than $31,000 by selling tickets to the 2007 Scout O-Rama. Scouts hosted booths and performed skits for some 25,000 visitors. These top 10 ticket sellers were able to fly over the event with Chuck Street, commander of the Pepsi Jet Ranger helicopter for KIIS-FM. All proceeds benefit the Orange County council of Boy Scouts of America.
Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union awarded sixth-grader Carrie Hoffman a $1,000 College Saver Certificate for her creative Stash Your Cash Essay entitled, “Swabbies.” The credit union invited kids to write a 300-word essay that explained what they would do with a treasure chest full of cash. Hoffman’s essay tells how she, a pirate, discovered a treasure chest and sent herself and her shipmates to college.
The OC sales office of Standard Insurance Co. organized 15 volunteers to host a Mother’s Day dinner for the Regina House, a transitional house for single mothers in Santa Ana. Additionally, several employees from the office spent time with preschool-aged kids playing outside and creating crafts at the Crafts Night at Orangewood Children’s Foundation.
