Journey to Hope
The annual Mission Hospital holiday gala, A Journey Through Wine Country, set fundraising records with nearly $2.2 million in net proceeds. A Fund-a-Need challenge alone raised more than $1.2 million. The event, which was held on Dec. 2 at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, took guests though a multicourse dinner paired with premier wines. Sponsors included Lugano Diamonds, Nolet Spirits U.S.A.-The Nolet Family, Audi Mission Viejo, Citizens Business Bank, Third Rock Ventures and Morey & Associates Inc.
The proceeds will support development and construction of Mission Hospital’s Mission Cancer Institute, which is scheduled to open next year.
“Thanks to the generosity of our community, the Mission Cancer Institute will provide world-class care, including leading edge clinical trials, progressive research, advanced technology and integrative programs that care for the body, mind and spirit in a patient-focused setting,” said Mission Hospital Chief Executive Tarek Salaway.
Love’s Light
Wayfinders, formerly Community Service Programs, worked in partnership with the city of Huntington Beach to kick off the holiday season. Thousands of business and community leaders and members participated in a countdown to the Huntington Beach giant snowflake lighting during the annual Light a Light of Love holiday celebration and fundraiser. The event raised more than $100,000 to benefit nonprofit Wayfinders’ Huntington Beach Youth Shelter, a “safe haven” for homeless, runaway, abused and at-risk youth that provides clients with a safe haven and professional comprehensive services, including individual, group and family therapy, academic support, job and career readiness, life skills and aftercare.Â
Since opening its doors 11 years ago, Wayfinders has helped more than 1,300 homeless, runaway and struggling Orange County youth and their families. The organization says it has a nearly 90% success rate of reuniting children with their families.
Giving Always in Fashion
Friends of CASA, a fundraising auxiliary of Court Appointed Special Advocates, hosted its holiday luncheon on Dec. 13 at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. The luncheon and fashion show is in its 22nd year and has brought in over $3.7 million since 1995.
This year’s event netted more than $426,000, which will go directly to supporting CASA’s mission of recruiting, training and supervising community volunteers who mentor and advocate for children in the foster care system. The record-breaking amount surpassed last year’s net proceeds of $344,000, a record at the time.
Over 600 guests filled the halls and decks outside of the ballroom to bid on 193 auction packages during the champagne reception, which also included the hallmark staple Starfish Wish Trees featuring wishes from the children in the CASA program. For the first time, two featured fashion houses partnered for the runway show, INTERMIX and Jimmy Choo. South Coast Plaza and Lugano Diamonds were among the event sponsors.
Power of Pasta
Radio station KFI-AM 640 helped raise more than $400,000 and 70,000 pounds of pasta and sauce at its seventh annual Pasta-Thon for Caterina’s Club, an Orange County nonprofit organization founded by Bruno Serato, owner of Anaheim White House Restaurant.Â
Caterina’s Club serves pasta each night in 62 locations in Orange and Los Angeles counties to feed 3,500 underprivileged children. The organization also helps find permanent housing for families in need. In addition, Serato, in concert with the city of Anaheim, established the Hospitality Academy to help at-risk youth explore careers in restaurants and hotels.
“KFI’s Pasta-Thon is our number one fundraiser of the year and we are proud to announce that, thanks to the generosity of the station’s listeners, we outperformed our previous record,” Serato said.
The event was held at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.
Bits & Pieces
Cambridge Companies SPG, a Newport Beach-based strategic opportunity investment firm, partnered with national nonprofit Shoes That Fit to provide more than 400 pairs of athletic shoes to students at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Ana. … During the holidays, employees of Santa Ana-based Meathead Movers, which has partnered with Human Options over the past three years to move belongings free of charge for domestic violence victims, donned Santa hats to deliver gifts to 50 local families and visit local assisted-living homes to sing Christmas carols. … The Newport Beach office of Lee & Associates sponsored two food pantries during the holidays, collecting more than 22,000 pounds of food that was donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and ultimately served more than 170 families.
