No Lunch, No Problem
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County held its annual No Lunch event on Nov. 20 to honor local and national organizations that help the food-insecure population in Orange County.
This year’s event, held at the food bank’s distribution center in Irvine, hosted nearly 400 guests and raised more than $137,000 to help feed Orange County’s neediest families. It honored Antonello Ristorante, Feeding America and Starbucks with Founder’s Legacy Awards.
The event aims to spread awareness about hunger in an otherwise affluent community and to encourage residents to do their part to make a difference.
“‘No Lunch’ is an event I look forward to every year,” said Dave Coffaro, interim chief executive of Second Harvest. “We bring together a powerful [contingent] of donors, volunteers, community leaders and Second Harvest team members. Together, [we] are moving Orange County closer to making sure everyone has the food they need every day.”
Laying the Foundation
The 2018 KidWorks Foundation for Success Luncheon, held Nov. 8 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Santa Ana, raised more than $750,000 to help fund after-school education and leadership development programs conducted by the Santa Ana nonprofit.
A record-breaking 440-plus guests attended the annual event, which raises the majority of the after-school program budget for academic enrichment, tutoring, leadership development, and college-readiness programs at the KidWorks Dan Donahue Center.
The Dan Donahue Leadership Award was presented to Steve Craig, president and chief executive of Craig Realty Group, a factory outlet shopping center development firm founded in 1995 in Newport Beach that operates 14 outlet centers in nine states, including the Outlets at San Clemente.
Training for the Future
On Nov. 13, Disneyland Resort President Josh D’Amaro announced a $600,000 donation to Chrysalis, a California nonprofit that helps lift individuals out of poverty by finding and retaining steady jobs. The new partnership is part of Disneyland Resort’s continued support of workforce development in Anaheim.
The funding will help Chrysalis extend its services to Orange County through the opening of a facility in Anaheim.
Disney VoluntEARs have already launched a clothing drive to collect business-casual clothing from Disneyland employees, in addition to packaging hygiene kits to help Chrysalis get a quick start.
“This marks our increasing commitment to the city of Anaheim and the future of its economy and workforce,” D’Amaro said.
Overcoming Obstacles
Fristers raised $155,000 at its 10-year Anniversary Celebration Gala on Sept. 28 at the Port Theater in Corona del Mar. More than 150 guests attended. Fristers, a combination of “friends” and “sisters,” has helped teen parents and their children since 2008.
“We greatly thank our gala sponsors and guests for their support of Fristers’ mission to help teen parents build healthy and stable lives and families through educational classes and workshops, mentoring, case management and the support of a caring community,” said Ali Woodard, Fristers founder, president and chief executive.
Event sponsors included Angels Baseball, Crevier Classic Cars, Godes & Preis LLP, Coastal Catering, Family Wealth Leadership, First Republic Bank and Tri-Precision Sheetmetal Inc.
Bits & Pieces
The Alzheimer’s Association received a donation of more than $3,500 from Newport/Naples Rib Co. as part of its 20 Days of Charity to commemorate its 35th year in business. … Throughout December, Orange County’s Credit Union’s 10 branches will be collection sites for the company’s third annual holiday toy drive to collect 500 gifts for local charities. … Workout studio SIX offered the public an eight-week body transformation program with unlimited access to the studio for $35, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
