Wishes Can Come True
The Cystinosis Research Foundation raised a record-breaking $4 million for research at its 16th annual Natalie’s Wish Celebration on March 30. The event was held at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach and included a dinner-gala, auction, a live music performance and special guest remarks from cystinosis researcher and honoree Dr. Stephanie Cherqui of University of California-San Diego. Cherqui’s work resulted in the recent FDA approval of a stem cell and gene therapy clinical trial for cystinosis.
More than 480 guests attended this year’s gala, including cystinosis families from around the world—another record for the annual event. Families traveled from near and far, including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, and Sweden, to join in the celebration.
Cystinosis Research Foundation’s mission is to find better treatments and a cure for cystinosis, a rare genetic disease that often appears in a baby’s first year and affects about 500 people in the U.S. Symptoms include severe sensitivity to light, muscle weakness and being slightly smaller in average height and weight. Without treatment, children on average die by the age of 9.
Because of the donations and contributions received over the last 16 years, CRF has provided more than $30 million for cystinosis research—$4.3 million of which funded Cherqui’s pioneering work.
Supporting a ‘Kure’
Nearly 100 guests gathered at a private home in Newport Beach to celebrate Kure It Cancer Research’s past and ongoing funding to research cancer projects.
Established 11 years ago by the late Barry Hoeven, founder of US Storage Centers and Westport Properties, Kure It has raised more than $8 million and funded 34 cancer research projects at 13 cancer centers. Hoeven’s vision was to raise $1 million every year for cancer research. Last year, the 10th anniversary, $1.5 million was raised, thanks to a $500,000 1-to-2 matching challenge by US Storage Centers and Westport Properties.
Todd Perry, chief financial officer, Briggs Electric and Kure It board chairman confirmed that Hoeven’s vision of raising $1 million a year for cancer research is continuing with a $1 million grant to University of California-Irvine’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center for cancer research in 2019. The grant will fund a permanent top level cancer research chair within the UCI Medical Center and generate $90,000 for cancer research at UCI in perpetuity. Every dollar given toward Kure It’s $1 million commitment will be matched by an anonymous UCI donor.
Major Kure It sponsors include US Storage Centers, Westport Properties, City National Bank, Briggs Electric, Bank of the West Commercial Banking, Sperry Commercial, Sperry Equities, the Leeson Group, The Muller Company and the William Warren Group.
Character Counts
The 2019 Men of Character Dinner was held on April 10 at Hotel Irvine by the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council. Almost 400 community and business leaders came together to honor six outstanding Orange County businessmen.
The event surpassed its goal, raising more than $176,000. The funds benefit its programs and the youth of Orange County.
The dinner was chaired by Ralph Linzmeier of The Linzmeier Group at Morgan Stanley and Manny Montanez, president, EG Montanez Construction Inc. The 20th anniversary event was marked by a surprise tribute to Linzmeier as The Man of Character for raising millions over the last two decades through this dinner.
This year’s honorees were Joseph DeSantis, founder and president, DeSantis Restaurant Concepts; Carlos Gonzalez, regional executive officer, Clark Construction; Michael Hahn, senior vice president and regional president of HomeStreet Bank’s commercial lending; Kent Peterson, vice president and chief operating officer, P2S Inc.; Tom VanDorpe, senior principal, VCA Consultants; Bill Wilhelm, president, R.D. Olson Construction.
Event sponsors included DeSantis Restaurant Concepts, P2S, R.D. Olson Construction, R.D. Olson Development, Crisp Imaging, Miller Environmental Group Inc., Seaview Investors LLC, Sperry Equities, Atkinson Construction, Clark Construction, Cerenzia Foods Inc., HomeStreet Bank, The Linzmeier Family Foundation, Murray Co., Tri-Mar Associates, VCA Structural, Westar Associates and the YMCA.
Superior Service to Others
On March 21, the Orange County chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, CREW-OC, named Patrick S. Donahue, chairman and chief executive of, Donahue Schriber, as the winner of its eighth annual SPIRE Awards for superior performance in the category of “Philanthropy.” SPIRE is shorthand for Superior Performance in Real Estate.
Donahue was nominated by the Orange County Community Foundation for his efforts to give Orange County’s veterans the welcome home they deserve by rallying an entire industry to support their critical needs.
“This is a tremendous honor in recognizing that our philanthropic efforts are about so much more than just raising funds,” Donahue said. “We want to demonstrate the power of collaborative, industry-wide action and make a tangible impact on veterans in our community.”
Donahue and the entire Donahue Schriber team launched the Orange County Real Estate Luncheon to inspire other businesses, philanthropists and community leaders to work together on three critical areas of veteran needs: health, education and employment.
The first Orange County Real Estate Luncheon was held in 2016 and raised more than half a million dollars. Last year, Donahue and his company convened more than 575 top real estate and financial professionals for the luncheon that raised $680,000 for Orange County nonprofits serving the veteran community.
Bits & Pieces
On April 22, Think Together welcomed financial education providers from Bank of America to its Shalimar Teen Center where they presented a Better Money Habits workshop to 10 students in Think Together’s Workforce Readiness & Education Program … Coastline Foundation hosted its annual “Connecting Communities” Social Responsibility Luncheon Summit on April 26 at the Westin South Coast Plaza where attendees had the opportunity to explore partnerships among higher education institutions, corporations, grantmakers, and various agencies, and learn how they can impact their communities by connecting resources to bring awareness and support for those in need … Harbor Freight Tools recently awarded more than $1 million in grants to high schools across the country that featured skilled vocational courses that teach young people trades such as construction and carpentry to masonry and plumbing.
