Filling Hearts, Stomachs
KFI-AM 640 raised nearly $436,000 and 109,000 pounds of pasta and sauce at its ninth annual Pastathon benefiting Caterina’s Club. The event took place on Dec. 6 at the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. Other event sponsors included Smart & Final, Barilla Pasta, and Trafalgar.
Hundreds of KFI listeners came by to drop off packages of pasta and sauce during the day-long Pastathon, as well as checks and cash donations.
Caterina’s Club was founded by Sir Bruno Serato, owner, White House Restaurant. The nonprofit feeds 5,000 underprivileged children nightly in Orange and Los Angeles counties through its “Feeding the Kids in America” program. The nonprofit has a second program, “Welcome Home,” which finds permanent housing for families in need and introduces at-risk youth to careers in hospitality.
“We are so grateful to KFI and especially (morning drive show host) Bill Handel whose tireless efforts on behalf of Caterina’s Club helps us achieve our goal of serving as many in need as possible,” Serato said.
Since 2010, the KFI Pastathon has raised more than $2.8 million and 510,291 pounds of pasta and sauce.
Best Friends
Friends of CASA, a membership auxiliary of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County, hosted its annual Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show on Dec. 11 at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. This year’s luncheon raised a record-breaking net amount of nearly $476,000. The funds will go directly to supporting CASA’s mission of providing a powerful voice and a meaningful connection for children who have experienced abuse, neglect and abandonment.
Business sponsors included Lugano Diamonds, New American Funding, Valia Properties and Barclay Butera Interiors, among others.
More than 540 guests attended the event, which began with a champagne reception and silent auction. Guest also had the opportunity to fulfill holiday wishes from 224 children in the CASA program. Wishes included items such as dance and cooking classes, art supplies, summer camps and a laptop computer for a college bound young adult. Following the reception, guests enjoyed the fashion show, presented by Kate Spade New York and South Coast Plaza. Kate Spade New York presented 24 looks from its summer 2020 collection.
The event has brought in more than $4.5 million since its inception in 1995.
Acting on a Tradition
Christmas arrived early for South Coast Repertory when philanthropist Julianne Argyros announced a $5 million gift to the Tony Award-winning theatre on Dec. 14, during the curtain call for matinee of “A Christmas Carol.”
Julianne and her husband, George Argyros, have been supporters of South Coast Repertory since the 1970s, including major contributions to the Next Stage Campaign, which led to the naming of the Julianne Argyros Stage, and to the Legacy Campaign to build the theatre’s endowment. Julianne is an honorary trustee and, in 2013, she served as honorary chair of SCR’s 50th Season Gala.
The Argyroses have supported A Christmas Carol as honorary producers for 13 consecutive years, the latest run marks the show’s 40th anniversary.
The gift will make possible an entirely new production of A Christmas Carol, expected to premiere in December 2021. Additionally, it strengthens SCR’s strategic capacity-building initiatives, which include increasing the endowment to support programming.
“SCR’s magical holiday tradition is as near and dear to us as it is to the more than 600,000 people who have experienced it over the past 40 years,” Julianne said.
Honoring the Givers
Orange County’s top philanthropists, business leaders and individuals were honored at the 34th Annual National Philanthropy Day Orange County Awards Luncheon, attended by 820 guests on Nov.14 at City National Grove of Anaheim. The Orange County Business Journal was the presenting sponsor, PBS SoCal was the platinum broadcast media sponsor and the Orange County Register was the community media sponsor. Other sponsors included OC Music & Dance, City of Hope, UCI Foundation, Chapman University, Apriem Advisors, Ueberroth Family Foundation, Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Orange County Community Foundation, Crevier Classic Cars, Simon Scholars, Clark Construction Group LLC, and Balboa Bay Resort and Balboa Bay Club.
Bill Bracken, founder, Bracken’s Kitchen, was recognized as outstanding founder. Keith Swayne, founder of the Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation and former CEO of Case Swayne Co., whose late wife Judy was honored at National Philanthropy Day 20 years ago as the founder of the Orange County Community Foundation, was recognized as outstanding philanthropist. Ralph Stern, founder of CareCredit, and his wife, Sue Stern, were the legacy award honorees and Apriem Advisors was the outstanding small business honoree.
Produced by the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, National Philanthropy Day has become the most prominent philanthropic recognition event in Orange County, with more than 1,000 honorees since its inception in 1986.
Bits & Pieces
On Dec.12, Cox Communications sponsored the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley’s annual Operation Holiday Homework event, which provides members in Power Hour—a tutoring program targeting members ages 6-18—an opportunity to shop for their entire family with points they earned by attending homework sessions and staying on task … The 2019 Investment Real Estate Luncheon was held on Oct. 17 at the Boardwalk in Irvine by the Boy Scouts of America Orange County Council and honored Tom Bak of Trammell Crow Company for his ongoing support of Scouting programs and the youth of Orange County … The Decorative Arts Society of Orange County awarded Waymakers a $25,000 grant in support of the nonprofit’s shelter services in Southern California.
