The Orange County chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association partnered with business and philanthropic leaders throughout OC to create the Go Purple OC campaign, a weeklong event that literally turned well-known OC landmarks purple from Sept. 15 through 21.
Chapman University’s Memorial Hall, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Plaza Tower in Costa Mesa, the Discovery Science Center Cube, the Honda Center, the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, and several other buildings turned purple, thanks to the magic of colored lighting. Go Purple OC was designed to increase awareness and inspire action to help those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Go Purple OC was also intended to encourage participation in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which will be held at four locations on four days: The District at Tustin on Oct. 18; Huntington Beach on Nov. 1; Laguna Niguel Regional Park on Nov. 8; and Angel Stadium on Nov. 15.
Several Orange County business and community leaders were named Orange County Alzheimer’s champions for the 2014 Go Purple OC campaign for their commitment to bringing visibility to the cause, among them Jim Doti, president of Chapman University; Wing Lam, cofounder of Wahoo’s Fish Taco; Dennis Kuhl, chairman of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Richard Reisman, publisher of the Orange County Business Journal; Aaron Kushner/Eric Spitz, co-owners of the Orange County Register; Rebecca Hall, president of Idea Hall; and Hilary Kay, president of HKA Inc. Marketing Communications.
More than 160 female business, community and philanthropic leaders attended Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County’s first annual Change a Life Luncheon on Sept. 8 at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. The event highlighted the need and importance of mentoring young people in Orange County.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of OC matches a disadvantaged child (a “Little”) with a mentor (a “Big”). The luncheon raised $55,000 to help the nonprofit group fund its efforts to find suitable Bigs, including outreach programs, background and fingerprint checks, and training.
During the event, a Big and Little spoke about their matches and how they’ve benefited both their lives. Angelitos de Oro, a Newport Beach volunteer auxiliary, was honored with the Impact award for its more than 50 years of supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters Orange County, including more than $5 million in donations.
Newport Beach jeweler Black, Starr & Frost sponsored the event.
Microsemi, the O’Connell Family Foundation, the Cvengros Family, the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Clarke Foundation, the Sukut Family Foundation, and Tracy Industries Inc. were among the sponsors of the Mission Preservation Foundation’s Romance of the Mission benefit gala Sept. 12 at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
The event drew 480 guests and raised approximately $260,000, a record. All proceeds will further the preservation of historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, including phase two of the historic Sala building conservation.
Event highlights included a concert by Broadway star David Burnham in the ruins of the Great Stone Church and a ceremony honoring the equestrian group El Viaje de Portolá for its extensive support of Mission preservation efforts.
Orange County United Way kicked off its 2014-15 fundraising campaign during a breakfast celebration attended by major business and community leaders at Bowers Museum Sept. 9.
During the event, OC United Way President and Chief Executive Max Gardner outlined the organization’s objective to make a difference in the lives of Orange County residents through FACE 2024, or Fund, Advocate, Collaborate and Educate. FACE 2024 is a 10-year plan intended to cut the county’s high school dropout rate in half, reduce the percentage of financially unstable families countywide by 25%, increase the number of local healthy youth by a third, and cut in half the number of homeless and housing-insecure children in OC.
The event recognized several prominent Orange County businesses for their continued support of the United Way’s goals, including Pacific Life Insurance Co., Western Digital, Western National Group, Fluor, Automobile Club of Southern California and Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County embarked on a capital campaign to raise $10 million to purchase a building and create a training facility for at-risk youth in Santa Ana. The campaign gained traction with a matching gift challenge of $1.25 million issued by Todd and Natalie Pickup of Balboa Bay Resort and Auction.com through its chairman, Rob Friedman. … Oasis Center International received its first local Southern California bank grant from Banc of California Inc. in the amount of $5,000. The grant allows Oasis to provide arts-based programs to youth in low- to moderate-income communities.
