This Enchanted Evening
Over 400 guests participated on May 16 in one of Pacific Symphony’s most successful galas to date, Celebrating Carl St. Clair’s 25 Years in Orange County.
The event raised $1.6 million, including $350,000 in matching funds donated by John and Mary Tu. John Tu is a cofounder of Kingston Technology Corp. in Fountain Valley.
The gala, which took place at the Hotel Irvine, honored music director Carl St. Clair’s 25 years with the orchestra. The evening began outdoors with a beach-party-themed reception complete with games, such as Ultimate Frisbee Toss, and a Beach Boys-inspired live band.
The evening transitioned into a tribute to maestro St. Clair as guests enjoyed dinner. The event also featured a “Fund-A-Dream,” which totaled $747,750, including the matching gift.
Encore, Encore!
Encore for Education, a commercial real estate industry charity concert, raised about $200,000 to benefit Buchanan Children’s Charities and the Orange County Community Foundation’s Music Matters initiative. The fundraiser was held on April 30 at the House of Blues in Anaheim and featured a live performance by Third Eye Blind. Lead sponsors Buchanan Street Partners, Boeing Co., Auction.com and Idea Hall underwrote the event. More than 800 commercial real estate professionals attended.
Funds raised will support arts education in 16 OC school districts. In addition, 3,786 teachers will gain access to professional development tools to improve theater, dance, media arts and visual arts programs.
The Music Matters program was created from a partnership between the Orange County Community Foundation and Buchanan Children’s Charities.
Other sponsoring companies included Bixby Land Co., CBRE, R.D. Olson, Stream Realty and KPMG.
Caring for Caregivers
The Alzheimer’s Association, Orange County hosted the Visionary Women Caregivers Luncheon on May 15 to celebrate local caregivers for their dedication to improving the lives of those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 250 friends, supporters and family members of the organization attended the annual event at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado Canyon.
Event speaker Florence Henderson of “The Brady Bunch” fame shared her personal caregiver story about caring for her husband after his terminal-illness diagnosis.
Merrill Lynch, First American Trust, Susan’s Healthy Gourmet, Alaska Airlines, Rancho Las Lomas, and Applied Medical were among the event’s sponsors.
250,000 Reasons to Smile
Irvine-based Planet DDS donated $250,000 worth of professional electronic equipment to Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, a nonprofit children’s oral health provider.
Healthy Smiles for Kids operates two mobile dental clinics—Smile Mobile and Smile Mobile 2—and the Smile Clinic at Children’s Hospital Orange County, and the Smile Center in Garden Grove.
The donation of the electronic dental record system, called Denticon, will help the organization streamline services and operations by providing access to HIPPA-compliant patient records, and will allow the nonprofit group to serve patients faster and more efficiently.
Bits & Pieces
Disneyland Resort donated more than $60,000 in diversity scholarship funds to support the pursuit of higher education. … Alzheimer’s Association, Orange County is hosting free brain-health events this month for individuals interested in becoming educated about healthy habits and healthy aging.
