25 Ways to Celebrate
Oggi’s Sports, Brewhouse, Pizza donated to 25 charities in honor of its 25th anniversary in December, with items including sleeping bags for homeless military veterans, food for shelter animals, and toys for underprivileged children.
Oggi’s gave back to organizations in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, the Inland Empire and Glendale, Ariz. as a way of thanking them for supporting the restaurant over the years.
“We are a family-run business with close ties to our communities and giving back is part of who we are and what we do,” said Estella Ferrera, Vice President of Oggi’s Sports, Brewhouse, Pizza. “This year, we wanted to pay it forward as part of our 25th anniversary initiative.”
The 25 organizations that Oggi’s donated to include ElderHelp, A Better Way, Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, Foothill Family Shelter, Friendly Centers Inc., Someone Who Cares Soup Kitchen and the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center.
Impactful
Bank of America announced Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast as its Neighborhood Builder recipient.
The Neighborhood Builders program provides local nonprofit organizations with a combination of leadership development, $200,000 in flexible funding, a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access capital in order to expand impact in Orange County.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast will use the grant to expand its Impact model of youth services, which provides members with structured daily programs focusing on academic support, physical fitness and skill-specific enrichment courses.
“Our Neighborhood Builders program connects outstanding nonprofits like Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast to the funding and leadership development resources it needs to continue offering highly effective resources such as IMPACT,” said Bank of America Orange County Market President Allen Staff.
It’s a New Year
Pacific Symphony’s first annual Chinese New Year Celebration and Concert took place on Jan. 28 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The event raised $80,000, which will benefit the symphony’s artistic, education and community education programs.
More than 180 guests attended the sold-out event, which included a three-course dinner, a premier ticket to the Chinese New Year concert, a VIP intermission reception and a post-concert reception featuring guest artists.
The evening brought together music, art and dance from Eastern and Western cultures, including a recital by Chinese pianist Fei-Fei Dong. The festivities included a performance by the Pacific Symphony led by Music Director Carl St. Clair. Singers and dancers including the Yaya Dance Academy, UCI Dance and the Pacific Chorale joined the orchestra to perform music celebrating the Chinese New Year, including “Butterfly Lovers Concerto,” “Deep into the Night,” and “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s ninth symphony.
Ocean Discovery
On Feb. 8, First Foundation Inc. donated $60,000 to the Discovery Science Foundation to help fund children’s educational programs at Discovery Cube’s Ocean Quest in Newport Beach.
First Foundation Chief Executive Scott Kavanaugh presented the check during a ceremony at the Balboa Fun Zone, where more than 70 students from nearby schools were on hand to help accept the donation.
The funds, which are a part of First Foundation’s Supporting Our Community initiative, will go toward school field trips to Ocean Quest for the program “H2O SOS: Help Heal Our Ocean—Student Operated Solutions.”
In H20 SOS, data collected in the field by local students is added to a larger database to help protect and preserve the ocean. The topics addressed in the curriculum include marine debris, watersheds and storm water, ocean acidification, and sustainable fishing.
Bits & Pieces
In January City National Bank, through its Reading is the Way Up literacy program, and Barnes & Noble donated more than $25,000 in books and cash to Star View and Lake View Elementary schools in Orange County as part of its ninth annual Holiday Book Drive program. … Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County welcomed Neal A. Crowley, general counsel for InterDent Service Corp., as a new board member. … To spread the word about heart health, CycleBar in Laguna Hills is hosting a CycleGiving ride each Friday during February for $25 per person, directly benefiting the American Heart Association.
