All for Teens
The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana held a grand opening and ribbon cutting on Sept. 11 for its Garage Teen Center and the renovation of the newly named Joe MacPherson Center for Opportunity.
The 3,500-square-foot teen center is designed to help club teens on a path to graduating high school on time, with a plan for their future, while discovering their passions and teaching them life skills through the Live Mas Lounge made possible by Taco Bell, the Dave and Judy Threshie Teen Tech Center, and the Teen Production Studio, a room within the center.
The club’s existing Main Club, designed to serve as a forum for expanded programs and services, was fully renovated and christened the Joe MacPherson Center for Opportunity in honor of late local entrepreneur Joe MacPherson, a longtime philanthropist and owner of the Team MacPherson car dealerships.
Leap for Womankind
The 13th Annual Advancing Women in Technology Wine Tasting Scholarship Fundraiser was held at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa on Oct. 2.
More than 220 guests attended the event, which raised $40,000 to benefit the 2015 AWT Scholarship Foundation.
More than 30 women from companies such as Allergan Inc., Broadcom Corp., Edwards Lifesciences Corp. and others were honored with the “Rising Women in Technology” award, which recognizes women who have demonstrated a commitment to supporting and increasing the presence among women in technology-related occupations.
Seven local college students were also awarded scholarships totaling $35,000.
Slip Into Success
Girls Inc. of Orange County raised $380,000 at its 60th birthday celebration gala, Ruby Slipper Ball.
The event was held Sept. 19 at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point. Event sponsors included Kia Motors America and ADP, DPR Construction, UPS, Applied Medical and more.
Girls Inc. provides services to more than 5,000 girls annually by providing year-round holistic, compensatory, and intentional programming focusing on science, technology, engineering and math; financial literacy; sound body image; healthy relationships; and college and career readiness.
The gala brought together more than 300 Orange County philanthropists and corporations for an evening of food, wine and fundraising. Proceeds go to providing Orange County girls with Girls Inc. program scholarships in improving self-esteem; boosting grades; preparing for higher education; exploring science, math and technology; and becoming economically independent.
Starry-Eyed
Marconi Foundation for Kids, Campbell & Sage LLP, A. Gary Anderson Family Foundation, and California Sunset Escrow were among the OC companies that sponsored the ninth annual “An Evening Under the Stars” fundraiser hosted by I Padrini di Antonello, a philanthropic group that supports children’s causes in Orange County.
The Oct. 5 event, which was held at Antonello Ristorante in South Coast Plaza Village, raised more than $130,000. Gladys Gleason, cofounder of the Speech and Language Development Center, received the Shining Star award for her philanthropic efforts in the community.
Proceeds will benefit Seneca Orange County, a nonprofit agency that creates and supports permanent families for children, and Speech and Language Development Center, a school and therapy center for children and young adults with special needs.
Bits & Pieces
Lake Forest-based Clearinghouse Community Development Financial donated $50,000 to Monarch School in San Diego, which serves homeless children in grades K-12. … Electron Beam Engineering Inc., an Anaheim-based precision welding company, donated $10,000 to Bethesda Lutheran Communities, a human service organization that provides residential care for people with disabilities. … Employees of Johnson Attorneys Group in Newport Beach sponsored Walk Like MADD Orange County on Oct. 18 in Huntington Beach to the tune of $3,175. The goal of the walk, a nationwide event, is to “help us raise both awareness and funds to eliminate drunk driving,” according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
