The 18th annual Costa Mesa-based Susan G. Komen OC Race for the Cure in Newport Beach raised $2.5 million for breast cancer research. Breast cancer survivor Lauren Heller was recognized as the top individual fundraiser for the fourth year in a row, this year having raised more than $35,000. The top fundraising team, I Survived Real Estate, raised $58,012.
Mission San Juan Capistrano’s 11th annual Romance of the Mission benefit gala raised $430,000. The money will be used for ongoing museum and preservation efforts, including work throughout the grounds, mission artifacts and exhibitions.
The fourth annual Goodwill of Orange County Working for Independence fundraising luncheon at the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel & Spa raised $320,000. Longtime supporters Marion Knott and her family members issued a Knott family matching challenge at the luncheon and matched $1 for every $2 donated. Goodwill of Orange County operates 19 stores and provides jobs to people with disabilities.
About 1,300 guests attended the 31st Shea Barbecue and Country Faire at the JF Shea Therapeutic Riding Center’s equestrian facilities in San Juan Capistrano. The event raised $300,000 to support client services, financial aid for riders in need and the organization’s therapeutic riding programs.
The Crystal Cove Alliance’s seventh annual gala, titled Prohibition Party and Jazz on the Beach, raised $180,000. The money will go toward the preservation and restoration of Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, as well as the nonprofit’s education programs. The event featured about 400 guests in flapper dresses, feathers, pinstripe suits, fedoras and other clothing inspired by the 1920s Prohibition era.
Orange’s St. Joseph Hospital raised $150,000 in its Raise the Paddle fundraiser. The money will go toward a new operating room, the hospital’s Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment and a biospecimen research program. The hospital is part of St. Joseph Health System, an Orange-based Catholic hospital operator with four local facilities.
Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County in Anaheim received $125,000 from Wells Fargo & Co. as part of the bank’s priority markets program. The program gives up to $250,000 to nonprofits overseeing large building or renovation projects. Neighborhood Housing Services develops and finances affordable housing in needy neighborhoods.
Costa Mesa-based Working Wardrobes raised $85,000 at its Blue Jeans and the Blues event. The nonprofit provides unemployed people with career development programs and access to wardrobes and grooming services.
California State University, Fullerton received a $50,000 Wal-Mart Foundation grant to help it increase the retention rates of first-year Hispanic students in the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences.
The Real Estate Survivor’s Holiday Bash raised $50,000 for wounded veterans. About 400 people in the real estate industry attended the event, hosted by Newport Beach-based real estate investment company Chase Merritt.
Companies exhibiting at the Produce Marketing Association’s 60th anniversary Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition at the Anaheim Convention Center donated 249,750 pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers to the Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Second Harvest Food Bank provides food to 220,000 people each month.
