Benefactor Brunch
On June 1, nearly 270 guests attended the 36th Annual Circle 1000 Founders’ Celebration Brunch at Balboa Bay Resort. The Circle 1000 Founders’ Committee welcomed donors, sponsors, Hoag physicians and staff, and volunteer leaders who together raised more than $1.1 million for the Hoag Family Cancer Institute.
This brings Circle 1000’s total funds raised to $24 million over its 36-year history.
At the event, Sue Hagestad, past chair of the Circle 1000 Founders’ Committee, received the 2023 Vin Jorgensen Award.
The event, hosted by co-chairs Lin Auer and Marianne Larkin, featured guest speaker Hayley Arceneaux, physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and author of “Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships.”
The 31-year-old pediatric osteosarcoma survivor became the youngest American and the first person with a prosthetic body part launched into space when she was chosen for SpaceX’s Inspiration4 all-civilian mission in 2021.
The brunch was underwritten by several foundations, including The Beall Family Foundation, The Frome Family Foundation, The Lewis Family Foundation, and The Rhorer Family Foundation, as well as many longtime donors and community leaders.
Rivals Fore Cancer Research
Kure It Cancer Research’s Rivals Cup Golf Tournament drew a sold-out contingent of 149 golfers to Pelican Hill Golf Club for its sixth annual tournament. The June 9 event raised $310,000 for USC Cancer Center and UCLA Cancer Center.
The event’s title sponsor was Lugano Diamonds. Course sponsors included Briggs Electric, Main Electric Supply, Nahin Group, US Storage Centers, Westport Properties, Sperry Equities, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Aston Martin Newport Beach was the car sponsor.
Burton Young, course sponsor and president of Sperry Equities, co-chaired the event with Todd Perry, chief financial officer of Briggs Electric and a board chair at Kure It Cancer Research, and Andy Chaffee, director of strategic accounts at Lexis Nexis.
Participating Kure It Cancer Research board members included Charles Byerly, CEO and president of Westport Properties and US Storage Centers, and Paul McDonald, senior vice president of sales at Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. Linda Young, president and managing partner of Elite OC Productions, was event planner. Byron Scott, former Los Angeles Lakers player, was on hand to play golf and meet and greet fans.
Tournament highlights included the announcement by Perry that Kure It Cancer Research had recently funded $100,000 research projects at both the UCLA Jonsson and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
It’s in the Blood
On July 5, Antis Roofing & Waterproofing celebrated its 100th blood drive for the American Red Cross.
The marathon blood drive began in early 2020, when Antis founder and CEO Charles Antis learned that the Red Cross faced a critical shortage of blood after it had to cancel more than 19,000 drives across the nation.
With quarantining and social distancing rules affecting all non-essential workers, companies that were typically counted on to open their conference rooms for blood drives had to cease.
Antis Roofing & Waterproofing had 6,000 square feet of unused sanitized office space adjacent to its Irvine headquarters that it offered to the Red Cross of Orange County to host a series of blood drives.
“There was a genuine concern if we couldn’t figure out locations to hold blood drives, we would be facing another health crisis for hospital patients depending on lifesaving blood transfusions,” said Becky Firey, executive director of Red Cross of Orange County.
“I cannot stress enough what a lifeline it was, to have partners like Antis step forward during that time to open their doors to host blood drives.”
Three years later, the ongoing blood drive schedule continues in the same building with two to three blood drives each month and more than 2,400 units of blood collected to date. The volume is enough to save more than 7,000 lives.
The Antis Roofing & Waterproofing blood drives partner with California Love Drop, co-founded by Wing Lam, to provide a lunch of Wahoo’s Fish Taco burritos and Yogurtland treats for everyone who donates blood.
Lam is a co-founder of Wahoo’s Fish Taco.
Bits & Pieces
The Illumination Foundation hosted its annual Carnival for Kids on July 15, a free community event that featured carnival rides, children’s activities, a petting zoo, pony rides, a DJ and more, which was sponsored in part by U.S. Bank, Farmers & Merchants Bank, Bickerstaff Family Foundation, CalOptima, Dr. Jacqueline DuPont-Carlson and Marc Carlson, Prospera Hotels, Hytron Manufacturing and Applied Medical.
On June 21, 2,000 people attended the 2023 Day of Music Fullerton, which featured 79 musical artists performing in more than 21 venues throughout Downtown Fullerton, raising $13,000 for the Fox Fullerton Theater project that is working to restore the theater to its original 1920s grandeur.
In June, Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley announced its collaboration with the Huntington Beach School District to provide daily, free after school programs at its Haynes Family Huntington Beach Branch for children in grades K-6, including STEM and reading programs, sports activities, arts and crafts, leadership development, and social emotional learning, thanks to funding from the State of California’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP).
