Golfing for Dollars
Retirement Benefits Group, for the 15th consecutive year, sponsored the PGA Tour stop at the 20th Annual Toshiba Golf Classic, led by principals Michael Castner and Gary Josephs. The tournament ran March 10 to 16 at the Newport Beach County Club, raising more than $1.2 million for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Retirement Benefits’ sponsorship included a luxury skybox on the 17th green, where it hosted 300 invited guests during the event.
“This tournament not only showcases the excitement of Champions Tour golf but its positive impact on the Orange County community is immeasurable,” Castner said.
The Toshiba Classic is one of the largest annual events in Orange County. Each year, it has about 150 sponsors, 120 volunteers, and 85,000 spectators. It produces earnings for local charities and the OC community and has raised more than $16 million for its lead beneficiary, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, and for 45 other OC charities since it began.
Feeding a Need
Employees of Orange County-based Morgan Drexen demonstrated their support of the Orange County Rescue Mission by donating their time the week of March 10 to serve chili alongside staff and volunteers from the mission, staffing the “Chili Van” and serving hot meals to those living on the streets.
“The law firm’s support of the mission is part of a companywide program of assisting charitable organizations, foundations, and fundraising events that make an impact in the community,” the company said.
Packing It Out
Kaiser Permanente volunteers, along with 15 other organizations that included Disneyland Resort, Cox Communications, and Bank of America, packed nearly 5,000 boxes of food at Second Harvest Food Bank for families in Orange County during this year’s Corporate Combined Project on Feb. 22.
“We have long supported volunteering and community service as part of accomplishing our social mission,” said Julie Miller-Phipps, senior vice president and executive director of Kaiser Permanente Orange County. “Our volunteer efforts shine a spotlight on service as a powerful way for us to work together and help the communities we serve to be healthier and to thrive in body, mind and spirit.”
Help for India
The American India Foundation’s Orange County chapter held its inaugural gala on March 8. More than 270 leaders of global business, arts and culture, and philanthropy attended the event at the historical Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
Orange County Chapter Chair Tinnie Grewal and Co-Chair Shiv Grewal, a partner at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, welcomed guests.
The event was chaired by MS International Inc. and the Tarsadia Foundation and featured former U.S. Ambassador to India and former Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste as the keynote speaker.
Guests, inspired by the stories, pledged more than $180,000. The chapter raised approximately $400,000 to help uplift India’s most marginalized communities.
The foundation aims to bring social and economic change to India and said it’s impacted the lives of more than 1.9 million of India’s poor, with a goal or reaching 5 million by 2018.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based nonprofit Families Forward earned Charity Navigator’s four-star top rating for the past four years, placing the organization in the top 6% of charities nationwide and the highest-rated organization in Orange County. It helps families in financial crisis achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. … Irvine-based investment management organization Capital Group donated $15,000 to Pretend City Children’s Museum for its Developing and Discovering Diversity Program, which educates children on the variety of cultures, families and lifestyles represented in the community.
