John Varvatos Stuart House fundraiser tally tops $1.1 million

John Varvatos and a cadre of celebrity guests including Amy Adams and Willie Nelson helped raise a record $1.1 million to benefit Stuart House, a program of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, event organizers announced Thursday.

Although the annual fundraiser, now in its 11th year, took place on April 13 and notched an impressive $939,000, an online silent auction continued to accept bids through April 23. When the virtual gavel came down and all the proceeds from that auction (as well as a live auction and the donation of 25% of purchases at Varvatos’ West Hollywood boutique in advance of the event) were tallied, an additional $176,000 was added to that amount, putting the total amount raised over the last 11 years at more than $4.6 million.

The record amount raised couldn’t come at a better time for the 26-year-old Stuart House, a program created to serve the special needs of sexually abused children and their families, which is set to break ground Friday morning on a new Santa Monica facility that will double the number of children who can be assisted as well as create a training center for first responders.

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adam.tschorn@latimes.com