Around Town: Big Brothers Big Sisters promotes Newport Beach resident
Newport Beach resident Sloane Keane was promoted to the newly created role of chief development officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Keane joined Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2013 as director of fund development and helped double the organization’s revenue from $2.6 million to well over $5 million, according to a news release.
The gain enabled the group to increase the number of youths served to more than 3,000 annually, the release said.
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Speak Up Newport awards $9,000 to local high school graduates
Speak Up Newport, a nonprofit residents group, presented a total of $9,000 in scholarships to two Corona del Mar High School students and two Newport Harbor High School students.
The Dorothy Hardcastle Scholarship Awards are given annually to graduating seniors to recognize their community contributions.
Students Ryan Levenson and Sean Farhat were the recipients this past school year at Corona del Mar High. Ryan is an Eagle Scout with nearly 2,200 community service hours. Sean has been involved in the Environmental Nature Center, the Newport Beach Public Library and the Newport Beach Mayor’s Youth Council.
Recipients at Newport Harbor are Cooper Hendrix and Henry Lyons. Cooper is an Eagle Scout and has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Henry has completed more than 180 hours of community service and was selected to the Mayor’s Youth Council.
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Balboa Bay Club Gentleman’s Smoker raises $45,000 for scholarships
The annual Balboa Bay Club Gentleman’s Smoker on Aug. 5 raised more than $45,000 for the club’s Student Scholarship Fund, the club said.
Guests paid at least $250 per seat at the waterfront dinner.
Scholarships go to graduating high school seniors in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and are awarded in June. Awards range from $1,000 to $20,000.
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SOS gathers 4,300 backpacks for children
Costa Mesa-based nonprofit Share Our Selves’ annual Back-to-School Program last month received more than 4,300 backpacks filled with school supplies for Orange County children.
The backpacks were made possible by contributions from individuals and organizations.
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Costa Mesa budget available online
Costa Mesa’s latest spending plan is available for public viewing on the city’s website.
Two versions of the $144.6-million budget, adopted by the City Council in June, are available online. One details the full budget while a shorter “budget in brief” summarizes its major aspects.
To view either document, visit costamesaca.gov.
The current budget covers the 2016-17 fiscal year, which started July 1 and runs through June.
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Luau helps raise funds to fight kidney disease
Newport Beach-based nonprofit Kidney for Life sponsored a luau party Sunday to raise funds for the nonprofit, which was established eight years ago by its president, Dorothy Liener.
Liener’s husband developed kidney disease and later died from kidney-related complications.
Kidney for Life works to raise awareness of kidney disease, offer guidance to patients and support medical research in the field.
For more information or to make donations, visit kidneyforlife.org.