Money Talks . . . L.A. Givers Dig Deeper

“Instead of there being speeches, we’re going to let money talk,” Mayor Tom Bradley told the packed reception room at the Regency Club. The talk was loud--as $1 million to aid L.A.’s homeless was raised in about 15 minutes.

Nathan Shapell, the chairman of Shapell Industries, had put together the event--and the unique private-public partnership, Building a Better Los Angeles, that had tapped the construction industry for the sizable contributions. The public-private aspect wasn’t the only interesting pairing, since conservative Supervisor Mike Antonovich and the Democratic mayor along with Shapell are the co-chairs of the new group.

The way to raise $1 million is simple--have Ed Sanders stand at a podium, hear the first $100,000 bids from Shapell Industries (that’s Shapell and Max Webb), Ray Watt’s Watt Industries, Jona Goldrich from Goldrich and Kest, Morley Construction, Burt and Stuart Sperber and Columbia Savings’ Abe Spiegel. Then, with some gentle prodding from Sanders (certainly an old hand at philanthropic and political money-gathering) came several $50,000 gifts, and some of what seemed--in this crowd--less, but at $25,000 and $10,000 and $5,000 would gladden the heart of any charity-ball chair.

Shapell told the room that he had been alerted to the plight of the homeless in his role as a member of the state’s Little Hoover Commission, which received a report as to the number of children living on the streets: “It left a mark on me which will last a long, long time.”

The children, Shapell said, were “scared of the streets, but more afraid to return home . . . It is absolutely immoral for such conditions to exist here or anywhere,” he said.

The way such money networking works became clear when after a $5,000 commitment from Leonard Glickman and the Spring Street Assn., Metropolitan Theaters’ Bruce Corwin said that Broadway (he’s co-chair of the new “Miracle on Broadway” project) couldn’t let Spring Street get ahead, and he pledged $5,000. Corwin also pointed out that there was no reason other industries couldn’t respond in the same way the development industry had--and that he would begin to tap the entertainment industry.

In what Sanders called “a time-honored custom,” he kept asking the crowd if anyone else “had an urge out there” and then counted down the last $40,000 until the $1 million mark was reached. The money will be distributed by the L.A. Emergency Food and Shelter Program, with the assistance of the Greater Los Angeles Partnership for the Homeless.

The crowd broke up, not unmindful of Sanders’ comment to Shapell: “Nate,” he said, “You’ve done your homework.”

Now if the rest of L.A. would do its “homework,” maybe all the people on the streets would have a home to go to.

MAKING MACKIE--Yes, there is a second generation ready to take over for some of L.A.’s leading social lights--not that, from the looks of them, those lights looked any dimmer Wednesday.

Jenny Jones Rutt and her mother, Mary Bradley Jones, were greeting some three dozen members of CHIPs (that’s the younger support group of The Colleagues) at Neiman-Marcus for lunch. It was all part of the kick-off for the Oct. 9 Bob Mackie fashion extravaganza that Rutt is organizing as a CHIPs benefit with the help of Neiman-Marcus’ Dale Shumate. The Children’s International Institute is the ultimate beneficiary.

So, over lunch CHIPs (like Lisa Bell and her sister-in-law Justine Bloomingdale) discussed what a great party it will be--or, in the case of the sisters-in-law, telling people just when their babies were due this summer. Carolyn Milner explained that she’d finished her term as president of the Los Angeles Junior League--but she will be plenty busy since she’s been appointed to the Grand Jury. Just to show how much punch CHIPs has, four of the six members of the benefit’s honorary committee turned up for smoked salmon and conversation--Wallis Annenberg, Hannah Carter, Erlenne Sprague and Mary Jones. (Betsy Bloomingdale and Paige Rense will be there for the party.)

N-M’s John Martens welcomed the crowd, explaining that he was thrilled to see “so many ladies that we know and who have been real good supporters” of the Beverly Hills store. Looking spiffy were Janice Shumacher, Debbie Lannie, Victoria Mouradian and Narcissa Vanderlip.

There was a tape of Mackie’s most recent line, benefit chair Rutt promised a “great band” for the evening, and with that, everyone headed off for a little shopping.