Benefit Nets $225,000 for Israel Orchestra Tour

American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra netted $225,000 at an Aug. 23 benefit at the Beverly Hilton. The proceeds will finance the orchestra’s tour and performances in Los Angeles. Co-chairs were Nancy and Zubin Mehta. Among the guests were Margo and Irwin Winkler, Barbara and Marvin Davis, Felicia and Jack Lemmon, and Veronique and Gregory Peck.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Alfred Jay Firestein Diabetes Center will receive $300,000 raised at the Monty Hall/Arnie Morton’s of Chicago Restaurant 21st annual tennis tournament, held Sept. 10-12. Beverly Prescott Hotel hosted the opening dinner. Preliminary matches were held at the Tennis Place on 3rd Street, exhibition games, auctions and luncheon buffet at Playboy Mansion West. Among the players were L.A. chefs and restaurateurs Wolfgang Puck, Marc Champagne, Jimmy Murphy, David Slay, Hans Rockenwagner.

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Step Up on Second raised $8,900 at its Aug. 19 “Raise the Roof: A Demolition Party” celebrating the upcoming construction of a $4-million building that will provide additional space for Step Up’s services and 36 units of permanent affordable housing for the mentally ill homeless.

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Lupus Foundation of Southern California received $5,000 from V & M Restoration Inc. in Anaheim, proceeds of the firm’s Aug. 23 invitational golf tournament at Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club. Lupus Foundation provides information, education, research, referral and support services for those affected with the chronic inflammatory disease.

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The Inner-City Games, held at various locations in Los Angeles from Aug. 15 to Aug. 22, raised $40,000 for sports activities for youth. Sponsors included MCA, Pepsi Cola and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Opening ceremonies were attended by Mayor Richard Riordan, former Mayor Tom Bradley, Telma Hopkins, Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Jenner and other celebrities.

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The Magic Johnson Foundation received a $254,000 donation Sept. 11 from Swatch to be used for AIDS research. Swatch also held a benefit sale at the Broadway Beverly Center on Sunday, raising $4,000, with $1,800 of that going to Challengers Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles, the rest to the Magic Johnson Foundation.

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Starlight Foundation, established to grant wishes to terminally ill children, received a $5,000 donation from Bally’s of Switzerland in Beverly Hills at the store’s grand opening party Sept. 14.

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Children’s Bureau of Southern California and Children’s Bureau Foundation received $15,000 from individual sponsorships at the Sept. 8 “Annual Round-up” at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum. The money will be used for prevention and treatment services for abused and neglected children. Donald J. Willfong, a board member, was honored for his ongoing dedication and financial contributions to the bureau.