Charity Scorecard

* The Ace of Hearts Strolling Strings, dinner from Patina and some prehistoric creatures provided the ambience at the Dinosaur Ball to benefit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The party was held on March 14 at the museum in Exposition Park in Los Angeles. Some guests will be back for a sleepover in the museum’s Dinosaur Hall, one of the items in a silent auction. It all netted $365,720 for the museum.

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More than 1,000 women turned out for the 14th annual Gay and Lesbian Service Center’s Women’s Night ’98 on March 7 at the Beverly Hilton. The sold-out event honored Ellen DeGeneres with the Creative Integrity Award. California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Sheila James Kuehl, one of the country’s highest-ranking openly gay or lesbian public officials, received the Community Role Model Award, and U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) received the organization’s first Special Board of Directors Award for her support of anti-discrimination and AIDS health-care legislation. The event raised $316,000 for the center’s services for women.

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Children at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica have collected $186 for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Homeless Task Force by earning money for helping out at home. The students learned about philanthropy by working on the program, which collects donations in dolphin banks on the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Pier. To date, the banks have raised more than $40,000 for local agencies serving homeless people.

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Beauty Industry West netted $25,000 to benefit Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions’ research on chronic fatigue syndrome at a party on March 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Celebrities on hand included actress Julie Newmar and singers Jermaine Jackson and Diane Schurr. The honoree was Bijan executive Sondra Love.

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SHARE Inc. (Share Happily and Reap Endlessly) recently disbursed checks for more than $1 million to 36 local agencies. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a major recipient of funds raised by the charity, and this year the Kids Cafe after-school meals program for poor children, founded by Steven Spielberg and Henry Winkler, was among new groups to be supported. Founded 45 years ago by women executives and wives of executives in the entertainment industry, SHARE has raised more than $31 million for charities. Its major fund-raiser, the annual Boomtown party, will be held May 9 at CBS Television City.

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“A Night for Hope,” sponsored by the Music and Entertainment Industry for the City of Hope National Medical Center, featured an auction of memorabilia and celebrity experiences--including tickets and a visit backstage with the musical group Hanson, which went for $16,000 to Aimee Osbourne, daughter of rocker Ozzy. Top bid of the night was Westwood One Chairman Norman J. Pattiz’s $20,000 offer for a week as editor of Hits magazine. The March 5 event at Christie’s Los Angeles raised $131,000 for medical research and treatment.

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The Children’s Burn Foundation will receive $250,000, proceeds of its “Giving New Hope” dinner on Feb. 26 at the Beverly Hilton. The evening saluted retired First Interstate Bancorp Chairman Ed Carson and his wife, Nadine, who have been active for the foundation and numerous other philanthropic causes. The charity provides counseling and post-acute care to children who have been severely burned.

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Has your group held a recent charity fund-raiser? Let us know about it. We will report on selected local benefit projects and events. Please tell us about your organization and the charity you support, how much you raised, how the charity uses your gift and the details of your event--what, when and where. Send a letter or press release to Social Sunday, Life & Style, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or fax to (213) 237-4888.