Hearty Cheers to the Generous Spirits Pitching in This Season

To the many social terriers who’ve doggedly pursued good works while having good fun, we offer a hearty wassail (the toast, not the punch):

Dyan Cannon and Mellon First Business Bank, who received a Spirit of Hope Award at the H.E.L.P. Group’s annual Teddy Bear Ball at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Luke Perry, as Santa Claus, auctioned off a puppy. They raised $250,000 for services to more than 3,500 needy people. . . .

John Sykes, president of VH1, and John Wells, producer of the TV drama “ER,” who were honored at the ACLU of Southern California’s Bill of Rights Awards Dinner. Ring Lardner Jr., the only surviving member of the Hollywood 10, who accepted the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award on behalf of his colleagues, screenwriters who were jailed for refusing to testify in 1947 before the House Un-American Activities Committee. . . .

Talent agent Michael Greene, whose group, We Have a Dream to Outlaw Hunger & Homelessness, staged its ninth annual Streetstock on L.A.’s Skid Row with help from Charlie Sheen, Sally Kirkland, Jordan Bridges, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Kiss’s Ace Frehley and Alice Cooper’s Eric Singer (some of my favorite bands). About 2,000 homeless people received meals, toys, games and free medical exams Dec. 12. . . .

Rachel Hunter, David Chokachi and Dustin Nguyen, who hosted a fashion show of the designs of Charles Lapson to benefit L.A. Shanti, which provides direct services to people with AIDS. . . . Steadfast party doyen Jim Watterson, who opened his magnificent Pasadena hacienda for a holiday “Celebration in Style” to benefit the L.A. Fashion Group Foundation’s Scholarship Fund and Las Familias Del Pueblo. . . .

House of Blues Concerts and Radio City Entertainment, and the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which collaborated to donate more than $250,000 in tickets to youngsters for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Universal Amphitheatre. . . .

Super-sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who was honored at the 12th annual Spirit of Achievement Award Gala last week at the Century Plaza Hotel. . . .

The Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Assn., whose 32nd annual Holiday Look-In home tour raised more than $100,000; and members of the Auxiliary of the Methodist Hospital of Southern California, whose home tour yielded around $40,000 for cardiac care at the Arcadia hospital. . . .

Dr. Joyce Kakkis , ball chairwoman, and Rod Steiger, Man of the Year, who helped raise more than $200,000 at the 20th annual Le Bal des Papillons to benefit Interval House, a Seal Beach shelter for battered women and their children. . . . Evelyn Pittsenbarger and daughter Robin Swanson; the dynamic duo chaired the 53rd annual “Touch of Holiday Splendor” sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Guild of UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. More than 300 helped raise $21,000. . . . Marina Forstmann Day, who was spotlighted at a dinner at Shutters hotel, for her role in establishing the Friends of CLARE, a support group for the Santa Monica-based agency that helps people recovering from substance abuse.