CHARITY SCORECARD
California First Lady Sharon Davis presented the Luis Lainer Founder’s Award to George G. Golleher at the 25th anniversary celebration of Bet Tzedek Legal Services on Jan. 23. Golleher, president and chief operating officer of Fred Meyer Inc. and a longtime supporter of Bet Tzedek, was the inaugural recipient of the award. More than 1,400 people attended the dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, and raised $1.9 million to support Bet Tzedek’s representation of the elderly, indigent and disabled on housing, health care and consumer fraud issues. The inaugural Rose L. Schiff Commitment to Justice Award for outstanding pro bono work to the community was presented to the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Ron Burkle was honorary chairman of the event. Bet Tzedek, which means “house of justice” in Hebrew, is a nonprofit, nondenominational, poverty law center with offices in Los Angeles and North Hollywood.
* Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County reaped the benefits of the grand opening of the newest Left at Albuquerque restaurant location at the Block in Orange on Jan. 27. More than 500 guests dined on the restaurant’s Southwestern cuisine and watched a ceremonial blessing performed by members of the Xipe Totec Indian tribe. A giant ceremonial check for $3,000 from Left at Albuquerque founders Duke Rohlen and Maurice Werdegar was presented to Tom Seeberg, director of the Second Harvest Food Bank. The food bank was established in 1983 and provides food to more than 180,000 people each month.
* The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles honored the drivers and crews of the Trans-Am racing series (1966 through the summer of 1972) at a Jan. 30 celebration at the museum. About 500 people attended the event, including Parnelli Jones, 1970 Trans-Am series champion, Indy 500 star and Ford factory team driver; George Follmer, 1972 Trans-Am series champion, Indy 500 star and Ford factory team driver; Jim Hall, Chopard racing team owner and developer of Chaparral Can-Am cars; Carroll Shelby, Ford factory team owner and creator of the Cobra sports car; Dan Gurney, Indy cars, Formula One and Plymouth Barracuda Trans-Am team owner; and Roy Woods, Pacific Northwest team owner and first independent to win a Trans-Am series. The evening raised about $13,000 for the museum’s Checkered Flag 200 group, which supports programs and exhibitions at the museum.
* Writer-comedian Emily Levine performed a one-woman show at a women’s rights division of Human Rights Watch fund-raiser at the Tiffany Theater in West Hollywood on Feb 1. Among the 100 guests were Norman Lear, Barry and Maggie Kemp, and Annie Potts. About $13,000 was raised for the group, dedicated to protecting the rights of people around the world.
Has your group held a charity fund-raiser recently? 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 news release to Charity Scorecard, Southern California Living, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or fax to (213) 237-4888. Submissions must reach us no more than two weeks after the benefit.
