CHARITY SCORECARD
Jeff and Susan Bridges, Rob and Sheryl Lowe, Christopher and Jan Cross and Chris and Maryann Edgecomb hosted the Dream Foundation’s 11th annual New Year’s Eve benefit in Santa Barbara Dec. 31. The party raised about $600,000 for the foundation, which grants the final wishes of terminally ill adults. Among the 700 guests were Dennis Miller, Kathy Ireland, Priscilla Presley, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sinbad, Christopher Lloyd, Joely Fisher, “JAG’s” David James Elliott, Ed Begley Jr., Robert Hayes, Tim Matheson, Bruce Jenner, actor-comedian Mike Hitchcock and “General Hospital’s” Shel Kepler. Earth, Wind & Fire and Chaka Khan entertained guests under a canopied tent decorated with 1.2 million white twinkle lights, where a lavish buffet was served. An elaborate fireworks display welcomed in 1999. Chris Edgecomb, chief executive of Star Telecommunications, underwrote the event, which is the Dream Foundation’s largest source of revenue.
* Macy’s West announced Dec. 22 that it will grant $820,000 over three years to nine nonprofit agencies as part of an initiative to provide job training and employment skills programs for inner-city residents of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. The agencies are the Brotherhood Crusade and Community Build in Los Angeles, the Institute of Retail Management at Cal State L.A., Madres del Este de Los Angeles and Puente Learning Center in East Los Angeles, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, L.A. chapter, the Los Angeles Urban League, the Bay Area Urban League and the Excelsior Youth Center in San Francisco.
* Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS announced it granted $20,000 Jan. 8 to the Serra Project. It was the 18th grant the foundation has made to the Serra Project since becoming a major donor in 1990. The Serra Project operates four group homes for destitute adults and children with HIV / AIDS in Southern California, as well as the Community Housing Options at Independent Supported Sites program for guided independent living for HIV-infected people who are able to live outside a group setting. The foundation was founded in 1984 in New York and has awarded more than $20 million to agencies providing assistance to people with HIV / AIDS.
Has your group held a charity fund-raiser recently? 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 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.
