The Center for the Partially Sighted raised...

The Center for the Partially Sighted raised nearly $300,000 at its annual Hope in Sight dinner and auction May 5. About 450 people attended the event at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Hugh O’Brian presented the Vision Award to Reva and George Graziadio and Imperial Bank for their outstanding creativity and lifetime contributions to the community and to the center. Entertainment featured Gloria Loring and the Young Musician’s Debut Orchestra. John O’Hurley, who played J. Peterman on “Seinfeld,” emceed the evening. George Graziadio is co-founder and chairman of Imperial Bank, and president, chairman and chief executive of Imperial Bancorp. Imperial Bank has been the center’s bank for most of its 20 years. Graziadio and his wife had parents who lost some of their vision late in life. The Center for the Partially Sighted is a vision rehabilitation agency, which trains people with impaired sight to function independently.

* More than 300 guests attended the American Lung Assn. of Los Angeles County’s Breath of Life awards gala banquet May 6 at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The event, which included a live auction and dancing, raised more than $100,000 to fight lung disease. Breath of Life awards were given to Maria Contreras-Sweet, state secretary of business, transport and housing; tuberculosis survivor and president of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation’ Dionicio Morales; the Consul General of Mexico, Jose Angel Pescador Osuna; and former California Rep. Edward R. Roybal. Actress Carmen Zapata served as mistress of ceremonies, while Maritza Mendizabal, vice president of community relations for the association, was banquet chair. The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation’s Senior Mariachi Band played for guests at a cocktail reception before dinner, where attendees also viewed a Mexican art exhibit. Trips to Puerto Vallarta, Malaysia, Hawaii and Las Vegas were featured in the auction.

* Billy Idol, Paul Sorvino and Beata Pozniak were among the celebrities and prominent people from the art world who attended the Chase Foundation’s fourth annual Art From the Heart fund-raiser for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Hosted by Susan and Robin Richards and Nessa and Robert Cooper, the evening attracted about 350 people and brought in nearly $300,000 for art and play therapy programs at the hospital. Many of the artists whose work was up for auction also attended, including Guy Dill, Lita Albuquerque, Fred Eversley, Guillermo Bert, Vadim Grinberg and Diane Holland. The auction was conducted by Andrea Fiuczynski of Christie’s Los Angeles and included works of Frank Gehry, Dennis Hopper (the actor), Ed Moses, Billy Al Bengston, Dale Chihuly, Tony Berlant and John Baldessari. Art historian Marian Amatullo also curated the “Child Within” exhibit, centered on the theme of childhood and featuring works by Donald Baechler, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Mike Kelley and Andy Warhol. The Chase Foundation has built two Chase Place facilities at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles as well as the mobile Chase Place on wheels. Supervised by a childhood development specialist and an artist-in-residence, gravely ill children create art, write poetry and play games in Chase Place facilities.

* Dennis Hopper and his wife, Victoria, attended the Los Angeles Conservancy’s opening of the L.A. Modernism Show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on May 7. The 518 guests were treated to top artworks of the last 100 years, and more than $12,000 was raised for the conservancy. Attendance for the three days of the Modernism Show was more than 6,000. The conservancy is dedicated to the recognition, preservation and revitalization of Los Angeles’ historic architectural resources.

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.