Page 2 / News, Trends, Gossip and Stuff To Do : Give It Up for. . . : Teams on Track to Hustle Up Donations

Here’s a chance to run around in circles and actually get somewhere.

Join the Easter Seals 10th Annual 24-Hour Relay on Sept. 18. This year’s teams, which include employees from Vons, Century 21, Coca-Cola, Farmers Insurance, Imperial Bank and West America Graphics, will run, walk and wheel around the track and field at Cal State Long Beach.

Rick Dreiling, president of Vons, said, “The 24-hour relay is a great opportunity for Vons and its employees to have a lot of fun for a wonderful cause.”

Last year’s relay raised $700,000 for the 100 services in Southern California that help children and adults with disabilities.

“After 24 hours of running or walking or even crawling around the track, playing basketball, softball, bingo, or the Hula-Hoop and tug-of-war contests, all those participants were so excited about what they had accomplished,” said Michelle Branson, Easter Seals development manager.

Easter Seals will register a team or accept volunteers at (323) 462-2424.

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The American Jazz Philharmonic’s 19th Annual Garden Musicale, the grand fund-raising finale of the Henry Mancini Institute’s summer education program, was hosted by Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills on Saturday. Eighty musicians completed institute fellowships this summer.

Carl Reiner presided at the event, which raised $70,000. Gina Gerson made opening remarks, and celebrity guests included Rosemary and Robert Stack, Robert Culp and Jack Carter.

“The Garden Musicale is the icing on the cake and supports the continuation of our program, which enhances the lives and careers of so many talented young musicians,” said Jack Elliott, the L.A.-based philharmonic’s music director, who founded the institute in 1996.

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Runners, both adults and children, are invited to a 5K/10K race near the beach by Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 19.

The “Alive & Running” race will raise money for the Suicide Prevention Center at the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, Culver City.

Information is available by calling (310) 751-5444.

“Give It Up for . . . “ will report regularly on selected SoCal benefits, honors and activities--both planned and completed. Please send detailed information to “Give It . . . ,” Southern California Living, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or fax to (213) 237-4888. Photographs also may be sent but cannot be returned.