Orange County 100 Women Who Care relaunches with Newport Beach event
Brandi Marshall is a reality television star on “Selling the OC,” an unscripted Netflix show which chronicles life at the Oppenheim Group real estate brokerage.
Marshall also knows that life itself doesn’t always stick to a script.
Her mother, Angela Johnson, passed away last December after a battle with brain cancer.
“After that, I really felt compelled to really get more involved in charity and fundraising and things like that,” Marshall said. “I’m on a reality show, but people don’t know the other side of me. This is a good way for me to show who I really am, outside of the cameras.”
Marshall is one of three co-chairs for Orange County 100 Women Who Care, which hosted its relaunch event Tuesday night at the Oppenheim Group office in Corona del Mar.
Kure It Cancer Research, a Newport Beach-based nonprofit that funds underfunded cancer research projects across the United States, walked away with a check for $11,051.70.
The 100 Women Who Care idea, which has grown to include chapters around the country, was started in 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Michigan. The premise is simple, as 100 philanthropic women get together and each donate $100 for the event.
On Tuesday night, the women heard five-minute pitches from three different local nonprofit organizations: Extraordinary Lives Foundation, Kure It and the Jessie Rees Foundation.
They then voted for the winner to receive all of the funds collected, which were in excess of the $10,000 goal. The event had no overhead, co-chair Jennifer Annes said, due to generous sponsorships, meaning Kure It got the totality of the money raised.
“It’s nationwide, but it’s great to have this here in Orange County,” Annes said. “The difference between Orange County and some of the other areas is that we have a great number of charities here. There’s a lot of events going on, but sometimes people get stuck in their typical galas and their typical circles. It’s hard for some of these smaller charities to have the opportunity to break through and get in front of some of these people who have plenty of funds and means to support.”
Brooke Adams, director for Kure It, said that staff will work with the medical advisory board to determine what currently needs the most funding. The nonprofit was founded by Barry Hoeven, who passed away due to kidney cancer in 2016.
Through its Kure It Cares initiative, Adams said the nonprofit is currently working with under-served communities in Orange County to emphasize the importance of screening in fighting treatable cancers.
Kerri Hatfield, president of the Kure It women’s guild, said with a smile she didn’t get to her finishing line of the pitch, as the five-minute time limit was strictly enforced. But she emphasized the power of the 100 Women Who Cares idea.
More than the money, the idea is raising awareness, Kristy Olson agreed. Olson, who works at the Oppenheim Group with Marshall, was the third co-chair for the group.
“We’re all a bunch of successful, powerful women,” Olson said. “If somebody in the audience is like, ‘You know what, that charity really resonates with me,’ you can either donate your time or donate your money directly to them. It’s still a win-win [if they aren’t selected], because you didn’t know about them before … It just spirals into more ways to give back to the community.”
The OC 100 Women Who Care plan to meet quarterly, Olson said, with the next event in January.
The three Orange County-based nonprofits chosen to present at the next event — nominated by those in attendance Tuesday and chosen by drawing — were Tilly’s Life Center, Farmhouse Rescue and Orangewood Foundation.
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