Jewish Family Services Gala honorees
Jewish Family Service of San Diego held its annual Heart & Soul Gala at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla on Mar. 16. This year’s theme, Make An Impact, celebrated the accomplishments of Barbara Bry, Judy and Mike Feldman and Charitable Adult Rides & services, Inc. The event is a major fundraiser for Jewish Family Service, which provides social services for more than 35,000 members of the community annually. The evening raised $860,000 to benefit the 50 programs of JFS. ” It’s very satisfying knowing that the hours I spend volunteering are for an organization that is so vital in the community–that they make a real difference to people in need,” said Joyce Axelrod, Co-chair of the Gala.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego received a $50,000 donation from the S. Mark Taper Foundation. The funding will help the charity provide food, lodging and emotional support for families with acritacally ill or injured child being treated at a nearby hospital.
Farmers Insurance and the Century Club of San Diego, host of the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open, recognized eight participating Birdies for Charity organizations on Mar. 18 at the Hall of Champions at the 2013 Birdies Breakfast. 2013 was the first year that the program was brought to the Farmers Insurance Open, and in its inaugural year at the tournament, generated $420,000 for the participating youth organizations through pledges and donations along with a $125,000 bonus fund provided by Farmers Insurance and the Century Club of San Diego. The program began in September of 2012 and ran through the 2013 tournament. During this time the charities solicited pledges from individuals and corporations who support their organization. From there, the pledges were applied to every birdie made during the tournament. This year, PGA TOUR professionals made 1,560 birdies during the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open.
Councilmember Kevin Faulconer put together a team which included 40 students from the visiting University of Sioux Falls Concert Chorale to participate in the first organized “spring beach cleanup” in 2013. The group was in town after recently performing for the Pope in Vatican City. They had previously committed to helping the communities it visits during its tours. They went to Mission Bay in conjunction with the Surfrider Foundation for beach cleanup. When David and Lesley Cohn, Cohn Restaurant Group learned of their participation, they reached out to Faulconer’s camp and invited the entire group of students and volunteers to dine at the Corvette Diner as their guests. David Cohn addressed the group of 60 and thanked them for their generosity in participating in the beach cleanup.
John Moores
Employees of prAna’s were loaded on to school buses, along with sack lunches and went to Alvin Dunn Elementary School and Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School in support of Rolling Readers’ new program expansion. The athletic apparel company also donated 150 new books to the schools. Rolling Readers, an organization dedicated to helping low-income, at-risk children enjoy reading, recently expanded its program to San Marcos at the two Title 1 schools. The organization currently serves 6,300 children living in low-income communities in San Diego.
Philanthropist, businessman and community leader John Moores has given The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) approximately $2 million to fund the development of a new field test for Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions. Moores, former chair of the TSRI Board of Trustees, has been a leader in the fight against worm-carried conditions. In 2005, he founded the Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM) at TSRI with a $4 million gift.
Big Brothers Big Sisters San Diego County was recognized as a 4 star Non-Profit by Charity Navigator. Bumble Bee is the 2013 Corporate Partner of the Year at this year’s “Big Salute” to be held on the Midway on Apr. 27. Bumble Bee is recognized as an outstanding partner helping to find volunteers and support the matches served by BBBS.
Joyce Glazer
Please send news items to Joyce Glazer at [email protected].
