$5M, Flag Waving Fundraiser
The Stars & Stripes Children’s Foundation’s annual tournament—a three-day event held in June at the Hilton Los Cabos in Cabo San Lucas—raised $5 million for children-focused nonprofit organizations.
Such organizations include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire, Miracles for Kids, Orangewood Foundation, Tilly’s Life Center, SBCS, CureDuchenne, Casa de Amparo and Young Lives Redeemed.
The event’s Honorary Charities included Mission Plasticos, which provides reconstructive plastic surgical training and care to those in need around the globe.
More than 650 attendees participated in the event presented by OCVibe; activities included a sportfishing tournament, a golf tournament and three individual benefit concerts with artists including musician Sheryl Crow; Rascal Flatts band member Gary LeVox; singer Gretchen Wilson; musician Uncle Kracker with special guest Sixwire; Journey band member Steve Augeri; and other notables.
“Stars & Stripes is a wonderful experience with world-class entertainment, fishing and golf where we raise millions of dollars to support our sponsored charities; that’s why we call it the Feel-Good Tournament!” Al Baldwin, founder of Baldwin & Sons, said.
The event sponsors included the Merritt Family Trust, F&F Capital Group and Motive Cos.
Event highlights include the presentation of 90 youth-sized bikes provided by the Golden State Food Foundation to local children in Los Cabos and the donation of more than 100 pounds of fish to local food kitchens from the fishing tournament.
Partners for a Cure
CureDuchenne partnered with Ryan Getzlaf, NHL All-Star and retired Anaheim Ducks captain for the 12th annual Getzlaf Golf Shootout at Monarch Beach Golf Links.
The event, which took place on Sept. 8 and 9, raised more than $500,000 to help find and fund a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The annual Getzlaf Golf Shootout brought together professional athletes, celebrities, and community leaders for the two-day event that included an MVP Dinner reception followed by a day of activities and golf in Dana Point.
This year’s sponsors included Porsche, F & F Capital Group, Valus Security, WHGC P.L.C., Duke Spirits, Ayres Hotels, Ayres Construction Company, Independent Capital Management, Inc., TaylorMade, Hydration Room, TSG Wealth Management, OC Local Taproom, Krank Golf, Polar Bear Coolers and others.
“We are truly humbled by the generosity we receive year after year and the impact we’re able to make on the Duchenne community,” said Getzlaf, who sponsored the event with his wife, Paige.
“We are closer than ever before to a cure for this devastating disease and the support of the community means more now than ever before. Together, we will find a cure.”
Debra Miller, co-founder and CEO of CureDuchenne, and Paul Miller, co-founder of CureDuchenne and president and chief operating officer of PMG, spoke of CureDuchenne’s impact, highlighting the first CureDuchenne Clinic for underserved individuals with Duchenne which opened this year and is delivering groundbreaking gene therapy treatments to patients.
Hawken Miller, their 26-year-old son who has Duchenne, shared the urgent need to advance research toward a cure for the thousands of individuals impacted by Duchenne.
Over the past 12 years, the Getzlaf family has raised more than $5.8 million at the Getzlaf Golf Shootout to fund early-stage research and bring new therapies for Duchenne. Getzlaf now serves as player development coordinator for the Ducks.
“We are so thankful for the Getzlafs’ relentless commitment to helping us find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” Debra Miller said.
Lighting Up the Way Forward
More than 220 business leaders, community members, and supporters came together at the Families Forward annual Light Up the Night gala, held on Aug. 25 at Hanger 224 at the Great Park in Irvine, raising $460,000 to support Families Forward’s mission to help local families at risk of homelessness find stable and sustainable housing.
The evening featured an inspiring story from a single mom of three who escaped a violent relationship and didn’t have stable housing for over a year and honored philanthropic individuals in the community.
Guests enjoyed entertainment by FlashPants and participated in a silent auction for a chance to win a stay at a mountain retreat in Big Bear, a stay at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, a Pelican Hill Golf Retreat and more.
Among the honorees was Bank of America, which received Families Forward’s Partner in Hope Award; the company has supported the organization for over a decade through grant support, volunteering and honoring the organization with its Neighborhood Builder Award in 2016.
The Margie Wakeham Legacy Award, named for the founder of Families Forward, was presented to Meg English, former Families Forward board member, donor, and volunteer for more than 15 years.
Event sponsors included U.S. Bank, Pacific Premier Bank, California Bank & Trust, Avalon Bay Communities, Fivepoint, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, Hoag, HLBA and Partner Engineering & Science.
Bits & Pieces
On Aug. 24, Strut Cares, founded by Sonance co-founder Scott Struthers, hosted Cards for the Casa, a charity poker fundraiser to benefit Casa Romantica, which was impacted by San Clemente landslides this year.
The event drew nearly 200 guests, raised $50,000 and was supported by more than 50 local restaurants, shops and businesses, including Tilly’s Life Center, La Ventura, World Poker Tour, Fisherman’s Restaurant, The Bike House, Severson Originals, Picardos Place, J’adore Café, Fig@313, Rancho Capistrano Winery, Heritage Brewery & Barbecue, RJ’s Café, Blooms, Rocket Fizz, The Sheckler Foundation, Sonance, and Stance Socks. …
Lugano Diamonds is underwriting the new Orange County Museum of Art gallery exhibit that runs through Jan. 7, 2024, titled Jennifer Guidi: And so it is, the artist’s first U.S. museum solo show, which highlights the artist’s unique technique in which sand is applied directly to the surface of the canvas while wet, creating ritualistic, repetitive and colorful images. …
John Conners, managing director of Goldman Sachs in Newport Beach, who currently serves as a member of the Dean’s Cabinet at the UCI School of Nursing, an adviser to the board of the YMCA Newport-Mesa, and the Hoag Hospital Foundation, was elected president of the board of directors for The Balboa Island Museum.
