| EVENT REPORT 11.05.09 5:17 PM |
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With Help From Lexus, Cedars-Sinai Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Record
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 | Access Hollywood's Billy Bush hosting the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors gala
Photo: Getty Images |
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It might have been an unlikely year for it, but Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's board of governors gala vastly surpassed its past fund-raising success. The gala on Wednesday night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza raised more than $2.6 million for the Board of Governors Heart Stem Cell Center through event revenue like sponsorships and ticket sales (which began at $500 for individual tickets, or $2,500 for packages). The Cedars events team, led by senior event specialist Stacy Seligman Kravitz and senior event coordinator Ken Hudson, oversaw the production, and the honorees were Justin Timberlake; SBE head Sam Nazarian and his father, Younes, and brother, David; and financier Larry Post and his wife, Sandy.
Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush hosted the program, which included cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner and the entertainment. R&B artist Brian McKnight and up-and-comer Charice performed for the crowd, which included Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Ben Silverman, and Andy Garcia.
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Cedars-Sinai, Justin Timberlake, Sam Nazarian, Lexus, Brian McKnight, Charice |
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| NEWS 08.07.09 9:00 AM |
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Fund-Raising Plans for 2010: Cautiously Increased Goals, New Donor Targets, and Online Ticket Sales
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 | Steppenwolf's 2009 gala
Photo: Rick Aguilar Studios |
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As they begin strategizing for 2010, nonprofit event planners are setting higher goals than they did for 2009. But they still don't expect to see fund-raising numbers return to where they were in 2008 and preceding years.
Heather Gere, director of special events at Citymeals-on-Wheels in New York, plans the organization's annual Chefs Tribute, a walk-around tasting that takes place at Rockefeller Center. "From 2004 to 2007, the event was easily raising over $1 million because we had a few major sponsors," Gere said. "Unfortunately, we lost some of that corporate revenue in 2008. This year, it went away altogether,” along with a chunk of ticket revenue.
Ultimately, the 2009 event raised $735,000. "For 2010, we're being optimistic and budgeting $800,000,” Gere said. “We're hoping to beat what we made this year, but we're not trying to say that everything's going to be fine and that we're going to get back to where we were" in 2008, when the benefit raked in $910,000.
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Steppenwolf Theatre, Cedars-Sinai, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Children's Place Association |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.17.09 2:28 PM |
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Cedars-Sinai Family Event Offers Crafts and Games—Inside, to Duck the Rain
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 | Cedars-Sinai's Rock-n-Reel family event
Photo: Vince Bucci |
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Any prescheduled family activity is subject to uncooperative weather—even one planned by a major local hospital. The Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center hosted its Rock-n-Reel fund-raiser on Sunday at Culver Studios, where it was originally scheduled to be held outdoors. But the threat of rain amid persistent June gloom forced the event to Stage 3 at the 11th hour.
The afternoon for children who suffer from the disease and their families included activities, games, a beauty shop, and a sports bar, as well as musical entertainment by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Sharon Stone and Hayden Panettiere were guest speakers. The hospital's associate director for special events and support group relations Laura Fuhrman oversaw the program, which was a debut of a new format. The previous incarnation, known as Pamper Me Pink, was geared toward women and drew fewer than 300 guests. This year's event drew more than 400, and Fuhrman estimated it came close to its fund-raising goal of about $400,000, although final numbers had not been tallied. The event honored producer Alexandra Milchan-Lambert and Relativity Media's Scott Lambert.
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Cedars-Sinai, Stila, Urban Decay, OPI |
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| WHO'S DOING WHAT 06.12.09 11:30 AM |
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Fulfillment Fund's Kravitz Moves to Cedars-Sinai
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 | | Cedars-Sinai's Stacy Kravitz |
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After seven and a half years as the director of special events for the Fulfillment Fund, Stacy Kravitz has left the nonprofit to become the senior events specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She begins her new position on Monday.
In her new role, Kravitz will work on approximately 50 to 60 major fund-raising events per year for the hospital. “I look forward to making a strong contribution to the medical center's meaningful goals in the community," she said.
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Fulfillment Fund, Cedars-Sinai |
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| EVENT REPORT 12.04.08 11:14 AM |
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Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Gala Exceeds Fund-Raising Goal With $1.2 Million Take
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 | The Cedars-Sinai gala
Photo: Thomas Neerken |
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About 850 guests convened at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Tuesday night for the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors gala, which resulted in big dollars raised even in the face of the tough economic climate. “We’re looking to net $1 million,” said Cedars-Sinai's Laura Fuhrman before the event. But the final tally reflected even more: The event raised more than $1.2 million for the new Board of Governors Heart Stem Cell Center at Cedars-Sinai.
Larry King hosted the gala, which honored John Bendheim and Ryan Seacrest for their philanthropic efforts on behalf of the hospital; celebrity friends including Priscilla Presley and the Kardashians presented awards. Lexus sponsored the event, and a model of the new Lexus hybrid vehicle stood in the ballroom as decor that doubled as a raffle prize awarded during dinner.
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Cedars-Sinai, Ryan Seacrest, Lionel Richie, David Archuleta, Lexus |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.09.08 6:32 PM |
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Berry Gordy Tribute Gala Packs Stage With Motown Peformers
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 | The gala's live performances
Photo: Curtis Dahl/Dahl Photographers |
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The Heart Foundation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center honored Motown Records founder Berry Gordy with a gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Saturday, where the draw was, appropriately, the music. More than 500 guests attended the event, which showcased Gordy’s impact on the entertainment industry through iconic images in the ballroom’s reception area (including a black-and-white photo of Gordy with Michael Jackson), and video tributes that included messages from Lionel Richie, Bill Cosby, and Magic Johnson.
The Heart Foundation’s director of operations, Catherine Erlinger, turned to AOO Events executive producer and creative director David Merrell to produce the entertainment-heavy evening. Debbie Allen choreographed a dance performed by her daughter, Vivian Nixon, and M.C. Mary Hart shared anecdotes on Gordy’s golf game with the audience. Two Lakers jerseys, signed by the current NBA team, netted $22,000 in a live auction in support of the foundation.
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Heart Foundation, Cedars-Sinai |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 02.29.08 7:07 PM |
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Southern California's Top Sports Events 2008
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 | The Los Angeles marathon
Photo: Ben Liebenberg/WireImage |
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1. City of Los Angeles Marathon
The 2008 race is set for March 2, with Honda as the presenting sponsor. More than a million spectators are expected to watch 25,000 runners along the course, which starts at Universal Studios and ends in downtown L.A. Other race-day events include the Emerald Nuts 5K Run/Walk and the Acura L.A. Bike Tour.
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Southern California's Top 100 Events, Honda, Emerald Nuts, Acura, Pacific Life, United States Tennis Association, Toyota, Cedars-Sinai, Chrysler, Countrywide |
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| NEWS 11.19.07 3:17 PM |
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TV Talent Entertains at Road to a Cure
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 | The Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors' third annual Road to a Cure.
Photo: Vince Bucci Photography |
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The Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors tapped a roster of television personalities to entertain guests at its third annual Road to a Cure fund-raising gala last Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Former ’NSyncer and current host of NBC’s The Singing Bee Joey Fatone was the M.C. of the evening and sang classics like “The Lady Is a Tramp” with fellow Dancing With the Stars alums Drew Lachey, Joey McIntyre, and Joey Lawrence. (The performance sparked an impromptu discussion at our table about which boy band each man hailed from. If you're keeping score, Lachey was in 98 Degrees and McIntyre was in New Kids on the Block, but Lawrence was just in sitcoms.)
The board honored producer Walter Mirisch, philanthropists Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine, and NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studio co-chairman Ben Silverman, who was introduced and serenaded by Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams. (Silverman is an executive producer for the ABC comedy.) Williams’s Ugly Betty costar Michael Urie, who plays her sycophantic assistant, joined her onstage in character, flashing images to correspond with lyrics. (Urie held up a photo of Silverman as Williams sang “The Man That Got Away.”) —Rosalba Curiel
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Cedars-Sinai |
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