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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Friends and Neighbors Rally to Help Ronald McDonald House

San Diego’s Ronald McDonald House Charities announced that its seventh annual Romp Gala and Hoehn Motors Porsche raffle raised $556,698 to benefit the organization. The event was held recently at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar.

Hoehn Motors Carlsbad donated a 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster or $50,000 cash, winner’s choice, for the charity’s car raffle. The evening included a $75,000 donation from Brian Cahill, chair of Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego board of trustees, in memory of his parents. The gala was led by an executive committee of Carrie Campbell, Leslie Mannes, Jamie Straza and Fernanda Whitworth.

Chuck Day, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego, said this support enables the charity to meet the needs of 15,000 family members each year, “including daytime and overnight guests, who rely on us for lodging, meals, emotional support and other services, as their children face long-term medical challenges.”

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Jewish Family Service of San Diego recently announced a grant from Starbucks Coffee Co. and Feeding San Diego to fund a partnership that will rescue food products from local Starbucks locations countywide. The grant provides Jewish Family Service with a refrigerated van and subsidized funds to pay two part-time staff drivers. JFS will visit 18 Starbucks locations seven days a week, year round, to pick up food that would otherwise have been thrown away. The food will be distributed to those struggling with hunger as part of the first Starbucks FoodShare Program in the nation.

JFS CEO Michael Hopkins said more than 460,000 people in San Diego County are uncertain if they will have enough food to meet the needs of their family, “typically due to insufficient funds or resources.”

JFS is one of three agencies currently participating in the FoodShare Program, including Feeding San Diego and the San Diego Rescue Mission. Five additional San Diego agencies are expected to be added in the future. Together, the eight agencies will rescue nearly 750,000 pounds of food each year from Starbucks locations in San Diego and Imperial counties.

Jewish Family Service was named a 2016 California Nonprofit of the Year and has earned a ninth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

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Access Youth Academy held its 10th Anniversary Gala recently at the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. More than 300 donors and supporters joined the 30-student hosting committee in celebrating a decade of impact including 100 percent high school graduation and college acceptance rates, more than $4.6 million in scholarships and 13 National Urban Squash titles.

The event was sponsored by Qualcomm Inc., SDG&E, The San Diego Foundation and the California Endowment and raised more than $100,000 to help support programming. The San Diego Business Journal was the event’s media partner.

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Oster and Associates, a branding and public relations agency, announced that Hannah Martine, a public relations specialist for the agency, was named the 2016 Susan G. Komen San Diego Honorary Survivor of the Year. Martine was 29 years old when diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that had spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body. The diagnosis was unexpected, as Martine practiced a healthy lifestyle and had no family history of cancer. Martine is now in remission, but shares her story of breast cancer with the media and the public to encourage others to be proactive about their health and to continue to fund research for cancer treatment and cures.

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The McAlister Institute announced that founder and CEO Jeanne McAlister recently celebrated 60 years of sobriety. At 84 years old, she has been faithfully serving the citizens of San Diego for nearly 40 years. The McAlister Institute is one of San Diego County’s leading resources for the treatment of individuals and families suffering from addiction. McAlister has dedicated her life to the organization, taking calls at all hours of the night and rarely taking sick days or vacations. Under her leadership, vision, and dedication, the institute touches the lives of more than 7,000 men, women, children, and teens each year. McAlister is a role model for all who know her, and her compassion toward those struggling with addiction makes her a unique treasure to the San Diego community.

Send Kudos/Giving items to sglidden@sdbj.com.

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