The Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded two San Diego organizations $200,000 each through the bank’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative program. City Heights Community Development Corp. and Urban Corps were named 2009 Neighborhood Builders. “The program recognizes outstanding organizations and provides valuable unrestricted financial support and professional development opportunities — critical to the long-term success of our communities,” said Janet Lamkin, Bank of America’s California president … The Torrey Pines Kiwanis Club recognized Peter Ballantyne of Clairemont with the 2009 Robert Metz Award. The award honors a volunteer who uses his or her talents with exceptional spirit and attitude in producing the annual La Jolla Festival of the Arts. Ballantyne has been associated with the festival for 10 years in entertainment and site management functions. The festival raises funds to support rehabilitative programs for disabled veterans returning from Iran and Afghanistan … The Building Industry Association of San Diego County donated furnishings for an apartment to Just in Time for Foster Youth from its BIA Cares Furniture Fantasy event held Sept. 26. BIA Cares raised $60,000 by selling model home furnishings and office furniture … The Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge raised $1 million to support the Challenged Athletes Foundation. On Oct. 17, 100 cyclists left San Francisco and arrived in San Diego on Oct. 23. The funds raised will help fund CAF programs such as Access for Athletes to purchase equipment like Ossur running feet, hand cycles, basketball wheelchairs and mono skis. It also provides funding for training, coaching and competition expenses so that challenged athletes can participate in competitions, including the Paralympic Games … Easter Seals Southern California Disability Services’ eighth annual Walk With Me raised $50,000 to benefit children and adults with disabilities. Sponsors included CVS Caremark, Amway Global, Century 21, MassMutual and Pat & Oscar’s … UC San Diego hosted the 14th annual Chancellor’s Challenge 5K Run/Walk for Scholars. The $200,000 raised will support undergraduate scholarships through the $50 million Invent the Future student support campaign … In response to the San Diego County Office of Education’s marketing efforts to top Fortune 500 companies, Target, REI and Kaiser Permanente donated $150,000 to Cuyamaca Outdoor School. The donations also support iTV, the county’s education cable TV station. Kaiser Permanente contributed $100,000 toward the Green Machine, a county Office of Education van that travels to campuses teaching students about food and healthy eating. Target donated $50,000 toward scholarships for students to attend camp. Recreation stores REI and Adventure 16 Inc. donated $10,000 for equipment … The Surfrider Foundation received a $20,000 donation from Cali Bamboo. The gift is split between the organization’s national headquarters and the San Diego chapter, which will use the funds to support clean water initiatives that protect oceans, waves and beaches. “Being in San Diego, the ocean is our backyard, which makes the Surfrider Foundation an organization that our company is passionate about supporting,” said Jeff Goldberg, CEO of Cali Bamboo … The 12th annual Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute Invitational Dinner and Golf Tournament was held Oct. 4 and 5. The $125,000 raised benefits Scripps Whittier’s clinical research center and Project Dulce, a diabetes care and education program that addresses the specific needs of under-served, ethnically diverse populations. Dr. Jeffrey Sandler was awarded the Jessop Award at the event. Sandler was recognized for his exemplary citizenship and significant contributions to the fight against diabetes. Dr. Francine Kaufman received the Pacesetter Award as acknowledgment of Medtronic Diabetes’ technological strides in diabetes management. Kaufman is chief medical officer of Medtronic Diabetes … The 47th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Gourmet Dinner was held Oct. 22 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. LPL Financial Services was the sponsor of the event, which raised $400,000. Paul Palmer, CEO and president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County, said, “The funds raised through the Gourmet Dinner will help us recover the shortfall from decreased funding and will help us achieve serving over 1,600 children this year with life-changing programs and services.”
Please send Kudos and Giving items to Joyce Glazer at jglazer@sdbj.com.
