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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

GO Campaign Event Gambles on Deluxe Strategy

ICON’s headquarters in Chatsworth resembled more of a set from a 1930s film on May 2 than the workshop of an automotive company that builds custom cars with a classic feel. Women lounged in cocktail dresses next to men in suits, arms looped together as they sipped champagne. Dozens of similarly attired guests crowded around casino tables playing black jack and poker, while others bid on a silent auction. Of course, it was all for a good cause. The roughly 300 business leaders and community members were attending the second annual Cars & Casino charity event in support of GO Campaign, a Los Angeles-based non-profit that aims to improve the lives of poor and orphaned children. GO Campaign has served nearly 58,000 children in 28 countries since its 2006 founding. The organization’s mission is to locate communities where children are in need and offer financial and other support to established local programs. “It has to be run by someone in the community, a local leader who is already helping kids, working hard and sacrificing their time,” said Scott Fifer, chief executive of GO Campaign. “We find that if the community has already started it then they’re already invested in it and they’re going to make it work. We fund projects that have a chance to be sustainable.” The non-profit has helped build clean water wells in Africa, school buildings in Mexico and Cambodia and mobile teaching units in Haiti. The Cars & Casino fundraiser – emceed by actor and television host Joel McHale – raised $103,000 dollars. ICON founder Jonathan Ward was pleased to host the charity after learning about the non-profit a year ago. “The idea behind GO Campaign is understanding and identifying people in a local community who know what really needs to happen,” McHale said. “They’re globally unique.” Ward noted that the event took three months to plan as he wanted to make sure that it was a cut above most charity fundraisers. For example, among the silent auction items were a five-night stay in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, a trip to the south of France and a Martin Braun wristwatch. “I hate when I go to events and the auctions are like California Pizza Kitchen tickets for two,” he said. “We really wanted to step it up.” Empowering Women Vanessa Giorgio believes yoga and woman empowerment go hand-in-hand – which is why she and 13 of her customers found themselves in t-shirts and hard hats last month. The owner of Lotus Kitty, a yoga and cycling fitness studio in Studio City, and her customers volunteered May 9 at a Habitat for Humanity project in Santa Clarita. The Woodland Hills office of the Americus, Ga. non-profit is developing a 78-house subdivision for low-income veterans at 21550 Centre Pointe Parkway in Santa Clarita. The weeklong Women Empowerment Build started May 2 and involved roughly 330 female participants who dug ditches, hung drywall and performed other construction tasks. The estimated value of the volunteer effort was pegged at about $50,000. “We were under the impression that we’d just be carrying things, but it was hard work,” Giorgio said, laughing. “They gave us jack hammers and we poured and mixed cement.” Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 to build and rehabilitate homes for the low-income community. It has nearly 1,400 offices nationwide. The Woodland Hills office serves communities within the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. It was one of 300 Habitat for Humanity locations to participate in Women Empowerment Build projects nationwide. Donna Deutchman, Habitat’s chief executive, said the event has become a fixture. “Women based in the corporate and private sector come out to learn new skills and to empower our veterans with their efforts, providing real construction work that allows our houses to be affordable,” she told the Business Journal. Social Calendar Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley kicked off a month-long fundraiser, Salons for Family Promise, in May. Nearly a dozen beauty and hair salons are helping raise awareness for the non-profit, which provides assistance to local homeless families. … Granada Hills Charter High School’s business club is seeking business mentors. The club educates students in business management and the stock market. Business people interested in participating should contact Marilyn Koziatek at 818-360-2361, ext. 314. Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].

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