Giving Back
Your Network for Winning Communications
SUPPORTING AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
We were proud to support the innovative partnership between our client, the Catalina Island Conservancy, and the U.S. Marines. The Conservancy owns the Airport in the Sky, which is the only airport on Catalina Island. The airport was at risk of being shut down because of its aging runway. The Conservancy found a creative and cost-saving solution. It partnered with the Marines to bring more than 100 Marines and Seabees to Catalina to repair the runway at no additional cost to the Conservancy. The Marines and Seabees used the project as training for future deployments to islands and other remote destinations to build or repair airfields and other infrastructure. The Conservancy’s Annual Ball honored this partnership, and we were proud to be a sponsor of the Conservancy’s largest fundraiser.
INSPIRING A CONGREGATION
PEDALING FOR A CURE
Our president, Laura Mecoy, was pumped as she crossed the finish line at the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes in Amelia Island, FL. One of five JDRF rides across the country this year, the Amelia Island one raised over $1.7 million so far with a month of donations to go. Altogether, the JDRF rides have raised more than $7 million to cure diabetes, and the money is still coming in.
Thanks to everyone who supported Laura’s ride. Your generous donations move us ever closer to the day when her children and millions of others will no longer have to live with Type 1 diabetes. If you haven’t donated, please help support Laura’s ride and the search for a cure for diabetes by clicking here.
SETTING A RECORD FOR CAMP FUNDRAISING
We were honored to be among the hundreds of supporters and donors that helped Camp Conrad Chinnock raise a record-breaking $350,000 at its 9th Annual ‘Round the Campfire event. The camp celebrated its 60-year legacy by hosting a Diamond Gala that mixed fundraising with fun for the whole family.
Camp Conrad Chinnock has been a safe haven for thousands of children living with Type 1 diabetes since 1957. The gala raised critical funds that will assist the camp in continuing to provide quality education and assistance to children and families affected by the challenges of living with Type 1 diabetes. To offer your support for the camp’s mission, please click here.
SETTING A RECORD FOR CAMP FUNDRAISING
We join with our California neighbors in mourning the tragic loss of lives, homes and livelihoods in the numerous wildfires raging around the state. Our thoughts and our prayers are with all who have suffered and with the firefighters who have fought so valiantly to stop the firestorm.
While several organizations are offering aid, we have chosen to support the efforts of our friend, the Rev. James Richardson, and his Santa Rosa church, the Church of the Incarnation. The church has provided shelter during the fires, and it has numerous parishioners who have lost their homes.
Jim says the fire victims don’t need more clothes or other items. But they do need money. All donations to the church’s fire relief fund will go directly to fire victims. If you wish to join us in supporting the church’s fire relief fund, please click here.
SUPPORTING THEATER IN LA AND AROUND THE WORLD
We love live theatrical performances, and we are especially pleased to support LA Theater Works, where our colleague, Doug Jeffe, serves as board president. We joined Doug and several hundred other supporters for a fundraising performance of “Judgment at Nuremberg,” an amazing production! LA Theater Works was founded in 1974 to record and preserve great performances of important stage plays, maximizing the use of new technologies to make world-class theatre accessible to the widest possible audience, and to expand the use of theatre as a teaching tool. It is the premier producer and distributor of audio theatre, bringing world classics, modern masterpieces and ground-breaking new works to over 8 million people worldwide every year. To learn more, please click here.
HELPING HURRICANE HARVEY VICTIMS
People living with chronic disease are especially vulnerable in disasters, and the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey has created a demand for medical supplies to help those living with diabetes. During an emergency crisis such as this, it is critical for people with diabetes to have access to the medications and testing supplies needed to maintain proper blood glucose control and to prevent serious sudden complications such as hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia (severe low and high blood sugars). We have been gathering supplies and funds to help Hurricane Harvey victims who are living with diabetes. Please join us in helping by donating money or supplies to the following organizations.
JDRF International provides monetary relief to families who are struggling to manage their type 1 diabetes in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Please visit: https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Donation2.
Insulin For Life is collecting medical supplies such as insulin and other diabetes management tools for people with diabetes. Please visit: http://ifl-usa.org/donate-now/
SPONSORING A LOCAL MUSICAL INSTITUTION
We are proud to be among the sponsors for a local institution, dylanfest. For 26 years, this day-long celebration of the music of Bob Dylan has given LA-area musicians a showcase for sharing their talents and the community a place to gather and share their love of music.
LA musicians Andy and Renee launched the event in 1991, and their band, Hard Rain, is the “house band” for the day. Solo artists, full bands and instrumentalists join them throughout the day.
Join us on May 7 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center in the Torino Plaza. To purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.andyandrenee.com/content.php?id=12
TRAINING ETHICAL AND EFFECTIVE LEADERS
We’re excited that we were able to help Coro Southern California celebrate its 60th Anniversary and launch the next 60 years. We helped develop the messaging and video presentation for its May 4 gala and will be a sponsor for the event. Coro is an experience-based leadership program that helps prepare people from diverse backgrounds to be leaders through hands-on training in public, private and nonprofit organizations. It works across traditional boundaries to tackle complex social, economic and political challenges. As proof of its invaluable training, some of LA’s top leaders were Coro fellows – and they’re proud to tell you that Coro was critical to their success.
HELPING RAISE FUNDS FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Celebrating innovation that benefits patients is the theme for the LA BioMed Spirit of Innovation Gala on May 4. We are pleased to be among the sponsors who will be honoring the pioneering work of distinguished researchers Ruey-Kang Chang, MD; Richard Casaburi, PhD, MD, and Michael Yeaman, PhD, at the Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. We are honoring Dr. Casaburi for his groundbreaking work to improve the lives of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who suffer daily from shortness of breath, and Dr. Chang for his research to advance the heart health of infants and children.
Dr. Yeaman is being recognized for discovering, formulating and translating innovative approaches to meet the challenges of drug-resistant infections. He is an inventor on more than 15 issued patents and a founder of two biotech startups: NovaDigm Therapeutics, Inc., which has completed Phase II clinical trials of its initial vaccine candidate, and Tegos Therapeutics, which aims to develop new anti-infective biologics to defeat deadly infections. For more information and to attend the gala, please visit ww
TELLING OUR STORY TO INCREASE DIABETES RESEARCH FUNDING
We were proud to be among the 150 grassroots volunteer leaders from every JDRF chapter across the country to assemble in Washington, D.C., in March to meet with members of Congress and share our story about life with type 1 diabetes.
The goal of JDRF Government Day—which actually lasts for four jam-packed days—is to educate lawmakers and make the case for new legislation and federal research funding in support of the diabetes community. So far, the event’s track record is pretty amazing. According to Cynthia Rice, senior vice president of advocacy and policy at JDRF, participants’ efforts have resulted in Congress extending a $150 million per year Special Diabetes Program (SDP) multiple times, allowing for the continuation of promising ongoing clinical trials to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. Other accomplishments include the recent approval for Medicare to cover continuous glucose monitors (CGM), as well as the acceleration of FDA pathways for emerging therapies such as the artificial pancreas.
Just how do 150 volunteers from 50 different states and the District of Columbia make all this happen? The surprising secret to Government Day’s success, Rice believes, may lie in the stories that volunteers share about life with diabetes.
“After attending advocacy training sessions and other informational events, Government Day volunteers spend two days on Capitol Hill speaking with members of Congress. They are there to help Congress members and staffers get up to date on the latest initiatives and research funding needs,” Rice explains. “But they are also there to tell their stories … about what it’s like to live with diabetes or to care for a loved one with diabetes. Hearing these stories firsthand puts a face on diabetes and underscores why the programs we’re advocating for are so important.”
To learn more, please read our blog posts about the event here:http://www.jdrf.org/la/2017/02/27/los-angeles-advocates-arrive-in-dc-for-jdrf-government-day/; http://www.jdrf.org/la/2017/02/28/jdrf-la-team-lobbies-for-special-diabetes-program/; http://www.jdrf.org/la/2017/03/03/jdrf-la-team-finds-congressional-support-for-jdrf-legislative-priorities/
MAKING CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR KIDS IN NEED
Christmas is the season of giving, and it’s a great time to make sure all children get to participate in the season. We love shopping for special gifts for those who may not otherwise have any presents.
This year, we bought gifts for girls through two of our favorite programs: Operation Christmas Child, which brings good news and great joy to children around the world, and Miracle on First Street Toy Give Away Program for Hollenbeck Youth Center in Los Angeles. Both programs serve children who wouldn’t have gifts to enjoy without the generosity of donors.
When we all have so much of our own, sharing with others brings great joy in this season of joyful celebration.
You can still give gifts to at least one of the great organizations by visiting:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/
BIKING TO BEAT DIABETES
This is our LA Ride Team and several of our supporters at the 2016 JDRF Lake Tahoe Ride to Cure Diabetes, one of seven rides around the country that will raise more than $6 million this year to fund vital research into improving the lives of those living with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes (T1D). This devastating disease affects millions of people around the globe, requiring them to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels, exercise and food intake.
On September 11, we joined 135 riders from across the country in cycling all the way around the largest alpine lake in North America to raise money for a cure for T1D. The weather was terrific. The views were incredible, and the hills just about killed us.
But all the way, we kept thinking about the struggles our children and millions more face every day. We knew the physical challenges of completing 72 miles at high altitudes and climbing the seemingly insurmountable hills were nothing in comparison to what those living with T1D must do every day to stay healthy. We finished the ride but our fundraising goes on. Please join us in this fight to turn Type One into Type None by donating here.
CREATING ETHICAL CIVIC LEADERS
We have worked in the world of politics and public policy for more than two decades, and we recognize the importance of creating ethical civic leaders to ensure a better future for us all. We were proud to be among the sponsors for the Coro Foundation’s Crystal Eagle 41st Annual Award Gala. For the Southern California chapter, this is its biggest fundraiser.
Coro trains ethical, diverse civic leaders nationwide. Coro leaders develop skills; master tools needed to engage and empower communities; gain experience in government, business, labor and not-for-profit community organizations; and participate in special community and political problem solving processes.
Over 10,000 Coro alumni are currently serving as leaders in local, regional and national/global businesses, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies and elected public office. These civic entrepreneurs and innovators use their Coro training to develop individual civic leadership skills, experience and confidence; solve tough community problems; and network with leaders across geographical and political jurisdictions to build civic coalitions, consensus and solutions. To learn more, please visit www.Coro.org.
BEATING BREAST CANCER
We have far too many friends and relatives who either have fought this disease or are battling it today. Breast cancer strikes approximately one in every eight women. So we are happy to support our long-time friend and colleague, Bill Eby, when he rides in the Texas Mamma Jamma Ride.He too is a cancer survivor who is just returning to his bike riding after his latest round of treatments. Bravo Bill!
Please join us in donating to Bill’s ride and this wonderful organization that supports those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and their families. The ride is Sept. 24. Here’s how you can donate to Bill: Go to http://mammajammaride.org/.Click on the “Donate” button up on the top toolbar.The drop-down menu will offer a “Donate to a Rider” option. Click on that. On the page that appears, type Bill Eby – into the search function and hit “enter.” On his fundraising page, click on “Donate.”
