Beauty Bus—founded by Palisadian Wendy Marantz Levine—hosted its ninth annual fundraiser event, “All in For Beauty Poker Tournament,” at Tiato Kitchen & Garden in Santa Monica.
“It was truly a fantastic night,” fellow Palisadian and Beauty Bus Executive Director Ruth Laurent-Kocher said. “We hosted 250 people and raised over $200,000 to deliver personal grooming services to seriously ill patients and their caregivers in hospitals across Los Angeles.”
This year’s event was chaired by three Beauty Bus volunteers: Jill Berman, Stephanie Carson and Beth Schore, who worked alongside Laurent-Kocher and Levine to build a 30-member committee.
Led by Auction Chair Jaclyn Clifford, Laurie Haller and Dina Barry, over 80 items were solicited for a silent auction, including four nights at the Mauna Lani,Hawaii, XIV Karat of Beverly Hills jewelry, sports memorabilia and tickets.
“A special thank you also goes out to all our donors and who support Beauty Bus—Beauty Bus turns 15 this summer,” Levine said. “Partnering with over 20 hospitals throughout Los Angeles, we have delivered over 30,000 free beauty and grooming treatments to patients and caregivers. My family started Beauty Bus in memory of my younger sister Melissa. We are grateful to pay forward the lift and gift of beauty for people going through cancer treatments, struggling with serious diseases and caring for family members. It’s a simple service with a huge impact.”
Chrysalis hosted its 40th anniversary “Homecoming” event at the Pacific Palisades home of Mary Ellen and Chris Kanoff, raising more than $75,000 to benefit the nonprofit, which is “dedicated to changing lives through jobs.”
“Four decades ago, Chrysalis Founder John Dillon opened a social service agency in Skid Row to serve the area’s homeless population,” read a synopsis. “It wasn’t long before he realized that the individuals we served needed a different kind of support in order to make the transition out of poverty and onto a pathway to self-sufficiency. Since then, Chrysalis has served over 85,000 individuals facing housing instability, poverty or prior justice system involvement by providing people with the resources and support they need to secure and maintain meaningful employment.”
Dillon spoke at the event, as well as Chrysalis CEO Mark Loranger. The evening included “hearty hors d’oeuvres, inspiring speeches and beautiful ocean views.”
Methodist Preschool hosted its inaugural whole school exhibition, “Cultivating Connections: Developing Relationships,” highlighting the work of its 2.5- to 5-year-old children. The end-of-school-year exhibition was designed to showcase the “many ways the children form relationships at the school,” according to a synopsis, which included relationships with themselves, each other, materials and the community.
“The exhibition documented a year’s worth of work and exploration through the eyes of a child at the school, which takes inspiration from the schools of Reggio-Emilia in Italy, where children engage in deeper learning experiences and long-term projects explored through a multitude of artistic mediums,” the synopsis continued. “Among some of the highlights of the exhibition were an exploration into tempera paint and mark-making by the school’s youngest Blue Room children, an investigation into the concept of beauty by the school’s Green Room children, and a Rainbow Investigation, inspired by the Chumash Legend, The Rainbow Bridge, by the school’s oldest Yellow Room children.”
The gallery also featured the work that took place in the Methodist Preschool garden, where students engaged in a garden-to-table experience.
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