Jacqueline Caster started her charitable foundation for children by making a list. She wrote down all of the things she didn’t like about her prior fundraising involvements. ”Big, expensive benefit dinners. High overhead. Low accountability. Hierarchical structure. Intangible results. ”Caster set out to create a more efficient organization designed for busy women that would emphasize equality among members. The group’s focus would be on alleviating the suffering of children in the Los Angeles area facing disease, abuse, neglect, poverty or disability. ”’After having my own children, I realize everything it takes for a child to grow up and be healthy,’ says Caster, mother of two, ages 11 and 13. ‘And I have access to all these resources.’ ”Her idea for Everychild Foundation was simple: Each member donates $5,000 annually in dues to award one grant that funds a single project. Membership is limited in order to create a tight-knit group of women, maintain efficiency and keep operational costs to a minimum. ”Caster’s unique fundraising approach appealed to a range of women, from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to full-time moms. They could be as involved or uninvolved with the actual project details and activities as they wanted, and feel that their contributions were equally important. ”’The point is for women to feel empowered by philanthropy,’ says Caster, a former real estate attorney who headed her own consulting firm for over a decade, performing economic feasibility studies for large-scale urban renovation projects. She also holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. ”Everychild was incorporated in November 1999 and granted its tax-exempt status in the summer of 2000, when Caster started recruiting members. ”Fifty-six women participated in making the first grant of $230,000, which went to the purchase and outfitting of a new mobile dental clinic serving students in some of the lowest-income elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The grant was awarded to QueensCare, a nonprofit health care provider that operates the clinic. ”’We try to fund projects that are prototypes,’ Caster says. Since the clinic’s opening in May 2001, other L.A. philanthropists have purchased and equipped three additional mobile dental units. ”In the years since that first project, Everychild has awarded four other grants for a total of over $2.5 million. The projected size of the 2006 grant is $850,000 to $1,000,000. ”Currently, Everychild has 185 members, ages 25 to 65. About a quarter of them are Palisades residents, according to Caster. Her Highlands neighbors Cynthia Alexander (vice president) and Debra Colbert (secretary) are founding members. ”’I feel we have truly become a sisterhood whose mission it is to make a difference in the lives of children in the L.A. area,’ Colbert says. ‘On a daily basis I know where my money has gone and the direct and tangible results of its use. Everychild members can enjoy the unique opportunity to really see and touch the dental vans, libraries, schools and treatment facilities we have funded in the last five years.’ ”Their second project was the funding of 15 libraries in low-income LAUSD elementary schools that lacked adequate facilities. Everychild presented the $385,000 grant to Wonder of Reading, which had previously built 67 libraries through its 3R (Renovate, Restock and Read) Program. ”’I can’t think of any other group that can put a library into a school on such an efficient, cost-effective basis,’ Caster says. ”The grant helped stock the libraries with books and train volunteer reading tutors at each school. A portion of the money ($10,000) is also being used for the preparation of a ‘how-to’ manual, which Wonder of Reading will provide to other charitable entities around the country interested in replicating the program. ”The families of Everychild members Maria Bell, Cindy Simon and Gina Goldsmith have funded three new Wonder of Reading libraries, and other members have volunteered as reading tutors. Caster’s husband, Andrew, a Beverly Hills LASIK surgeon, subsequently became a Wonder of Reading board member. Everychild members have the difficult task of selecting one nonprofit agency out of the dozens that apply for the annual grant. ”’All of the projects strike a different chord,’ says Caster, who hired a professional grant consultant to advise members in the yearlong selection process. ” ”The grant consultant works with the grant screening board, which consists of 18 rotating members who review applications and conduct site visits to determine which nonprofit agency will receive the annual grant. ”’The stringency of the grant review process helps to focus organizations, their projects and structure so that all of us are assured that our $5,000 is being well spent,’ says Everchild member Amy Sommer, a documentary film producer. ”At the end of the year, when the applicant pool has been narrowed down to two, Everychild members vote on the final project. ” ”’We only make one grant a year, so we can’t make a mistake,’ Caster says, adding that members are ‘learning how to do a lot of what the grant consultant does, inhouse.’ ”One advantage of making a single grant per year is that Everychild can closely monitor the progress of each project with its grant monitoring committee. Prior grantees also update Everychild members at the annual luncheon. ”’We don’t fund anything that’s going to take a long time,’ Caster says, explaining that projects should be completed in roughly one year. ‘We want people to get immediate results.’ ”In 2003, the grant selection process facilitated the funding of a project serving child abuse victims. Everychild awarded $600,000 to Violence Intervention Program (VIP), an agency responsible for assessing and treating children impacted by violence. ”The grant successfully renovated VIP’s 70-year-old Boyle Heights facility (renamed Everychild Foundation Center for the Vulnerable Child) and enabled the agency to increase its patient load by about 45 percent. ”’We’re getting a reputation for being extremely thorough with our grant screening process,’ Caster says. Everychild was selected as ‘Outstanding Private Foundation of Los Angeles’ by the Association of Fundraising Professionals on National Philanthropy Day in 2004. ”The last two Everychild projects have served the young adult population, funding a specialized high school for troubled teens and a treatment center for foster youth. ”Optimist Youth Homes used the 2004 grant of $630,000 to build a state-of-the-art Everychild Foundation Youth Learning Center, which opened earlier this month in Eagle Rock. The new, larger high school building will allow the agency to increase the number of students served from 400 to 550, in a setting that integrates education and therapy. ”Everychild’s most recent grant of $715,000 went to Hillsides, the Pasadena-based residential and community treatment center for troubled children. ”The money will fund an apartment building, with 25 percent of the units set aside for the Youth Moving On project, which will provide transitional living, support services and life skills training for about 28 emancipated foster youth per year who have been psychologically damaged by abuse. (Emancipated foster youth lose eligibility for government-funded housing or programs when they turn 18.) ”This project is innovative and cost-effective in that the remaining 75 percent of the units will be rented to the community at fair market value and those funds used for a down-payment for a second such building purchase. ”’We were hoping to find something great’top quality’in the foster care area,’ Caster says of Everychild’s selection of Hillsides. ‘On a foster child’s 18th birthday, if the family isn’t interested in keeping the kid around, the kid’s out on the street. It’s a rare 18-year-old who can handle all of the trials and tribulations of life…’ ”With five grants awarded thus far, Everychild has served over 30,000 children in the Los Angeles area. The group is currently doing the site visits for the 2006 grant, considering a range of projects including prenatal telemedicine, a playground for disabled children, a diabetes and asthma screening van and an arts facility for impoverished and homeless children. ”To enhance their knowledge as grant makers, members host evening salons in their homes with speakers on issues facing children in their communities. They involve their own children by hosting annual Family Day Projects such as packing book bags with school supplies for at-risk children. All of these events are underwritten by outside sponsors. ”’I’m glad I don’t have to get all dolled up to go to a [fundraising] event, try to sell tickets to my friends or hustle for silent auction items. I think that most of us are tired of that,’ says Everychild member Stefania Magidson. ‘There is also a beautiful camaraderie among the members, something we share as mothers and women. I like that we make an important difference as a group and that we all have in common the conviction that while it’s nice to give our children the best in life, we should also let it overflow to those children who are in powerless, disadvantaged situations.’ ”Inspired by Everychild, Magidson started Blue Heron Foundation in 2002, a nonprofit charity foundation for Romanian orphans. ”Caster, who was recently honored as one of four ‘Women of the Year’ by the YMCA Santa Monica/Westside, says she would like to see Everychild membership reach its goal of 220. Eventually, she’d like to see branches in other cities. ”’We’d license the name,’ she says. ‘We’re all trademarked and we’re working on a manual now.’ Caster is also writing a book called ‘No More Rubber Chicken’ about more efficient and less time-intensive fundraising approaches. ”The Casters have lived in the Palisades since 1993. Their children, Bryce (13) and Jocelyn (11), attend Brentwood School and Carlthorp. ”For more information, visit www.everychildfoundation.org.

Marymount High School sophomore CYRA KANG, along with her 16 teammates, received the Daimler/Chrysler Team Spirit Award at the 2005 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southern California Regional Robotics Championships. The Marymount team was one of only four all-girls’ teams out of the 52 who competed at the Great Western Forum earlier this month. The judges selected the Marymount High School team for its ‘extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork.’ The citation continues, ‘This team demonstrated a focus to a theme with great energy, creativity, and enthusiasm. They showed strength in the face of adversity and tenacity in the face of challenge.’ FIRST was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway Human Transporter, to encourage an interest in science and technology among high school students. The competition begins every January when FIRST provides each team with a ‘kit of parts’ and a common set of rules to build a robot within a six weeks. Marymount’s entry, ‘Nautilus IV,’ joined the other robots on the floor of the Forum as they competed in a game of super-sized ‘tic-tac-toe.’ For Kang, a first-time team member, the process was not all about mechanical engineering, ‘There were a lot of creative and brilliant ideas. It was more like a competition for creativity.’ o o o MASON HAYS, a sophomore at Palisades High School, has been selected to participate in the National Student Leadership Conference, a leadership development program for outstanding high school students. Mason, the son of Sharon and Quay Hays, is on the varsity tennis team and in the drama department. Mason will be attending the July 5-15 session in Washington, D.C., with a focus on entrepreneurship and business. He will explore the transformation of the economy in the information age and wrestle with the complex ethical questions that confront businesspeople around the world. Young people will take on roles, such as a corporate executive negotiating the acquisition of another company or the owner of a small business who wants to break into a new market. While there, Mason will meet key business leaders, learn to make effective presentations, research new innovations and marketing techniques and create a business plan.

Two Dream Workshops Offered at Pharmaca ”Palisadian Zo Owen, R.N., M.A., will be presenting two free discussions and demonstrations on ‘Working with Dreams,’ at Pharamaca Integrative Pharmacy, 15150 Sunset Blvd. on Tuesday, May 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. The two workshops are independent of each other and you may attend both, space permitting. ” For reservations, call Pharmaca at 454-1345, for questions, call Zo Owen at 230-2399. Library Discussion Focuses on ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ ”’Reading Lolita in Tehran’ will be the subject of a lecture and book discussion at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30 at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real Drive. ”The book tells the true story of a clandestine group of women who meet in Tehran to disucss modern Western literature. Author Azar Nafisi, who taught modern English literature at Iranian universities until she was unable to continue owing to government repression of all things Western, allowed the group to meet in her living room despite considerable risk. ”Professor Firoozeh Papan-Matin, who teaches at UC Santa Barbara and Santa Monica College, will lead the discussion. ”All are welcome to this free event sponsored by the Pacific Palisades Library Association. Contact: 459-2754. Theatre Palisades Presents ‘Five Directors And a Playwright’ ”Theatre Palisades will present ‘Five Directors and a Playwright,’ a collection of five short plays by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Diane Grant, on Sunday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. ”Grant’s film ‘Too Much Oregano’ won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize and she is co-founder of Toronto’s Redlight Theatre. Her plays have been produced in the U.S. and Canada; she is literary manager of the L.A. Write Act Repertory Theatre. She also is an accomplished director and actress, as well as a longtime Palisadian and the box office manager of Theatre Palisades. ”The evening will be a delightful mix of cats, dogs, blue suede shoes, laughter and drama. Directors include Lois Bader, John Clement, Diane Grant, Martha Hunter and Pamela Murphy. ”Admission is free. Contact: 454-1970. Huntington’s Head Gardener to Discuss Herbs & Their History ”Katarina Eriksson, head gardener at the Huntington Botanic Gardens, will address the Garden Club on Monday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. ”Eriksson will discuss growing herbs and exploring their history. ”The Herb Garden at the Huntington was established in 1975, with plants grouped by traditional use. These include cooking, salads, teas, alcoholic beverages, fiber and dyes, potpourris, confections, perfumes and cosmetics and medicine. ”The Southern California climate allows gardeners to grow many herbs and even some spices not found in traditional herb gardens. In 1984, the garden was redesigned and a bed of Tussie-mussie herbs, used in nosegays, was planted. Asian medicinal and culinary herbs are being added.