Giving / Fundraising Events
An Evening for Kids
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Roger Daltrey, founder and lead singer of The Who, performs a live sneak preview of his "Use It or Lose It Tour." He will be joined onstage by long-time collaborator, guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend and a stellar crew of American musicians, including guitarist/musical director Frank Simes, keyboardist Loren Gold, bassist Jon Button, and drummer Scott Devours.
Joining the show as special guest artists will be legendary songwriter and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart with acclaimed soul singer Joss Stone.
An Evening for Kids benefits two extraordinary charities that are linked by a common goal - to improve the lives of children with significant challenges.
UCLA Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization Program (ECPHP)
ECPHP focuses on rapidly and dramatically improving the lives of children with autism and their families through an intensive 14-week program for two-to-six year-olds. Any parent who has heard the words, "Your beautiful child has autism," has felt shock, deep sadness, helplessness, and confusion. An enormous amount can be done to dramatically improve the life of a child with autism if diagnosed and treated at an early age. Unfortunately, these cutting edge treatments are expensive and require a significant amount of interdisciplinary cooperation from experts in many diverse fields. Fortunately, UCLA offers what most national and international experts consider to be the "best in class" program for treating children with autism, related developmental disabilities, and behavioral disorders.
Today 1 out of 150 kids is on the autism spectrum...1 out of 90 boys. At this time UCLA is able to treat only about 100 youngsters per year; they are dealing with a two-year waiting list. This program is a life-changer for the kids and life-changing for their families. Your support will allow UCLA to expand its program and provide training for professionals from around the country and the world so that no child with autism/Asperger's will miss this life-changing intervention.
OPCC's k9 connection
k9 connection focuses on helping at-risk juveniles learn responsibility, empathy, teamwork, and coping skills using the therapeutic modality of training homeless shelter dogs. k9 connection works with vulnerable young people whose behavioral problems put them at high risk. These teens face challenges such as homelessness, chemical dependency, mental illness, domestic violence, and learning disabilities. Many are involved with the juvenile justice system as well as a variety of private and public social services. These kids have never been given a break. They need guidance to discover that they have the ability to affect their own future. k9 connection, through the magic of the human-animal bond, aims to respond to these needs and help fill the gaps in the existing social service and education systems, and the results are breathtaking!
Cindy Simon
Advocacy Award Honoree
Cindy Simon is an outgoing, enthusiastic, and well-respected community organizer (who, incidentally, was recently recognized as the 2007 Pacific Palisades Volunteer of the Year); she is also the mother of a young adult with autism. She has worked tirelessly alongside other concerned and active parents as an advocate in creating and expanding opportunities for their children with special needs. Cindy served for five years on the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and currently is a member of the board of trustees of her son's special needs school, Riverview. While she feels privileged to serve in these capacities, she likes nothing better than the grass-roots approach of working with families one by one to create a community of support and an exchange of ideas. As the evening's honoree, Cindy Simon wishes to shine a light on the many mothers and fathers who, as unsung heroes, work day-in and day-out to create a brighter future for their child with special needs.
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