The Jennifer Beltran Lopez Colibri Scholarship Fund supports underprivileged youth who wish to continue their education through high school and college. Help us raise $40,000 to award annual scholarships.
Jenny Beltran Lopez was a middle school teacher and an activist who believed in helping underprivileged children. A Stanford graduate, Jenny became inspired to teach in Redwood City’s low-income community, launching several programs to inspire her students to go to college.
Jenny and her teaching partner, Lubia Sanchez, worked with their seventh and eighth grade students to foster community building, goal-setting and the life skills necessary for them to be successful learners and leaders. They emphasized community involvement, showing their students how community service could improve their lives.
Jenny and Lubia told their students the Aztec tale of the fighting spirit of the hummingbird, or colibri. To her fellow teachers and her students, Jenny, who lost her battle with cancer at age 30, was like the warrior hummingbird.
She inspired her students to get a college education so that they could better their lives and follow Jenny’s lead in fighting for equity and justice. Jenny hoped her students would return to their community, working to improve city and local services and inspiring others as she had.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Jennifer Beltran Lopez Colibri Scholarship Fund. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Jean Kim Cortés Scholarship Foundation supports the love and passion that Jean had for the arts by supporting students in the Los Angeles Unified School District in continuing their study of music beyond high school. Jean’s hope was that that one day they, too, could play on the stages of the Music Center, the Hollywood Bowl or in any venue to which they aspired. By supporting the Scholarship Foundation, you will be contributing to Jean’s wish to provide students with the resources to pursue and realize their dreams in the arts.
About Jean Kim Cortés
As an immigrant student who arrived in the US when she was 14 years old, Jean’s love of the creative arts led to her graduation from UCLA with a degree in the arts. Later, she went on to become an elementary school teacher where she assisted immigrant students in making the transition to a new language and culture.
For 30 years Jean brought her creative talent and personal experiences to hundreds of students in the La Cañada and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. As an advocate for children, her love of the arts allowed her to enrich the classroom experiences of her students. Whether it was painting, singing, dancing, performing class plays, or creating an Opera Club, Jean’s energy and devotion stirred the inner artist in the hundreds of kindergarten and first grade students she taught.
In 2009, Jean retired when she was diagnosed with Thymic Carcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. Despite being told she had only a short time to live, her relentlessness and resiliency provided the strength for her to become involved and assist in many music programs within LAUSD.
The goal of the Jean Kim Cortés Foundation is to carry on her legacy of touching and changing lives through the arts.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Jean Kim Cortés Scholarship Foundation. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith and his wife Denise (Denny) were married for more than 50 years. In 1996, this fund was established at the California Community Foundation in their memories.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Jack & Denny Smith Memorial Fund for Literacy. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Julia Cukier Siegler was struck and killed on February 26, 2010, while crossing the street to board her school bus at the corner of Sunset and Cliffwood in Los Angeles. That school bus stop and many like it are now gone. A community consumed by grief and confusion rallied behind a deeply meaningful Slow Down For Julia street safety campaign, launched by schoolmates Jake Feiler, Eli Kogan and Max Thoeny to raise funds to support roadway improvements, code enforcement, education programs and legislative action.
Slow Down For Julia bracelets and ubiquitous purple shoelaces offered a poignant call to action to live life in a way that appreciates its fleeting nature. The campaign then continued with two electronic speed signs that were installed on Sunset Blvd., using monies raised at the Bar Mitzvah of neighbor, Charlie Horowitz. “Safety on Sunset” banners soon followed, which hung from utility poles from Pacific Coast Highway all the way to the 405 in a program developed with LA City, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades Community Councils.
Most importantly, Julia’s corner stands as a beacon for the light in her heart that is now carried on in ours. Her inner beauty and creative spirit remain luminous in her remarkable works of art and powerful dance performances. View Dance Performance.
Your contribution to CCF’s “In Memory of Julia” fund will be distributed to institutions that support street safety initiatives, as well as the arts education and performing arts programs that defined Julia’s brief, yet everlasting, existence.
Look at the photos below to learn about Julia, who she was….and still is…for so many of us.
See the Facebook group created in Julia’s memory.
You may also make a contribution by sending a check to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Please make your check payable to the California Community Foundation and put in the memo line: In Memory of Julia
Read various articles from former County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office, the Los Angeles Times, LA Magazine and more, in the links that follow.
- Why we all need to slow down for Julia, County Supervisor’s office
- A mother turns grief into action on bus-stop safety, Los Angeles Times
- Sunset Banners Focus on Distractions and Speed, Palisadian-Post
- City Installs New Speed Signs to Slow Drivers on Sunset, Patch
- Project in memory of young artist benefits many Pomona students, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
- Where The Sidewalk Ends, Los Angeles Magazine
- 100 rainbow ‘halos’ on Los Angeles street corners will honor people killed in car crashes, Los Angeles Times
* If images do not appear on mobile device, please place two fingers on the glass & pinch together.
Harrison Bate was a courageous, charismatic, vibrant and heroic four-year-old boy who battled Stage 4 Neuroblastoma for over two years. In his very short life he touched so many with his beaming smile that could light up any room. His voice and strength will resonate forever with his adorning family and friends who loved him.
NEUROBLASTOMA
Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer of the sympathetic nervous system and the most common extra-cranial solid cancer in childhood. Each year there are about 700 new cases in the United States. It is usually found in young children and is the most common cancer among infants, however it can also present in young adults. These solid tumors may also spread to other areas of the body, including bone and bone marrow. Neuroblastoma is responsible for 8-10% of all childhood cancers, yet it disproportionately is accountable for a large number of cancer deaths in children.
MISSION
Unfortunately, pediatric cancers do not receive the same attention and funding as adult cancer, even though childhood cancer is the number one disease killer among kids. The mission of the Harrison Bate Memorial Neuroblastoma Research Fund is to help fund clinical trials that lead to a cure for this insidious disease.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Harrison Bate Memorial Neuroblastoma Research Fund. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Dr. Irving Rappaport Memorial Fund intends to support the Dr. Irving Rappaport Endowed Chair in Head & Neck Surgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine in order to honor Dr. Rappaport’s commitment to the medical community.
Irving Rappaport passed away peacefully at home, at the age of 90, on Saturday, January 10, 2015, surrounded by his family. His life until that time was anything but passive. It was a life filled with activity and accomplishments.
Irving grew up on the rough streets of the West Side of Chicago, as on of the four sons of Russian and Polish Jewish immigrant parents. he began his quest for higher education at Crane Technical High School in Chicago, then studied at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry for his D.M.D. in 1947, and received his M.D. from the University of Illinois in 1953. After completing post-graduate in oral and plastic surgery, he and his wife, Julia, settled in California where he worked in an academic setting as well as a private practice. He became known and respected as a surgeon in the field of head and neck surgery, and possibly his most notable achievement was establishing the Center for Disorders of the Head and Neck at the University of California, Irvine.
Irv was a patriot and served his country as an officer in the United States Navy. After his honorable service and discharge, he was later called back to service as the Medical Affairs Officer for Operation HARDTACK, the United States Navy’s High Altitude Nuclear Bomb Test program in 1958. He continued in the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he became Consultant to the Commanding Officer of the U.S Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, CA from 1964-1970.
Irv and Julia were married in 1952 at the SAE Chapel on the campus of Northwestern University. Their eldest son, James, was born in Chicago in 1954. After moving to California, they had four other children: Valerie, Janet, Richard, and finally, Steven born in 1964.
Always an active traveler from his early years, Irving visited countries on every continent accompanied by Julia. They shared their stories and pictures with friends, family, and their community. Irv was an aficionado of camera equipment and photography. He also shared his wife’s interest in horticulture, eventually hosting the University of California, Riverside Avocado Breeding Project on their property; and having an avocado named after them, “the Regal R”. Irv had a passion for ethnic foods and beverages, which he shared with his family at evening meals and Sunday brunches.
In addition to his professional contributions, Irv was dedicated to community service and was named Honored Citizen of Orange County in 1968. He served on the Board of Directors for the Opera Pacific, the International Visitors and Protocol Foundation, and was a charter member of the Center Club.
Irving is survived by his wife of more than 62 years, Julia, as well as his five children and their spouses: James (Marilyn), Valerie (Thomas Byrd), Richard (Wendy), Janet, and Steven. His survivors also include his grandchildren: Julia, Thomas, and Daniel Byrd; Drew and Brett Rappaport; Kailey, Amanda, and Noelle Rappaport, and Nolan Kretschmer.
A visitation will be held from 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, January 18, 2015, at the Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, California 92705.
The funeral service will commence Monday, January 19, 2015, at 9:30 A.M., and will be immediately followed by the burial with military honors, at the Waverly Chapel of the Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, California 92705.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Dr. Irving Rappaport Memorial Fund. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Douglas Ring, lawyer, real estate developer and philanthropist, was an active contributor to Los Angeles throughout his life. He contributed to affordable housing efforts, the rebuilding of the Los Angeles Central Library after the fire and the Museum of Contemporary Art where he was a trustee.
This fund will honor Mr. Ring’s commitment to Los Angeles and continue his legacy as a civic leader and philanthropist.
Read the L.A. Times obituary.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for Douglas Ring Memorial Fund for Los Angeles. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Darin “Koncreet” McClintock – a healthy and loyal son, brother, husband and friend – unexpectedly passed away in August 2011 from Oxycontin use. The Darin McClintock Foundation was created in his honor shortly thereafter to combat the unknown yet lethal side effects of Oxycontin and other narcotic pain medication.
Since its inception, the foundation’s two goals have been:
1.) to educate doctors and the public on the domino effect of that first prescription
2.) to support rehabilitation from addictive prescription medication.
We are happy to announce that we have been successful on both fronts in our first year. With this controversial topic finally making its way into the media, we hope to gain momentum and continue our uphill efforts far into the future.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Darin “Koncreet” McClintock Memorial Fund. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Camille Prezioso Toomey passed away Sept. 5, 2003. Born in New York City, she was a graduate of St. John’s University in New York. Camille held management positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Navy Exchange, TRW, Burndy, Xerox and IDC. She made time to serve as the president of the Rolling Hills Country Club Women’s Golf Club.
While earning her college degree, Camille worked full time. She understood the value of effort, desire and commitment. As she relocated with her husband a half-dozen times, Camille sacrificed her personal goals for her family. However, she was still able to find management positions in each new community.
Camille believed that helping an individual person helped our society as a whole. She felt that every young person who received assistance would help another later in life. She believed strongly in the American dream and looked for ways to pass that dream on to others. She treated all people as her friends, and looked for ways to help everyone.
The Camille P. Toomey Scholarship Foundation provides financial assistance to students of any age who need money, encouragement and support.
Of particular interest are students who return to school after suspending their college studies because of circumstances beyond their control. In addition, students who embrace Camille’s ideology of helping others, and provide assistance when such opportunities present themselves, greatly honor her memory.
Encourage and support students through the Camille P. Toomey Scholarship Foundation by contributing to this fund.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Camille P. Toomey Scholarship Foundation. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Brenda Berman was a mother, philanthropist and selfless friend to many around the world. Whether living in New Zealand, Australia, Silicon Valley or Southern California, her life was dedicated to helping others – no matter their age, creed or culture.
Mission
Brenda had several interests throughout her dynamic life:
- Her concern for the environmental protection of the land, water and air.
- As her two beautiful sons grew and eventually ventured out on their own, Brenda had a desire to support women seeking an education in an effort to re-start their lives.
- Finally, Brenda’s life ended prematurely as she waged a proactive and courageous battle against triple negative breast cancer. One of her final hopes was that a cure be found to eradicate this dastardly disease from the face of the planet.
The Brenda Berman Family Foundation fund has been established to honor Brenda’s memory and her commitment in support of these three specific causes.
To make a secure donation online, click on the link below. You may also send checks payable to the Brenda Berman Family Foundation.
You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Brenda Berman Family Foundation. Checks should be mailed to:
California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012