Dear Friend,

What a wonderful week of Jazz, Encore! As we bring it to a close, I want to thank everyone that contributed - our Transformational and Presenting Sponsor, Barbara Ryder Levinson, and all of our sponsors, donors, volunteers and our honorees. We have included all the videos in case you didn’t get a chance to see them - I encourage you to watch and hear how Friends In Deed has touched each of their lives, and what they have given back. Congratulations again to Dr. Richard Cheung, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, Villa Gardens Retirement Community and Scott and Lisa Nelson. And please also watch our “Stories from the Street” video featuring Barbara Dangerfield.  

Of course, this is our major fundraiser of the year, which helps us to serve our most vulnerable neighbors. I am thrilled to announce that we raised $240,000! And, thanks to the bold vision of our Director of Development, Merria Velasco, we did this without spending any of your valuable contributions on a gala or party - which means that 95% of the total is going directly to programs.

We look forward to some in-person events coming up during the end of this year, and are excited to share all of the opportunities for mission-driven events that will be launched in 2023. A huge shout-out also to our Advancement Committee: Co-chairs Richard Cheung and Stacy Santeramo, and members Pam Marx, Kathy Simpson and Board President Bret Schaefer, for their hard work in helping secure so many sponsors. This infographic shows in more detail some of the things that your dollars are being used for.  

Let me leave you with this: I came into our office yesterday and thought that we had started a daycare center! There was a family with four children, ages three to eight, each involved in their own activities. The mother and father were working with our Street Outreach and Housing staff, as they have been living in their car for the past several weeks, even as the kids were starting school. This is their first time ever being without a home, and I can’t imagine what it has been like. Thankfully, we are able to put them into a motel, and now we can start to work with them on finding a new place to live. The compassion, love and connection were palpable in the room. It is why we do what we do. And why we are so grateful to have all of you as part of the team! 

Blessings, and have a lovely weekend,

Rabbi Joshua

We can only operate with your help!

Thanks to our amazing Jazz, Encore! sponsors:

Transformational

Barbara Levinson

Compassionate

Pasadena Methodist Foundation

Harvest Pasadena

Cynthia and Brian Kumanchik

Supervisor Kathryn Barger

Susan and Oliver Stark

Fishman Family Foundation

Anonymous

Kaiser Permanente

Loving

Celia Leaver

Mishele and Ben Myers

Supportive

Ellen and Harvey Knell

Jennifer and John Robinson

Jackie Knowles

TJ Teems

Caring

Dan and Sandra Bane

Richard S. Cheung, D.C.

First United Methodist Church

Theodore and Gail Gunther

Mark Lau-Branson and Nina Lau-Branson

Bonnie Buratti and Kai Lam

Areta Crowell

Lisa and Bradford Freer

Gamble Jones Investment Counsel

Kevin Bourland, Compass Real Estate

Daniel and Jeanne Rankin

Pamela Marx and Mark Goldstein

Louise Wannier

Huntington Hospital

Richard Gruner and Marie Beal

Stacy Santeramo

Deborah and Jack Singer

Kind

Karen Gross

Sandy and Steven Hartford

Margaret Leong

Susan Auerbach and Bryan Langholtz

Robert Fillhart

Gerry Puhara and Russ Ferrante

Robert and Susan Long

The Honorable William Bogaard and Mrs. Claire Bogaard

Gloria and Donald Pitzer

Margaret Power

Ursula Hyman

Don and Lori Meaders

Anat and Shuki Bruck

The Law Offices of Timothy M. Howett

Bret and Peggy Schaefer

Debra Mansfield

Michael and Mary Ann Bernath

Michael Ostroff and Joanne Topol

Rep. Judy Chu

Valerie Gibson

Beulah Ku, Century Housing Corporation

Western Supreme Rooter

Denise Campbell

Thoughtful

Qing and Kyle Duncan, The Duncan Great Cause Foundation

David Beringer

Mark Esensten and Sandra Haynes-Esensten

Jacob Munsey

Kathy Simpson and Tony Delling

Nicolas Snyder

Laurence Paxson Eggers

Arthur Hurley and Anna Rowser

Margaret Middleman and Gerard Poulin

Sean Cain

Tamara and Michael Silver

Melissa DoVal

Mikala L. Rahn, Learning Works

First Congregational Church, Pasadena

Mendenhall Insurance Solutions LLC

Lynn Rabin

Bryan and Marina Jick

Ann Fossan

Melody and Michael Lembke

Suzanne and Roger Johnson

Nikki Elliot, Mindful Leaders Project

Barbara Felsinger and Larry Teitlebaum

Neil Brown

Erica Hahn

Louise Yount

Patrick and Barbara Santeramo

Mary and Mike Veselich

Lin and Alan Vlacich

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater and Franci Levine-Grater

Kara Altice and Luis Montes

Patrick and Susan Wickhem

Friends In Deed is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace and celebrate the spectrum of our employees’, volunteers’, and clients’ ages, color, ability or disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, neurodiversity, and other characteristics that make our employees, volunteers, and clients unique.