Article by RCR’s Entertainment Writer, Laura Sirikulvadhana, Follow her on Twitter @LSirikul
Heal the Bay, a local environmental non-profit, held their annual charity gala at the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica on June 4th.
Every year, the organization holds a gala to help raise money for the organization, as well as honor those who have been supportive in the cause. For the past 30 years, Heal the Bay has held this event at the location they love – right on the beach.
Heal the Bay president Alix Hobbs commented regarding the event, “This gala is really our sunshine night. It’s a night we bring together all of our major donors and celebrate the organization. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year and it’s a really important time to get our message out again to all of our major donors and also have fun and thank them for all that they’ve done for us throughout the year. Tonight is really special because it’s our 30th anniversary. So Heal the Bay has been around for 30 years and tonight we will be celebrating that. Everyone is really excited – our staff, our board, our donors. It’s a wonderful night for us to all come together and connect.”
This year, the organization honored three Heal the Bay ambassadors: The Los Angeles Kings, whose players have been longtime ambassadors; Golden Road Brewing founder Meg Gill, who serves on the board and has instituted a number of sustainable business practices at her brewery; and filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose documentary Blackfish spawned national debate regarding orcas in captivity.
Honoree Meg Gill spoke about her love for Heal the Bay, “This organization represents pretty much everything I love about LA – the outdoor active lifestyle, the environmental first forefront of policymaking that Heal the Bay is known for, and just the enjoyment of life. It’s a privilege to be on the board of directors and everybody on the board and who is involved and works for Heal the Bay loves life and enjoys every moment. Water lovers tend to be that way.”
In addition to magic and music throughout the night, guests were able to participate in a silent and live auction. Among the notables at the event: Heal the Bay board members and actresses Sharon Lawrence and Amy Smart, model Bruna Schmitz, actor Gregg Daniel, TV personality Carter Oosterhouse, and actress/DJ Downtown Julie Brown.
Heal the Bay is an non-profit organization known for protecting rives, beaches, and oceans from urban and stormwater runoff, plastic pollution, and the increasing stresses to our marine environment – overfishing and climate change. The organization has gathered volunteers from all walks of life to work together to clean up our beaches, petition for advocacy, taking community action, and providing education. For more info and to volunteer please visit http://www.healthebay.org.
