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The Art of Giving 2006 Awards

GAIL AND MARTY LEVIN
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Marty and Gail Levin make an incredible team as they tirelessly work for the betterment of our local community. Gail continues to chair the board of directors for the Alzheimer’s Association’s San Diego/Imperial chapter, at which $440,000 (after expenses) was raised during 2005. The couple, who work closely together, is a local success story that makes all San Diegans proud. Gail is particularly proud of her work with the San Diego Women’s Foundation, where she is on the board of directors and chairs the marketing committee; the Preuss School’s Classic Cars for Classic Kids fund-raiser; the Mayor’s Vision Team; and marketing for the San Diego Center for Children. Marty is a familiar face to many in San Diego, where he has anchored the news team at NBC 7/39 since 1987. Charitable organizations know they’ll always have a high turnout when Marty is involved; he’s in high demand to emcee and moderate area fund-raisers and benefits. Marty has also participated in San Diego City Schools’ Principal for a Day program. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has honored Marty and Gail as its Celebrity Volunteer award recipients for 2007.

UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA
PHILANTHROPIC BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
With more than 200 employees involved in community organizations, Union Bank of California’s outreach efforts have greatly impacted our community. A pioneer in the area of community investment, Union Bank of California has made a positive impact with its charitable contributions program, investing $2.5 million in San Diego County during 2006 alone. UBOC is especially proud of the balance maintained: Fifty-eight percent of total contributions were made directly by the bank as donations and sponsorship of a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, while 42 percent was distributed by the Union Bank of California Foundation. In 2007, Union Bank of California has continued its longstanding commitment to community reinvestment. From January through September 2007, Union Bank of California approved 161 sponsorships and grants totaling $1.1 million. Philanthropic funding is targeted to four strategic categories: affordable housing, community economic development, education and the environment, with an emphasis on low- and moderate-income communities. Some examples include the Union Bank of California Foundation Cornerstone Awards, a $685,000 grant program founded in 2002 to fund emerging nonprofit housing developers; ACCION San Diego, providing credit and other support services to small-business owners or micro entrepreneurs, targeting self-employed individuals and micro - business owners, particularly those run by women, other minorities and people with low-to-moderate income levels; the Birch Aquarium at Scripps for its “Feeling the Heat: The Climate Challenge” exhibit. This exhibit showcases historical and recent research on climate change, culminating with what each of us can do to make a difference. Union Bank is a sponsor of the exhibit’s California 2050 section, a visual interpretation of expected environmental changes to the Golden State that will occur by 2050, based on forecasts by Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists. Union Bank of California employees have volunteered more than 1,130 hours for organized San Diego County community events. These range from neighborhood enhancement, such as the Community HousingWorks FaceLift and Second Chance Adopt- A-Block programs, to Rebuilding Together’s mission of painting fire stations, to serving meals to needy seniors at senior community centers. In addition, many Union Bank employees give time and money in the community on their own. Union Bank has an employee giving program with a bank match of 66 cents on every dollar donated to a nonprofit organization and 50 cents on every dollar donated to a primary or secondary school or college.

MONARCH SCHOOL
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR
Monarch School’s mission is to provide an environment where homeless and at-risk youth can improve their lives through education. The average age of a homeless person is 9 years old, and with more than 2,200 homeless kids in San Diego, the need has never been greater. Monarch serves nearly 500 kids each year, ages 8-18, grades 3-12. The school provides them with accredited education and enrichment programs and also tends to basic needs such as medical and dental care, food and clothing supplements and bus passes. Monarch is a unique collaboration of the county and the community—the San Diego County Office of Education and the nonprofit Monarch School Project, a 501(c)(3). While the county provides teachers and an accredited education, the community provides healthcare, clothes and food, along with the support and enrichment programs that give these kids a chance to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Monarch’s focus on academic achievement and personal development is making a real difference in kids’ lives. Recent tests show that for every six months a student spends at Monarch, he or she will progress more than a year academically. This achievement is particularly meaningful because the average student arrives at Monarch three years behind grade level. Monarch’s after-school program is dedicated to providing students a safe and fun environment in which they can improve academically, explore personal interests and strengths and connect to positive role models and peers. The program includes recreational activities, music, dance, art, one-on-one tutoring and special events. Monarch has two business programs designed to teach students entrepreneurial skills and a strong work ethic: Students sell handmade jewelry and note cards through Butterfly Enterprises and play calypso music in the Steel Monarchs steel drum band at special events throughout the city. Monarch School’s mission is to restore hope and unleash dreams for these most deserving children.

ERNEST RADY
PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR
Not just a humanitarian and longtime supporter of Children’s Hospital & Health Center, Ernest Rady is on the board of directors and has volunteered for more than a dozen organizations. They include The San Diego Foundation, Junior League, Planned Parenthood, Senior Community Centers, San Diego Women’s Foundation and Children’s Hospital Auxiliary. Rady served as chair of the Children’s Hospital & Health Center board from 1990 to 1994, during which time he oversaw construction of the hospital’s Rose Pavilion, the largest expansion project in the institution’s history. Last year, Ernest and Evelyn Rady committed gifts of $60 million to Children’s Hospital & Health Center San Diego. Their gift was the largest donation ever made to Children’s, and at the time the second-largest naming gift to any children’s hospital in North America. In recognition of the Radys’ visionary philanthropy, Children’s was renamed Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. In addition to receiving Children’s Hospital’s Thomas F. Carter Leadership Award, Ernest served as an honorary chair of Children’s Hospital’s “Inspiration Campaign,” which concluded in 2004, having raised more than $143 million, well exceeding goal. In 2004, the Radys gave $30 million to the University of California San Diego, which added Ernest’s name to its School of Management. It was the second largest gift and the largest naming gift in UCSD’s history, and it helped conclude a $1 billion UCSD campaign. Ernest currently serves on the boards of Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Scripps Health. Ernest and Evelyn’s involvement and support includes the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, United Jewish Federation (past president), Jewish Community Foundation San Diego and National Conference of Christians and Jews (past chairman). They quietly and generously support numerous other organizations in addition to the above.