We are very pleased to announce the selection of the following charities to be the recipients of the SITE Southern California Holiday Event fundraiser on December 12 – 13, 2011. These three organizations are making a major impact on the lives of people in need and our chapter is very pleased to support their efforts.

About Our Three Worthwhile Charities:

The My Stuff Bags Foundation

Imagine the trauma of being a child separated from all you know – parents, possessions and home – and not having anything to cling to for comfort.

The San Diego Brain Tumor Foundation

Each year approximately 190,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a primary or metastic brain tumor. That means approximately 2,000 new patients are diagnosed each year in San Diego County alone. Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in children under age 20 (now surpassing acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and the third leading cause of cancer death in young adults ages 20-39.

The San Diego Brain Tumor Foundation (SDBTF) was created to support the San Diego brain tumor community by providing direct assistance with their day-to-day medical and social needs, enhancing services already available, and developing new programs to support the patients and their families in San Diego.

The Santa Ana Boxing Club

On the corner of 4th St. and Garfield in Santa Ana stands the Santa Ana Boxing Club, a place rich in history and full of heart. The gym is located between two known gangs, next to a bar and in a poor part of Santa Ana. It is located in the empowerment zone area of the city.

Sustainability

A simple step to take in helping the combating global warming and helping the environment comes with knowing just what your carbon footprint is. Carbonfund.org can offer help with that, as well as providing information on how offsets work. We are pleased to offer this link -  Carbon Calculator - courtesy of PRA Destination Management, Inc. - that allows you to make calculations and optionally donate to Carbonfund.org to offset your footprint. It is also an option to offer any of your clients or suppliers who are interested in finding out more about ways to help the planet.

Carbonfund.org is the nation’s leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit provider of carbon offsets & climate solutions. It makes it easy and affordable for everyone to calculate, reduce & offset their carbon footprint with carbon offsets that are verified to third-party carbon offsets standards, and be carbon neutral.

CSR

Businesses are increasingly incorporating social responsibility as part of their sustainability strategy. These businesses would seem to be a potentially good source of prospects for planners and incentive companies who can offer CSR events, and understand how they fit into the overall company philosophy. There are some excellent online publications specializing in sustainable business that might prove helpful…

First I want you to know that every day we thank God for Site SoCal. When many non-profits are going out of business we started the year off with the funds from Site SoCal.  From the bottom of our hearts - Thank You. Because of your fundraiser we are able to serve more children and we are moving to the next level of growth.

Please read the letter linked below from My Stuff Bags.

A Thank You from Stuff Bags

This fund was established in memory of our colleague, Karen Olhava-Henderson, a longtime Singapore Airlines account executive and Site member who died in a car accident in December, 2006.

Through this fund, Site SoCal will contribute ten percent of the proceeds from our annual Holiday Auction to worthwhile causes within the travel, hospitality, tourism, incentive marketing community.

This year we contributed $15,000 to an Educational Fund established for Luc Olhava-Henderson, son of Karen Olhava-Henderson.