As a young girl, Sarah Burton used to tag along with mom, walking the beaches in La Jolla to sell donation tickets and dressing up to play guest host at the annual Jewel Ball.
That was, in a way, her induction into a society of women so intent on giving back to the community that many have made it their full-time job.
Although that dedicated group of philanthropists, known as Las Patronas, has grown and evolved since then, their tradition has been carried on by members such as Burton, who exerts year-round fund-raising efforts to support nonprofit organizations throughout San Diego County.
The impact these 50 women make couldn’t have been more apparent than at the group’s Jan. 17 beneficiary luncheon at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
“The Jewel Ball is fun, but for me, this is what it’s all about,” Burton said, glancing around the room at many business and organization leaders, whom Las Patronas presented with much-needed grants to improve facilities, equipment and day-to-day operations.
The group raised more than $1 million in 2006, generated mainly by proceeds from its well-known annual Jewel Ball.
In turn, Las Patronas distributed grants to nine organizations in attendance at the luncheon, including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, which received funding for an aerial platform lift for art installation, and Scripps Clinic Department of Hematology and Oncology, which will use the grant to install equipment in its treatment center.
As representatives from each beneficiary accepted their Las Patronas donation, many attested that their nonprofit would not have survived without the group’s fund-raising efforts.
“Looking around today, I can’t help thinking, ‘Wow, this is a dynamite group of women,'” said Harold Kutler of Oceanside’s Brother Benno Foundation. “The energy that resonates from all of you is very encouraging.”
Brother Benno Foundation received a grant for a 15-passenger van, which will be used to transport people to and from alcohol and drug recovery programs.
Kutler told the audience about the foundation’s current means of transportation: a decrepit van that flunked its smog test, prompting the state to offer $1,000 in lieu of taking it off the roads.
He emphasized how important the grant was for acquiring a new vehicle, which he knew would help the foundation make a difference in many people’s lives.
Terry Cooper, Las Patronas president, said success stories like Brother Benno’s are what continue to inspire and motivate the group to keep up with its sometimes exhausting work ethic throughout the year.
“We work on grants and give them away three times a year,” Cooper explained, mentioning that the group would be issuing minor beneficiary grants ($20,000 or less) to other organizations in April. “It helps us remind each other why we are doing this.”
After hours of personal interviews with potential grant recipients, the committee narrows down the field to a handful of organizations that are most deserving. The 2007 major beneficiaries have already been selected and plans for the upcoming Jewel Ball are well in the works, Cooper said.
But it’s not all work, all the time. Cooper, who is celebrating her sixth year with the group, said she couldn’t be more excited about digging out her paint-splattered jeans and tennis shoes ” the same ones she has worn each year when decorating for the Jewel Ball.
While some traditions evoked smiles, others prompted a more somber response.
Sitting at a beautifully adorned table, Burton wiped her eyes toward the end of the ceremony as the group’s former president, Vicki Eddy, presented the Spirit of Giving Award to the Chism family business, which has helped the group with its Jewel Ball for the past 11 years.
For Burton ” who has belonged to the organization in some form for the last 10 years and whose mother helped found Las Patronas in the 1940s ” the luncheon represented much more than the culmination of a year of fund-raising.
“Last year was the 60th anniversary,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief, while sharing memories with other members about when their children, who are now grown, used to help out at charity events.
She, more than anyone, realizes the importance of teaching youngsters community activism at a young age.
“I started out very young,” she said with a smile. “It’s showing them a sense of giving back. It’s a tradition of giving.”