This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

A Place Called Home's 20th Anniversary Gala for the Children

A Place Called Home (APCH), a South Central Los Angeles based
organization providing a safe haven and proven programs to improve the lives of
underserved youth, will celebrate its 20th anniversary by honoring
three outstanding Southland community leaders at its “Gala for the Children” on Wednesday,
December 11, 2013.
The annual auction and dinner will be held in the
ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, with a sell-out crowd of
over 600 expected to attend. Being honored at the event are Sister Patricia Connor, RSHM and the
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
, Jack
Suzar
and Dr. Philip Goglia.



Jonathan Zeichner, executive
director of APCH, noted that all three individuals are being honored for their
community work, as well as their support of his organization. “We believe it’s
important for us to highlight and applaud the good works undertaken in our
community by those who truly care about improving the quality of young lives.
Clearly, Sister Pat, Jack Suzar and Dr. Goglia fall into that category and are
worthy of our respect and recognition.”



Sister Patricia Connor, RSHM and
her Congregation will be presented with APCH’s Debrah Constance Humanitarian Award for their work both with APCH
and their worldwide commitment to serving the needs of underprivileged women
and children. Sister Pat became connected with APCH 16 years ago and, since
that time, she and her Order have provided ongoing and invaluable material and
volunteer support to the organization. She currently serves on its Board of
Directors and volunteers in its high school dropout recovery program, which she
helped direct for several years. In addition to its work at APCH, RSHM has a
presence in many areas of Los Angeles, including Marymount High School, Loyola
Marymount University, and various community organizations serving the most needy
in our society. “Sister Pat and RSHM are part of the DNA of A Place Called
Home,” said Zeichner.

Find out what's happening in Beverly Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.



Being honored with the APCH Community Builder Award is Jack Suzar,
managing director of Bel Air Investment Advisors
LLC
in Los Angeles. He is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of The
City of Hope National Medical Center and the Beckman Research Institute, and
has also served on the Board of Advisors at the USC Leventhal School of
Accounting and as president of the Board for Jewish Vocational Services. “Jack
is a loyal friend of APCH and his years of charitable service in Los Angeles
make him the ideal candidate to receive our Community Builder Award,” Zeichner
said.



This year’s APCH Children’s Inspiration Award will be
presented to Dr. Philip Goglia. Dr. Goglia is noted for his expertise in the
science of metabolic nutrition and is the founder of Performance Fitness Concerns, one of the nation’s most respected
performance nutrition, and rejuvinative health and wellness clinics. His
clients are some of the best known professional athletes, including members of
the Amgen/UBS Master Cycling Team and he is the nutritional consultant for the “Dr.
Phil Show” and “The Doctors”. A cancer survivor, Dr. Goglia clearly understands
the value of nutrition and its impact on good health. Zeichner noted that Dr.
Goglia has been an enthusiastic contributor to APCH. “He shares his valuable
time and expertise with our Nutrition and Athletic Departments, has donated
instruments to our Music Department and provides sugar-free candy for our
Halloween Festival. We are extremely gratified that we are able to recognize
his contributions with the presentation of our Children’s Inspiration Award.”

Find out what's happening in Beverly Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.



The “Gala for the Children” will
begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 5:30 PM on December 11,
2013 followed by dinner, awards and entertainment at 7:00 PM. Additional
information on the event can be found at www.apch.org/apch-gala-for-the-children/.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?