This Old Bag netted over $100,000 for BCEF clients.
This Old Bag, October 20 at CLIFT, was an amazing success raising more than $100,000 for BCEF’s clients. Thanks to generous sponsors, fabulous celebrity and local donors and joyously competitive bidders, BCEF raised enough funds to provide grants to over 200 low-income San Franciscans battling breast cancer.
Riding the reins of what turned into a wild live auction were lovely Host Committee member Ruby Tourk and Event Co-chair Tim Gaskin. Jumping in to pump up the bids was the delightful Geoff Callan whose astute descriptions of each bag entertained the crowd. BCEF was the grateful recipient of two very special donation items that were snatched up during the Live Auction: a custom April in Paris bag donated by Beatrice Amblard and a gentlemen’s lunch with Wilkes Bashford and Mayor Willie Brown donated by Wilkes Bashford. But the jewel of the night was Sex And the City’s Jason Lewis who proved he is not only one of the sexiest men around but also a gracious host and bighearted donor to the cause.
Among our generous local handbag donors who made the evening possible were Ann Getty, Dede Wilsey, Jo Schuman Silver, OJ Shansby, Hilary Newsom Callan (whose personally hand-knitted black bag provoked a bidding war!), DA Kamala Harris, Cheryl Jennings, Mr. & Mrs. Harry de Wildt, Anne Lawrence, Claudia Ross, Lisa Grotts, Mary Ellen Petroni, Sarah Clark from Radio Alice, Dr. Sheila Shahabi and Louis Vuitton Union Square. This year, many of Hollywood’s finest stepped in to provide glamour and bags to the evening including: Naomi Campbell, Christina Aguilera, Brooke Shields, Charlize Theron, Anastacia, Sharon Stone, Patti LaBelle, Betty Buckley, Jacqui Getty, ABC TV’s Desperate Housewives, Cindy Williams, Eva Longoria, Donna Mills, Tiffani Thiessen, Penny Marshall, Amanda Peet, Minnie Driver, Linda Purl, Kathy Griffin, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Suzanne Somers, Tori Spelling, Julie Chen and Debra Messing.
Revenues from BCEF’s second annual event nearly doubled last year’s total. None of this would have been possible without the dedicated support of our Event Chairs the Honorable Bella Farrow, Wilkes Bashford, Hilary Newsom Callan, Harry Denton, Tim Gaskin and DA Kamala Harris and our Host Committee Stephanie & Tom Ahlberg, Lindsay Chambers, Anne Lawrence, Rafael Lucatero, Thomas Murray Jr., Claudia Ross, Janine Shiota, Donna Sachet, Beth Townsend, Ruby & Alex Tourk, and Giancarlo Vega. We are so grateful to the tireless behind-the-scenes work of our Steering Committee Alexandra Alznauer, Dorothy Compeau, Neil Figurelli, Cynthia Hester, Skeeter Buck, Veronica LaBeau, Arianne Nichol, Phil Siegel, Elyssa Thorp and our wonderful volunteers for the evening.
Corporate Sponsorship solicited in advance allowed 100% of ticket sales and auction proceeds to go directly to help clients in need. Led off by Presenting Sponsor Kaiser Permanente, underwriters included Ann & Gordon Getty, Exclusive Resorts, The SAK, Tim Gaskin, Wells Fargo Private Banking, 7x7 Magazine, CLIFT, Pacific Union Community Fund, Safeway, Genomic Health and The SF Examiner. Donations in-kind from The SAK, Chanel, Absolut and Beringer Vineyards rounded out the donor list.
Photos of the celebrity bags and listing of the bags sold are available at www.thisoldbag.org.
See our promotional video.