I attended the 4th Annual Magic of Memories Dinner on April 28th, 2007 with my good friend Angela Cronk. In November of last year, Angela asked if I’d be interested in helping design the logo, in-store posters and invitations for the Magic of Memories fundraising campaign. The campaign’s goal was to raise money with Paul Mitchell the School and benefits Leeza’s Place, The Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation, and Vidal Sassoon’s Hairdressers Unlocking Hope on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.

It was a honor to have been involved in this project, and to have been invited to the dinner as well. It took place at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach, and was hosted by Leeza Gibbons and Winn Claybaugh. Representatives from each organization spoke about their involvement, what they benefit and followed with a video presentation for the audience as well.

Mike Helm, from The Andrew Gomez Dream Foundation spoke about Andrew Gomez, a student who tragically took his own life during personal hardships, the goal of their organization is to provide help to those in need, much like Andrew did during his own lifetime.

Leeza Gibbons and Dr. James Huysman spoke about The Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, which was started to benefit caregivers and families of individuals with declining mental health. Leeza Gibbons’ own mother suffered from Alzhiemers disease before she passed away and now she is calling attention to millions of families, like her’s, that know the frustration and heartache of memory disorders. It was an honor, and humbling, to meet Ms. Gibbons and be personally thanked for my involvement in the project.

Vidal Sassoon spoke about Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, which is an organization that is working with Habitat for Humanity to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina by rebuilding New Orleans. He painted the picture of his own upbringing and life story of being an orphan and homeless in London during World War II and now is working to prevent others from suffering from homelessness as he once did. Mr. Sassoon gave a very passionaite and moving speech.

I was a great experince to have worked with these organizations and have attended the dinner, I applaud them for what they’re doing to give back to the community and those in need. I recently updated my portfolio with examples of the work that I contributed to this project, which can be viewed here.