- Jose Feliciano (Courtesy: IMDb)
Virtuoso guitarist and composer Jose Feliciano will be the headline performer at the Chai Lifeline West Legacy of Hope gala event in Culver City.
“We are so honored to have Jose Feliciano performing at the Chai Lifeline gala event,” says philanthropist Elliott Broidy, who along with his wife Robin, Marilyn and Jaime Sohacheski and Helena and Steven Usdan are chairing the event. “He is a true living legend and a testament that it is possible to overcome obstacles and succeed against the odds.”
Chai Lifeline, a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, ensures that ill children are minimally affected by their illness, and brings happiness to their tough childhood. It also creates programs for families so that the child doesn’t feel the impact when a parent or sibling is ill.
Jose Feliciano was born blind and to humble beginnings in Lares, Puerto Rico. One of eleven boys, his love affair with music began at the age of three when he first accompanied his uncle on a tin cracker can. At age 5, his family immigrated to New York City. By age 6, Jose learned to play the concertina on his own by listening to records.
By age 8, he entertained his classmates at PS 57, and a year later had his first performance at The Puerto Rican Theater in the Bronx. By then he knew how to play the accordian and taught himself the guitar, practicing for as many as 14 hours a day.
Today Jose Feliciano is a legend in every sense of the word.
Jose Feliciano’s musical career has been immortalized with a Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. New York City honored him when they re-named Public School 155 in East Harlem “The Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School.”
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, an ancient and prestigious Papal Order of the Catholic Church has knighted Jose at St Patrick’s Cathedral and he’s received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, for his musical, as well as humanitarian contributions to the world.
The Legacy of Hope gala event, to be held at the Book Bindery in Culver City on Jan. 16, honors Nir Seroussi, managing director of Sony Latin, Stuart Manashil, agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and Lisa Korbatov, from the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education.
Dinner Co-Chairs: Laura Aflalo, Steve Brown, Selma and Len Fisch, Shira Genauer, Chavi Hertz, Ruthie and Hillel Kellerman, Hana and Joseph Kornwasser, Ann and Lee Samson, Janet and David Suber.
The goal of the gala event is to raise money to help children and their families during challenging times.
“One of our clients said that Chai Lifeline is the yin and the yang of illness. The doctors take care of the child’s medical needs and Chai Lifeline makes sure the spirit is healed. That’s really what we do…make sure that illness doesn’t destroy families,” says Randi Grossman, MPH, director of Chai Lifeline West Coast. “Every family is different. That’s why we have a huge toolbox of programs and services to offer.”
For gala reservations: www.wcgala.org or call 310-553-5160.
About Chai Lifeline: Chai Lifeline West Coast is a regional office of the New York City headquartered, volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has affiliates in Canada, England, Israel, and Belgium. Chai Lifeline ensures that ill children are minimally affected by their illness, and brings happiness to their tough childhood. It also creates programs for families so that the child doesn’t feel the impact when a parent or sibling is ill. Chai Lifeline eases the financial burden of devastating illnesses by offering all types of free services to stricken families. Among its signature projects: Camp Simcha, a summer camp for children battling cancer and other hematological illnesses. There’s also Camp Simcha Special, for children with debilitating chronic conditions.
Project C.H.A.I. Crisis Intervention program from Chai Lifeline ensures that children, their parents, teachers, clergy and communities can properly deal with traumatic events. Chai Lifeline often partners with organizations such as Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Arizona’s Aleinu program and Misaskim.
MEDIA CONTACT
Randi Grossman, MPH
Chai Lifeline West Coast Director
9701 West Pico Blvd., Suite 120
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(o) 310 274-6331
(c) 310 614-3016
www.chailifeline.org
SOURCE: Chai Lifeline West
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