Ayala Foundation USA (AF-USA or the Foundation) today announced that
it is hosting a fundraising Gala event on September 25, 2010 at the
Fairmont Hotel in San Jose to inaugurate its transformation into the
Philippine Development Foundation USA (PhilDev USA). With the new name,
PhilDev USA is positioning itself as a catalyst fundraising organization
to guide donors and partners towards strategic giving to address the
Philippines most pressing problems and needs. PhilDev USA will continue
AF-USAs vision of being a bridge of hope across the seas, and will
count on its long-term partnership with Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI) in
the Philippines to do due diligence and ensure proper accountability on
local projects for its Philippine beneficiaries.
“We want to tap
the growing Filipino-American community and guide them toward supporting
strategic development projects that can achieve significant impact on a
sector, plans that can be scaled up and sustained. ”
With Filipinos now comprising the second largest Asian-American
population, they represent a valuable asset that PhilDev USA can harness
in an effort to accelerate socio-economic growth in the Philippines,
said Vicky Garchitorena, President of AF-USA and AFI. We want to tap
the growing Filipino-American community and guide them toward supporting
strategic development projects that can achieve significant impact on a
sector, plans that can be scaled up and sustained.
The Gala will be co-chaired by Sherri Burke and Maria Banatao, both
members of the Board of Trustees, and will gracefully lead an evening
that will include dinner keynote speech from Richard Blum, and
recognition of outstanding Filipino achievers in the fields of science
and engineering. The events distinguished list of Honorary Chairs
includes Jaime and Bea Zobel de Ayala, Antonio and Gail Alvarez, San
Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Ken and Josie Natori, and Lea Salonga. The
black-tie /formal barong Tagalog dinner will also feature world-class
entertainment with a concert presentation of an original Filipino
musical, Long Season, based on Carlos Bulosans novel, America is in
the Heart, performed by Filipino-American Broadway stars .The Filipino
American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) will provide the music. There will
also be an auction for special items such as dream vacations in El Nido
Resort in the Philippines, Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, weekend in Lake
Tahoe, dinner for 10 couples in Sonoma, Dancing with the Stars VIP
tickets, and many more.
The event is sponsored by One Ayala, Tallwood Partners LLC, Chevron,
Intel, The Lewis College, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Ronna
Reyes Sieh and Stephen Sieh Family Trust, Tiffany & Co., Wells Fargo,
Philippine Airlines, Bailard, Capital Group, Charles and Catherine
Peterson, First Republic Bank, Joep van Beurden, Morton Grinding,
Airfreight 2100,Inc.-FEDEX, Citibank, Cohn Reid ONeil Insurance,
Cornish & Carey Commercial, Deutsche Bank, Latham Watkins, LinkedIn
Corporation, Mark Vorsatz, Medical Care Professionals, Meridien, Michael
and Xochi Birch, Morris, Davis, Chan, Nicholas Beim, Matrix Partners,
PhilAm Life/BPI, Asian Journal, and GMA Pinoy TV.
In-Kind Sponsors include
Ayala Systems and Technology, Inc. (ASTI), Care.com, Cheryl Burke Dance
Studio, Corey McPherson Nash, Corte Riva, Delta Airlines, Diverse City
Theater, G2iX, IBM, Inquirer.net, Mango Tours, Philippine News, The
Fairmont Hotel San Jose, and Vuqo.
About AF-USA
Ayala Foundation USA is registered in the US as a 501c3 public charity,
specifically a diaspora philanthropy foundation. For the past ten years,
AF-USA has raised more than $9 million from more than 7,000 donors for
projects of over 130 non-profits in the homeland.
(To find out more about the Philippine Development Forum and Gala,
visit www.af-usa.org,
call 650-598-3126 or email info@af-usa.org
Source: Business Wire
