Louis Vuitton has opened a men’s store at South Coast Plaza, its second luxury boutique at the retail center. (Courtesy of Brad Dickson and Louis Vuitton)
Louis Vuitton has opened a men’s store at South Coast Plaza, its second luxury boutique at the retail center.
It’s only the second men’s store in California with the other on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The Paris-based luxury retailer has nine freestanding men’s stores in the world.
The South Coast Plaza store carries a lineup of leather goods, accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, watches and fragrance.
Bungalows housing project begins in Costa Mesa
Irvine-based Families Forward and HomeAid Orange County have launched construction on The Bungalows project in Costa Mesa.
The eight-unit facility will provide families in need with housing just in time for the holidays, the nonprofits said in a statement.
The Bungalows community is being constructed with financial support from HomeAid Orange County, donors and building partners. The donations include a $2 million gift from the Chia Family Foundation and other philanthropic support from Debbie and Bart Thomsen, The Capital Group Companies Foundation, Cushman & Wakefield and David and Eleanor St. Clair.
“This project has been a dream of Families Forward for a very long time and we’re so incredibly proud to be able to break ground on The Bungalows with our building partners HomeAid Orange County,” said Madelynn Hirneise, CEO of Families Forward. “Families across the county are struggling to make ends meet. With rising costs and inflation, we’re finding that more and more people are reaching out to Families Forward for assistance. Thanks to the generosity of our building partners, donors and stakeholders, we’ll ensure eight families will celebrate the holidays in their new homes. It doesn’t get much better than that!”
Families Forward said more money is needed to complete the project. To donate, go to families-forward.org.
Judges chosen for Dragon Challenge at UC Irvine
The Dragon Kim Foundation has announced the judges for its 2022 Dragon Challenge competition. They include Dean Ian O. Williamson from UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business and José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, co-founders of the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative.
At the annual competition, the top three Dragon Kim Foundation Fellowship teams present their projects in the style of the Shark Tank television show.
The three finalists will be chosen from the 35 Fellowship Projects run this summer by 72 high school students throughout Arizona, California and Nevada.
Annually, the program awards grants of up to $5,000 to teams of high school students. The money is used to create and manage a service project that will impact their community. The judges will select one of the three projects to receive $5,000 more to continue their work.
The Dragon Challenge will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 at the Winifred Smith Hall at UC Irvine.
To reserve a seat, go to https://dragonkimfoundation.ticketleap.com/dragon- challenge-2022/
Sponsorship opportunities are available. All proceeds benefit the Dragon Kim Foundation’s programs. For more information, go to dragonkimfoundation.org.
Steven Wang, a board-certified dermatologist and surgeon, has joined the Hoag Family Cancer Institute as the director of Dermatologic Oncology and Dermatologic Surgery as part of the Melanoma & Complex Skin Cancer Program. (Courtesy of Hoag)
On the move
Steven Wang, a board-certified dermatologist and surgeon, has joined the Hoag Family Cancer Institute as the director of Dermatologic Oncology and Dermatologic Surgery as part of the Melanoma & Complex Skin Cancer Program. He spent 16 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, serving as the head of Dermatology and director of dermatologic surgery. Wang has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and academic textbooks, written five books and has lectured on the topics of skin cancer detection, treatment and prevention.
On board
Kathy Bronstein, a longtime board member with Second Harvest Food Bank, has been appointed to a two-term as board chair. She has decades of experience in retail and service and has served on several other boards, including Chapman University and Goodwill of Orange County. Salman Alam, vice president with Western Digital and another food bank board member, has been appointed to vice chair.
Employees at Republic Services of Southern California volunteered at the nonprofit Bracken’s Kitchen facility where they prepped and cooked meals and helped organize the facility. (Courtesy of Republic Services)
Good works
Employees at Republic Services of Southern California volunteered recently at the nonprofit Bracken’s Kitchen facility. A team of 50 Republic Services volunteers prepped and cooked meals and helped organize the facility. The team then served those meals at the Buena Clinton Youth & Family Center.
Republic Services presented a check $200,000 to the nonprofit, a donation from the Republic Service Charitable Foundation. The money will help expand the reach of Bracken’s Kitchen, which services Anaheim, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana.
Bracken’s Kitchen serves and feeds the food insecure and has a culinary academy to train individuals in the culinary arts as a profession.
Grants & fundraisers
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and the Orange County legal community raised $110,000 at the sixth annual “Food From The Bar” partnership campaign to help fight hunger in Orange County.
The Ueberroth Family Foundation has provided a $15,000 grant to Beyond Blindness in Santa Ana. The money will go toward the purchase, installation and activation of an “optometry lane exam station” at the facility. The station will allow Beyond Blindness to offer eye exams to a larger number of pediatric clients in an expanded range of ages. Exam lanes include equipment and instruments to diagnose various conditions, prescribe corrective lenses for patients and give descriptive reports that improve the diagnosis while reducing the margin of error.
Anaheim-based Credit Union of Southern California donated a combined $225,000 to local charities in local communities the credit union serves. The credit union donated to 19 charitable organizations in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. Nonprofits included the Boys and Girls Club of Fullerton, Bridge of Faith, Helpline Youth Counseling, INC., and Interfaith Food Center — all of which are based in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.
Status Update is compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin and edited by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.
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