Nordstrom gala will help children's charities

A gala held to celebrate the opening of Nordstrom's Topanga store raised more than $170,000 for two local charities benefiting children.

Shane's Inspiration and Childhelp's Buena Ventura chapter will split the proceeds collected from the Oct. 3 gala, which featured preview shopping, live entertainment and a fashion show.

The Tuesday evening event, attended by more than 1,600 people including members of the Nordstrom family, was an advance celebration of Friday's opening of the retailer's new 200,000squarefoot Canoga Park store.

"We're thrilled to be working with such wonderful organizations and look forward to continuing the great relationship that has developed between our groups," said Marcille Hughes, the Nordstrom Topanga store manager. "We appreciate the warm support we've received from the community-- we feel privileged to be a part of it."

Shane's Inspiration, named after the founders' 2-week-old son who died of spinal muscular atrophy, creates universally accessible playgrounds for children of all abilities. The organization, founded in 1998, has been active in the Conejo Valley at the helm of its current project, a playground at Gates Canyon Park in Calabasas. The grand opening celebration for Brandon's Village is Oct. 28. Shane's Inspiration has led construction on more than 40 playgrounds all over the world.

"All I can say is, Nordstrom knows how to throw a party," said Marci Moran, director of commu

nity outreach at Shane's Inspiration. "Everybody was bowled over at how beautiful the entire event was . . . they raised so much money. It was absolutely beyond our wildest dreams.

"This was a hugely, hugely successful event for us, and Nordstrom couldn't have been more gracious," Moran said.

Shane's Inspiration has 50 projects in the works and recently launched an education program that works with local schools to eliminate bias against children with disabilities.

Childhelp's mission is focused on meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of abused and neglected children. The group offers a variety of services and programs for children, including advocacy centers, an abuse hotline and assistance to foster care homes.

Family RSS feed