ONEXONE, the charitable organization committed to fighting health issues and preserving the lives of children locally and globally, hosted their 2nd Annual ONEXONE Fundraiser at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, CA on Thursday, October 22.
Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron, Jeremy Piven, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, David Arquette, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciaparra, Laila Ali and more helped raise funds and awareness for charitable causes.
The evening featured keynote speaker Vicki Escarra, CEO of Feeding America, along with a special headline performance from Snow Patrol. Additional entertainment included performances by Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, Spencer Day, the local jazz vocalist from San Francisco, and Ethan Bortnick, the 8-year old pianist and composer who wrote his own song “It’s For the Kids” in honor of the event. ONEXONE also welcomed back Jay Bilas for his second year as Master of Ceremonies.
Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron, on behalf of the Charlize Theron African Outreach Project, and 2-time World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Mia Hamm also announced the latest initiative “Home Field Advantage” in partnership with ONEXONE and Academy Award-winner Matt Damon which will bring soccer fields and clean water to the children of South Africa by 2010. The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and the ONEXONE Foundation will work together on this initiative to bolster impoverished rural South African communities with plans to break ground by the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The highlight of the evening came during the live auction when Charlize Theron helped auction off a two-week trip to South Africa for the World Cup plus a kiss from her for $140,000. Jeremy Piven also jumped onstage during the live auction and encouraged two guests to bid $140,000 each for a walk-on roll on the hit HBO show “Entourage” for a total of $280,000.
“The night was a huge success and we’d like to thank the generous people of San Francisco for their continued support,” said Marc Joubert, President of ONEXONE U.S.
The ONEXONE event in San Francisco focuses not only on raising funds and awareness for the issues, but also on producing a top-notch show that entertains and educates the audience at the same time. ONEXONE was founded in 2005 by Diesel Canada President, Joelle Berdugo Adler, and has raised more than $9 million for children around the world since that time.
