Over $100,000 was raised by local non-profit Jack’s Helping Hand during its second annual fundraising event at the Santa Margarita Ranch last month. Funds raised will contribute to the support, health and happiness of special needs children in our community. Children like Sophia Prado who requires a computerized iBot wheelchair in order to remain mobile. And Owen Beck, a San Luis Obispo County teenager who received a specialized prosthetic leg from the funds raised at last year’s event.
Highlights of this highly successful evening were twilight train rides, local wine and food, music from Paul Brown and the “Bangin’ 58’s,” and live and silent auctions. San Francisco Giants baseball game box seats, a pink tool belt, Hopscotch for Kids, and a Wild Pig Hunt were among the more unusual silent auction items. The live auction featured one week at a 400-year-old stone farmhouse in Italy, tickets to a Nascar race, a vacation in The Hamptons, and a trip to Barnum & Bailey’s circus for 16. $20,000 was the winning bid for a gourmet dinner for eight with hosts Paul and Bridget Ready.
Jack’s Helping Hand, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization, was created in honor of Paul and Bridget Ready’s youngest son Jack, who passed away in 2004 at the age of three. Funds received in Baby Jack’s name have since been utilized within this community to advance the interests of children with special needs. Among its many other contributions, Jack’s Helping Hand, Inc. is currently helping to establish a community park, capable of serving all children, including those with special needs. For more information on Jack’s Helping Hand please contact Mary Illingworth, Charitable Administrator, at (805) 547-1914.