Last Saturday night, May 4, City Year Los Angeles held their 13th annual Spring Break benefit at Inglewood, California's SoFi Stadium, raising over $2.4 million to help thousands of students across LA thrive in school and life.
Over 600 guests comprising community and business leaders, celebrities and influencers, families, and AmeriCorps members gathered for an exciting night in support of education, with a featured performance by EGOT winner, John Legend, serving as a highlight of the event.
City Year Spring Break Gala in LA
This year's benefit event honored City Year Los Angeles co-founders and philanthropists Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman for their passion, advocacy, and contributions to public education.
The duo also not only brought City Year to LA back in 2007, but they also helped establish sustainability in its educational program, eventually becoming one of the organization's largest sites across the US.
The twelve-time Grammy-winning "All of Me" singer and multi-platinum musician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist joined the event as an honored guest, offering a special musical performance.
Presenting the night's honorees with the "Service to a Cause Greater Than Self" award was LA Mayor Karen Bass, recognizing the recipients' commitment to helping hundreds of thousands of children across public schools in the city benefitting directly from a City Year LA mentor.
Other notable moments in the evening include the heartfelt remarks by City Year Executive Director Dr. Sandra Cano, event co-chairs Erik Feig and Dwight Caines (who are also founder and CEO of PICTURESTART, respectively), and Universal Pictures Executive Dwight Caines.
In addition to this, an inspiring presentation by City Year student success coaches Victoria Figueroa of Flournoy Elementary and Bianca Samayoa of Maya Angelou High School graced the event's stage, giving face and proof to the program's impact.
