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Celebrity Journalist, Rona Barrett, Chairs “Talking About My Generation”, Special Event to Benefit the Garden Court Endowment

Garden Court honors Charles Slosser, President and CEO, Santa Barbara Foundation

Event to benefit frail, low-income seniors 

Santa Barbara, CA, October 15, 2008 –Pioneering Hollywood reporter-turned-philanthropist Rona Barrett is sharing her celebrity status to help low-income seniors  in Santa Barbara this fall.  On Friday, November 14th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at The Canary Hotel, Garden Court, an independent and assisted living community for frail, low-income seniors will present “Talking About My Generation”.  Ms. Barrett is honorary co-chair of this very special event benefiting the Garden Court Endowment and honoring the President and CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation, Charles O. Slosser. 

The event will feature Master of Ceremonies and KEYT-TV anchor, Paula Lopez, live auction with auctioneer and local architect, Brian Cearnal, silent auction, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, buffet and wine bar.   

“Talking About My Generation” will benefit the Garden Court Endowment which is dedicated to assisting frail, low-income Santa Barbara seniors to live independently for as long as possible by providing grants for housing and support.    

“Garden Court is a wonderful community that goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide the best quality of life possible for frail, low-income seniors,” said Rona Barrett.  “I am honored to assist this outstanding organization in its efforts to help local seniors.” 

“We are so very grateful to have Rona Barrett as our ‘Talking About My Generation’ honorary event chair,” said Tim Durnin, Executive Director, Garden Court.  “Ms. Barrett is working tirelessly to address the critical challenges of the most underserved seniors across our country.  We are thrilled she is turning her attention to help our very own residents achieve the best quality of life possible.”  

Media Advisory

WHO:             Rona Barrett, celebrity journalist and honorary event chair; Charles Slosser, President and CEO of Santa Barbara Foundation; Paula Lopez, News Anchor at KEYT-TV, Brian Cearnal, local architect

WHAT:           “Talking About My Generation”, a benefit for the Garden Court Endowment

WHEN:           Friday, November 14th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

WHERE:         The Canary Hotel, 31 West Carrillo

Tickets are $100.  For tickets, please call (805) 884-0095.  For more information about Garden Court and the Garden Court Endowment, please go to www.gardencourt.org.   

Residents of Garden Court are the people in our community who worked all their lives in Santa Barbara to make it a better place, as laborers, nurses, business owners, teachers and others, who deserve to be able to enjoy their golden years as an active part of the community they helped to shape and tend. Some residents have moved to Santa Barbara in more recent years, to be closer to their families who live here, and to enjoy those relationships without ‘becoming a burden’. Some are people who never imagined they would be without options; and others who struggled throughout their lives at extremely low income levels and are now able to fully enjoy life for the first time.

Rona Barrett, “Talking About My Generation” Honorary Event Chair

Throughout her career as a vastly successful entertainment reporter, commentator and producer, Rona Barrett has been both an eyewitness to and an expert on the ever-changing world of entertainment and celebrities in the news including sports figures and political leaders.

Rona Barrett began her career in 1957 as an entertainment news columnist.  In 1966, she began broadcasting Hollywood news on the Los Angeles television station, KABC-TV.  She developed the first in-depth personal TV specials about celebrities of motion pictures, television, music, sports and politics, and had a series of magazines on the entertainment industry that were top-rated at newsstands, including Rona Barrett's Hollywood. As such, Barrett paved the way for the entire industry of entertainment reporting. 

Today, Barrett is the founder of the Rona Barrett Foundation, a nonprofit organization created to raise funds to enable the elderly poor to receive high quality assisted living care.

The Garden Court Endowment

The Garden Court Endowment is dedicated to assisting frail, low-income Santa Barbara seniors to live independently for as long as possible by providing grants for housing and support.  Money raised through the Endowment assists extremely low-income seniors in paying rent and costs of medical emergencies, purchasing medical supplies and clothes, and helping meet other essential needs.  In the past year, the Garden Court Endowment has helped a Garden Court resident purchase a prosthetic arm; provided crisis counseling services; introduced wellness and nutrition initiatives for Garden Court residents; provided Qi gong classes for Garden Court residents and covered an apartment pet deposit for a Santa Barbara resident who couldn’t cover it themselves. 

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