Category Archives: non-profit

Best Buddies DC 2014

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The annual Best Buddies bike ride/run/walk in DC was held on Saturday, October 18. Best Buddies is a non-profit that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, both socially (hence its name) and professionally, by encouraging companies to hire people with disabilities and by providing leadership development.

The annual event is made up of a bike ride (100, 62, or 20 miles) or a 5K run/walk at the National Mall. Jim’s company put together a team of walkers, and our 13 year old and I arrived bright and early on Saturday morning. (Jim was traveling, and it was Homecoming for our high-schooler.)

Because the DC event is named after Eunice Shriver, I am never surprised when the weather is perfect for the event. (Even God would have a tough time crossing Mrs. Shriver, in my opinion.) This year was no exception. It was sunny and crisp, a perfect autumn day.

After finishing a leisurely 5K stroll, the afternoon events took place at Morven Park in Leesburg, the finishing point for the cyclists. There are all sorts of festivities and food there as well. The kids all ran around like banshees while the adults hung and chatted.

Here’s the group photo of Team Sterling at the walk:

Team Sterling 2014

You can find out more about Best Buddies at www.bestbuddies.org.

Children’s Ball 2014

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The Children’s Ball, a fundraiser to benefit the Children’s National Medical Center, was held on Friday, April 11 at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, DC. The Ball was co-chaired by Yousef and Abeer Al-Otaiba (the UAE Ambassador and his wife) and Amy and Bret Baier.  There were over 900 people in attendance with a lengthy waitlist as well.

Thanks to the wonderful co-chairs, the Ball broke a DC fundraising record and raised $10.7 million for Children’s National Medical Center. The live auction included a Labrador puppy (which our children were strictly banned from bidding on).  Yousef announced at the end of the live auction that he had called the Crown Prince of the UAE and the Foreign Minister on his way to the event, and both agreed to contribute $1 million each.  And as a final surprise for the guests, Jennifer Hudson performed for the crowd, including a stunning rendition of one of my favorite songs, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (better known as one of the songs on the Shrek soundtrack).  🙂

Jim is Chair of the CNMC Board of Directors for another 2 months and 9 days, and this is one of our favorite events of the year.

Here is our family at the Ball:

Children's Ball 2014

Children’s Ball 2014

The kids also got to invite their friends. Here is our daughter’s group (minus one):

Jade & her friends

Jade & her friends at Children’s Ball 2014

And here is our son’s group of friends:

Marcus & his friends

Marcus & his friends

You can learn more about Children’s National Medical Center at www.cnmc.org.

Institute for Justice dinner

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Jim is on the board of the Institute for Justice, and we had the board and almost everyone in the organization (approximately 44 people) over for dinner last night.  Robert, Jim’s nephew, came out and helped cook.  Without him, we would never have been able to pull this dinner off.

The menu was as follows (no photos, sorry!  when there are 40+ people in your house, you forget mundane things like taking photos of the food.)

  • Cheese & Charcuterie with Garlic Grilled Baguettes
  • Lamb Shanks with Rosemary Orange Gremolata
  • Oven Roasted Herb Shrimp
  • Moroccan Vegetables
  • Couscous
  • Tunisian Beet & Potato Salad
  • Pineapple with Lime Honey and Lemongrass
  • Tossed Salad
  • Fresh Berry Salad
  • Chocolate Pots de Crème

As with all meals, I was responsible only for the Chocolate Pots de Crème, cleaning up the house, and doing dishes during the day.  J  And the good news is that there are lots of leftovers, so I can continue to leisurely eat my way through this meal.

Jim has been on the board of IJ for over 20 years.  IJ was founded in 1991 and is a civil liberties non-profit.  They defend people’s rights relating to private property, economic liberty, free speech, and school choice.  In addition to being an incredible group of dedicated professionals, they are also really fun people to hang out with.  (As an example, within 60 seconds of arriving at our home, there was already a pool game underway.)

You can find out more about this extraordinary organization at www.ij.org.

Sips & Suppers 2014

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We attended one of the Sips & Suppers that were hosted last night.  Sips & Suppers benefits Martha’s Table and D.C. Central Kitchen.  Chefs from across the country (and sometimes from around the world) cook meals in private homes to benefit the charities.

Our dinner was prepared by Scott Drewno of The Source and Peter Chang of Peter Chang (he has pop up restaurants throughout Virginia).  The theme of the dinner was Chinese New Year (which is actually on January 31 this year–the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar calendar so the date changes every year).  It will be the Year of the Horse.

We started the evening with a variety of hors d’oeuvres, most of them very spicy (a specialty of Peter’s).  Accompanying these was a 2005 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee champagne.

The amouse bouche was a Chinese tea egg custard, consisting of a lapsang souchong tea-smoked egg served with caviar on top.  I am afraid that all I can show you is the empty egg shell because I ate all of it before I thought to take photos (this will be a recurring theme in this blog post).

tea-smoked egg with caviar (empty)

tea-smoked egg with caviar (empty)

The first official course was a quartet of Chinese New Year dumplings.  The crescent shape of the potsticker dumpling is a similar shape to the gold “coins” from the Yuan Dynasty and symbolizes prosperity.  Accompanying these dumplings was a 2007 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne.

assorted dumplings

assorted dumplings

The second course was a Chinese-style steamed lobster.  Red (the color of the lobster) is the color of joy and happiness in Chinese culture.  The wine served with this course was a 100 point wine, the 1999 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree.

Chinese-style lobster

Chinese-style lobster

The third course was a dry aged New York strip accompanied with a spicy five vegetable stir fry.  The five vegetables represent the five blessings of the New Year (longevity, riches, peace, wisdom, and virtue).  You’ll have to take my word for it that the presentation was beautiful, as I was too busy eating the dish to take a photo.  The accompanying wine was a 2001 Rudd Oakville Estate Proprietary Red.

The final course was a Chinese New Year tangerine cake and house made fortune cookie served with a banana custard with a blood orange glaze.  The pronunciation of the word “tangerine” in Chinese is similar to the pronunciation of the word “money” and symbolizes prosperity.  There were two dessert wines served with this—a 2009 Doisy Daene L’Extravagant and a 1927 Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera.

tangerine cake, banana custard & fortune cookie

tangerine cake, banana custard & fortune cookie

The meal was a smashing start to what I hope is a fabulous New Year!

Best Buddies Miami 2013

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We flew down to Miami last weekend to attend the Best Buddies Miami gala.  Best Buddies is an organization that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with friendships, employment, and leadership development.  We’ve been involved with the organization for 20 years, and Jim is on the board.

The Miami event is especially entertaining because the crowd is some of the best people watching ever.  (Can you say “physical enhancements?”)  This year, Carlos Slim was the guest of honor at this year’s gala, and he and several family members flew from Mexico City to attend.  He is an amazingly unassuming person, happy to meet everyone.  We also met his daughter and son-in-law, who have also been generous supporters of Best Buddies.  The musical performer was Sean Paul.  We had a really fabulous time at the gala.

We spent the rest of the weekend in Miami, just hanging by the pool and enjoying the warm and sunny weather.  It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend and perfect timing, as we enter the crazy holiday season.

You can find out more about Best Buddies at www.bestbuddies.org.

And here’s a photo from the event of Jim and me:

Best Buddies Miami 2013

Best Buddies Miami 2013

Best Buddies Challenge 2013

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October 19 was the date of the Best Buddies Challenge in Washington, DC.  (It was also the date of Homecoming for our high schooler, and Jim was in Japan for the weekend, but I digress.)

Best Buddies is a charity that helps folks with intellectual disabilities with friendship and job prospects.  The organization was founded by Anthony Shriver and is dedicated to improving the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.  Each year, a fundraiser is held in DC that consists of a 100 mile bike ride, a 62 mile bike ride, a 20 mile bike ride, and a 5K run/walk.

This year’s DC event was made especially challenging due to the government shutdown.  As a result of the shutdown, the 100 mile bike ride was canceled and the 5K run/walk, which is usually held on the Mall, was moved to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia instead.

The challenge was a tremendous success this year.  The weather was perfect—low 60s with a little bit of sun.  Turnout was amazing.  Kevin Spacey, the Wolff Brothers, and Capital Cities were all there (as well as the Red Rocket cheerleaders).  And, most importantly of all, Best Buddies raised $2.5 million at the event.

Full disclosure:  we’ve been supporters of Best Buddies for 20 years, and Jim is on the board.

You can find out more about Best Buddies at www.bestbuddies.org.

Hobbesian Choice

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We were presented with the dilemma of the following choices:  (i) 7 5th grade boys (10-11 years old) at a black tie event for Children’s National Medical Center; and (ii) 20 8th grade girls (13-14 years old) at a Taylor Swift concert.

As a practical matter, there was no choice in the matter.  Jim is Chair of CNMC, so his presence was a requirement at the Children’s Ball.  Fortunately, I enjoy Taylor Swift’s music, and the concert was quite fun.  As it turned out, a great time was had by the boys, who all cleaned up quite nicely.

Children's Ball 2013

Children’s Ball 2013

And a fabulous time was had by all the girls.

Taylor Swift concert 2013

Taylor Swift concert 2013

The only complaint I had was that I had underestimated the frequency and pitch of the squealing by 8th grade girls.  My eardrums may never be the same!

The New Epilepsy Foundation

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As of January 1, the Epilepsy Therapy Project and the Epilepsy Foundation merged and became one organization, the Epilepsy Foundation.  The first board meeting of the new organization was held this past weekend in Miami.  Jim and I flew down on Friday afternoon and participated in the tail end of the Anti-Epileptic Drug and Devices conference (AEDD).  The board meeting was Saturday.  All of the board members that were ETP board members were old friends, of course, and it was wonderful to see them again and catch up on their lives.  It was also equally lovely to meet the board members that I didn’t know—those from the original Epilepsy Foundation.  In a moment of insanity/weakness, I agreed to become Secretary of the Board.  (It really is impossible to say no to the CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation, Phil Gattone.  It gives him a most unfair advantage.)

The Epilepsy Foundation combines the missions of ETP (supporting research into promising new therapies for epilepsy) and the Epilepsy Foundation (improving the lives of people with epilepsy).

The board meeting was both uplifting and sobering.  Sobering because there is still such a lengthy journey to go before all those suffering from epilepsy can control their seizures without significant side effects.  Uplifting because of all those folks, both on the EF board and otherwise, who are both passionate and dedicated in their mission to help those suffering from this debilitating disease.

Please see www.epilepsy.com for more information.

Hawaii (and the US-Japan Leadership Program)

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I highly recommend the concept of being in Hawaii in February.  (Yes, that absolutely was an exercise in gloating.)  I was there for an executive committee meeting of the US-Japan Leadership Program, and Jim and I stayed a few extra days afterwards to enjoy paradise (aka Hawaii).  We stayed in Honolulu, as we think the best restaurants and museums on the islands are there.  (Restaurant reviews to follow.)

Our children were offered the option of missing a week of school to join us, but our daughter decided she’d be missing too much school that way and opted not to go.  I am not certain whether to be pleased at the responsibility she demonstrated or appalled at the fact that she turned down a trip to Hawaii.  I’m still pondering that one.  Our son, who would have happily missed a week of school to go to Hawaii, is still rather miffed that he couldn’t go, thanks to his older sister.

The USJLP executive committee meeting went quite well, and I think we have a fabulous group of new delegates for the program.  It should be a lively group in Japan this summer when they meet up.  It was also really wonderful to see everyone on the executive committee again.  They are a great group of people (and have an incredible capacity for beer and sake).

But the really lovely thing about Hawaii is its incredible natural beauty.  (Jim would say that the natural beauty of the Hawaii residents isn’t bad either.)  We hiked Diamondhead in the early morning so that we could see the sunrise up there.  And, of course, there are miles of beautiful beaches and ocean.

This is the view from Diamondhead:

Diamondhead at sunrise

Diamondhead at sunrise

And this is the view from our (upgraded) hotel room:

view from the Halekulani

view from the Halekulani

A big thank you to my parents, who were willing to fly out from southern California (where it’s sunny and warm) to watch the kids while we were gone (where it was neither sunny nor warm).

Sips & Suppers

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We went to a supper hosted in conjunction with Sips & Suppers, a fundraiser benefiting Martha’s Table (marthastable.org) and DC Central Kitchen (dccentralkitchen.org) where local chefs prepare meals at the hosts’ homes.

At the dinner we attended, the chefs were Scott Drewno from The Source (wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants) and Erik Bruner-Yang from Toki Underground (tokiunderground.com).

The chefs decided to do a Chinese New Year themed meal.  (Chinese New Year is on February 10 this year.)  Jim was responsible for pairing the wines, which was surprisingly difficult because Chinese food does not pair well with wines, as a rule.  The spices used in Chinese cooking often overwhelm the delicate flavors of the wines.  But, as usual, he succeeded splendidly!

The courses (and paired wines) were as follows:

Appetizers consisted of XO financier in a butter emulsion and shrimp salt, grilled rice cake tater tots with seasonal pickles, toasted nori and chickpea flour, fermented pork salad, garlic chive dumplings with pork, king crab and mustard, and a “wonton soup” duck dumpling served with roasted chicken broth.  The wine was a 2002 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs champagne.

The first course was an Eight Treasure Chawanmushi served with pickled Acadian red snapper, apple and charred garlic chives.  The wine was a 2009 Louis Latour Corton Chardonnay.

8 treasure chawanmushi with picked acadian red snapper with apple and charred garlic chives

8 treasure chawanmushi with picked acadian red snapper with apple and charred garlic chives

The second course was Chili XO longevity noodles served with prawn and bay scallop takoyaki.  It was served with a 2006 Vietti Barolo Brunate.

chili xo longevity noodle with prawn and bay scallop takoyaki

chili xo longevity noodle with prawn and bay scallop takoyaki

The main course was a roasted Peking duck served with pork rib, five spice broken rice and Satsuma.  The wine was a 2001 Rudd Estate Oakville Estate Proprietary Red.

roasted peking duck with pork rib, 5 spice broken rice and satsuma

roasted peking duck with pork rib, 5 spice broken rice and satsuma

The pastry amuse-bouche was a tangerine sorbet served with a crushed fortune cookie.  The accompanying wine was a 1990 Rayne Vigneau Sauternes.

tangerine sorbet with crushed fortune cookie

tangerine sorbet with crushed fortune cookie

And the dessert was a deconstructed sticky cake served with a five kernel streusel and pandan ice cream.  And the paired wine was a 2004 Girard Late Harvest Zinfandel.

deconstructed sticky cake with five kernel streusel with pandan ice cream

deconstructed sticky cake with five kernel streusel with pandan ice cream

The food itself was delicious, with the Peking duck as one of the highlights (yes, I freely admit that I am very partial to duck).  Still, the duck was amazing even given my bias.  Other highlights were the “wonton soup” appetizer (more duck, I know) and the tangerine sorbet (no duck there).

The company was also great fun.  The guests mostly consisted of people we didn’t know but connected with only a degree or two of separation.  It was easily one of the most fun fundraisers we have ever been to!