LOS ANGELES MISSION GALA HONORS KEVIN AND ENIKO HART Annual Event Celebrates Mission’s 83 Years of Serving L.A.’s Homeless
Los Angeles, California — October 24, 2019 — Thursday evening the Los Angeles Mission held its 9th annual Legacy of Vision Gala. This year’s honorees were Kevin and Eniko Hart.
Kevin and Eniko Hart, their children and their company Heartbeat Productions first volunteered at the Mission’s Thanksgiving event last year. At that time, the Hart family honored the Mission with a substantial donation. Aside from being a beloved actor and comedian, Hart is an author and investor. Ten of his films have reached number one on opening weekend. The Harts were unable to attend the evening, and Host Nick Cannon accepted the award on their behalf.
At the gala, the Mission also honored longtime volunteer and actor Garcelle Beauvais. She received the Legacy of Vision Award. Beauvais has served tirelessly as a dedicated volunteer at Mission events. She is often accompanied by her sons. Beauvais is currently in the cast of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Aside from regular appearances in various television shows, she was also featured in the recent film “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
“It’s an honor to be receiving the Legacy of Vision Award from the Los Angeles Mission,” said Beauvais. “Working alongside the Mission over the years has been so rewarding in itself, and it is one of the special ways my children and I love to give back.”
“It is heartbreaking to see increasing numbers of people who find themselves living through hell on the mean streets of Skid Row,” says Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission. “Our expertise is in meeting their most immediate needs. We help put broken lives back together. We offer individuals a hand up. We help them leave the horrors of the street to work towards a transformed life. We greatly appreciate those celebrities honored tonight. They attract attention to the painstaking work we do to restore these lost lives. Their presence in the midst of the Mission’s work helps us raise the funds we need to do this work.”
This year the Mission decided to honor one of its success stories by presenting a brand-new special achievement award to outstanding graduates of the Anne Douglas Center for Women at the Los Angeles Mission. Johnnetta Tripplett is the worthy recipient of the first Legacy of Vision Alumni Award. Tripplett, who founded her own thriving florist business, is a 2002 graduate of the Anne Douglas Center for Women’s program.
(Credit/Copyright: LA Mission)
Nick Cannon, the host for the event, is a much-admired comedian, actor, producer, rapper, writer, director, deejay, philanthropist, children’s book author and activist. He currently hosts “Nick Cannon Mornings” a radio show on Power 106 in Los Angeles. He also hosts and executive produces the hit show on Fox television, The Masked Singer. Cannon has volunteered at the Mission for many years.
The Anne Douglas Award is given each year to the person who has made significant contributions to the community. The award is named for Mrs. Douglas who first envisioned the Center for Women in the late 1980s. Anne Douglas, along with her husband Kirk Douglas is the Mission’s most generous benefactor. Together the Douglas family has endowed the Los Angeles Mission’s Anne Douglas Center for Women. The “Anne”, named for Mrs. Douglas, is an original sculpture by Antje Campbell.
“We at the Los Angeles Mission are in the business of fixing broken lives. It is challenging and often heart-breaking work. At the Mission, in addition to providing three meals every day, emergency and overnight services, we are constantly reevaluating our approach to restoring individual lives,” said Smith. “Even as we see the numbers of homeless increasing year after year, we still approach the problem one person at a time. As a result, we have raised the level of individualized services to the men and women who come to us. The wide array of services we offer goes far beyond the “three hots and a cot” the Mission provided in 1936. We go the extra mile to figure out exactly what each person needs to solve the problems that left them with no alternative but a hard life on the streets. That help includes: substance abuse counseling, psychological counseling, education, job training and other life-changing services. One thing that will never change is the Christian focus of our program. We find that God is an essential and remarkable partner in restoring a broken life.”
The event took place at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
Sponsors for the gala are: Johnny Carson Foundation, Anne and Kirk Douglas, George Shapiro, US Bank, Goldwin Foundation, Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, MGM, RKD Group, Argyros Family Foundation, The Climate Reality Project, AON, American Airlines and City National Bank.
For some 83 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served thousands of hurting men and women who find themselves homeless in downtown Los Angeles, providing emergency services such as shelter, food and clothing. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs, including education, job training, transitional housing and counseling.