SEAL PERFORMS AT THE 2013 SILVER CIRCLE GALA TO BENEFIT THE VENICE FAMILY CLINIC
Photo Courtesy of Getty Images
It was a truly a beautiful night to be part of a life changing cause. On Tuesday February 26, the annual Silver Circle Gala was held to benefit the Venice Family Clinic. The Gala was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and was sponsored by the UCLA Health System and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and featured a special guest performance by Seal.
The event is now it its 34th year and was hosted by the fabulous Debbie Allen who used humor to lighten up the room with laughter while making everyone feel empathetic to the event’s cause at the same time.
The gala is a celebration to honor community leaders and thank its Silver Circle members who together contribute over $1 million annually to help the clinic provide quality health care to 24,000 low-income, uninsured and homeless people in need each year.
The evening honored the wonderful Julie and Dr. Harley Liker M.D, and Jeff Nathanson. I thought Julie’s speech was very moving. She spoke so highly about what the clinic has done for the lives of everyone in our local communities and neighborhoods. One of the best points she made was that at any time in our lives any one of us could lose everything that is valuable and precious to us. She said that all of us “could become poor” during her speech. I thought it was a bold and touching statement to say in front of such a large crowd and it cut to the core of what the clinic is all about. Julie went on to discuss how her relationship with the Venice Family started back when she was an administrator at the UCLA Medical center placing medical students in health care organizations and hospitals. Both her and her husband have been involved for over twenty years.
One of the highlights of the evening and of my reporting career was the performance and opportunity to interview singer-songwriter, Seal. I had the privilege to speak with the British music legand about his current work on Australia’s Voice. Seal said that, “it was an honor being a coach on the show, these people are not looking for 15 minutes fame. This has opened a new chapter in my life.” Just chatting with Seal, he exudes an incredible aura and energy which translate easily to the stage. His performance blew away and electrified the crowd. He preformed James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World”, one of my childhood favorites, along with “Crazy” and “Kiss from a Rose” during which a women in the crowd stood holding up a rose with the spotlight on her hand. He received a standing ovation from the crowd and looked truly humbled.
It was touching to see Seal’s commitment to helping the poor and underprivileged, and I was honored to be in the room with people who work tirelessly to raise funds for our community’s homeless. It was a memorable event and we encourage you to learn more and get involved at VeniceFamilyClinic.org
