Damion Matthews
Philanthropic leaders throughout the Bay Area recently came together at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos to support the Somaly Mam Foundation (www.somaly.org), an organization formed to help eradicate the abominable practice of sexual slavery. And as supporter Ashton Kutcher proudly tweeted the day after, “Bay Area raised nearly $1M last night for Somaly Mam.”
The “Spread Your Wings” gala was co-chaired by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partner Jennifer Fonstad and honored Somaly Mam, a renowned leader at the forefront of the anti-trafficking struggle who has garnered world-wide respect and was recently named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Highlights of the evening included a presentation by Somaly Mam as well as a VIP pre-party to meet Somaly and celebrities, including Ron Livingston, the star of the independent film “Holly.”
Co-Executive Editor of AllThingsD.com Kara Swisher was the MC for the Fund-A-Need, which raised over $200,000 – two times the goal!
The first-time event raised more than $1 million in donations with lead sponsors that included GS Gives on behalf of George and Renata Lee, Morgan Stanley, Michael Grimes, Sheryl Sandberg and David Goldberg.
