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Make-A-Wish® Greater Los Angeles to Honor the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan, Wells Fargo, Saban Brands and Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA
[November 18, 2014]

Make-A-Wish® Greater Los Angeles to Honor the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan, Wells Fargo, Saban Brands and Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA


LOS ANGELES --(Business Wire)--

It's beginning to look a lot like WISH-mas! The Los Angeles chapter of Make-A-Wish® will ring in the holiday giving season with its second annual Wishing Well Winter Gala on December 3 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The chapter announced today its four honorees: the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan will be recognized with the Shining Star Award, Wells Fargo will be recognized with the Philanthropic Leader Award, Saban Brands will be recognized with the Power of a Wish Award, and Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA will be recognized with the Medical Visionary Award.

"As we celebrate granting more than 8,700 wishes since our chapter was founded 31 years ago, we are proud to honor Landon Donovan, Wells Fargo (News - Alert), Saban Brands, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA for their commitment to bringing hope, strength and joy into the lives of our wish children and families," said Breena F. Gold, president and CEO, Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles. "Wishes often mark a turning point in a child's fight against their illness so we are tremendously thankful to our honorees for partnering with us in supporting the impactful power of a wish."

About the Honorees

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Honorees that are furthering this mission:

  • Landon Donovan - The all-time leading goal scorer for the LA Galaxy, MLS and the U.S. National Team, Donovan is arguably American soccer's greatest player ever. Donovan has made three World Cup appearances for the U.S. National Team and won three of his five MLS Cup titles with the Galaxy. A versatile attacker who can play as a forward and in midfield, Donovan has been one of the LA Galaxy's main offensive weapons since joining the club during the 2005 season. Donovan has granted more than a dozen wishes for children across the country. Donovan, himself, will be accepting the Shining Star Award.
  • Wells Fargo - Wells Fargo was recently recognized among America's Top Corporate Philanthropists by the Chronicle of Philanthropy and locally by the Los Angeles Business Journal. A long-time supporter of Make-A-Wish, Wells Fargo rang in the 2014 New Year with the Los Angeles chapter, helping to bring two wish children into the national spotlight on its 125th Tournament of Roses Parade banner float appropriately themed "Dreams Come True." The Philanthropic Leadership Award will be accepted by Lisa Stevens, Head of Regional Banking Sales and Marketing and Small Business, and Regional Bank Executive for the Pacific Midwest Region.
  • Saban Brands - Global brand management firm, Saban Brands was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties in both the entertainment and lifestyle sectors. The company strives to support community efforts that reflect the core values of its brands and has been granting wishes since the debut of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993. In fact, the first Power Morphicon, a bi-annual fan-run Power Rangers convention, was created in 2006to grant a wish in partnership with Make-A-Wish. The Power of a Wish Award will be accepted by Elie Dekel, President, Saban Brands.
  • Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA - A leader in world-class patient care, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA understands that "children are not small adults." The hospital is one of the highest-rated children's hospitals in California, and is a vital component of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center which is ranked the fifth best hospital in nation and best in the western United States by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is a partner of Make-A-Wish, referring wish children to the Los Angeles and neighboring chapters. The Medical Visionary Award will be accepted by Sherin Devaskar, M.D., Physician-in-Chief, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA.



The gala is co-chaired by Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles board members Paul Furman (Colony Capital LLC), Lisa Greer (Entrepreneur and Philanthropist) and Michael Mand (Creative Artists Agency). The honorary co-chairs include last year's honorees Sam Nazarian (sbe) and Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa, as well as last year's gala chair and Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles Board Vice-Chair, Suzanne Kolb.

The Wishing Well Winter Gala is generously supported by sponsors Rick Ghazy, Esq. - The Goldwin Foundation, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, Wells Fargo, Saban Brands, Mattel Inc., John Jory Corporation, First Republic Bank, The Walt Disney (News - Alert) Company and others.


For sponsorship information, table purchase, individual tickets or digital tribute gallery advertisements congratulating the honorees, please contact Rebecca Mizrahi at (323)904-4400 or [email protected].

About Make-A-Wish

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. The Greater Los Angeles Chapter celebrates its 31st year and has granted more than 8,700 wishes to local wish children between the ages of 2 ½-18. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the network of Make-A-Wish chapters grants a wish every 38 minutes somewhere in the country. It has granted more than 226,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; more than 14,000 in 2014 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles at la.wish.org to learn more.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.6 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune's 2014 rankings of America's largest corporations. In 2013, the Company invested $275.5 million in grants to 18,500 nonprofits, and team members contributed more than 1.69 million volunteer hours around the country. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.

About Saban Brands

Formed in 2010 as an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize on the company's experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing consumer brands through content, media and marketing. SB applies a global omni-channel management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets worldwide and to consumers of all ages. The company provides full-service management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand, trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail development, direct-to-consumer initiatives and specialized property extensions. SB's portfolio of properties currently includes Power Rangers, Paul Frank, Macbeth, Julius Jr., Digimon Fusion and Popples, among many others. For more information, visit www.sabanbrands.com.

About Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA

Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA cares for the physical and emotional well-being of children of all ages, from newborns to young adults. With a dedicated entrance from Gayley Avenue, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA is a "hospital-within-a-hospital," located on the third and fifth floors of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. UCLA's facilities are designed to serve the most critically ill children with sophisticated, compassionate care in an environment that is both welcoming and healing to children and their families. Mattel Children's Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Mattel, Inc., pledged $25 million toward construction of the hospital. For more information, visit www.uclahealth.org/mattel.


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