PHILANTHROPY

Four-Legged Fundraisers

by Merla Zellerbach

Snuggly Soirée    “Where else can you have a carnival in a mansion?” asks Pam Glogau, nurse, professor, wife of dermatologist Dr. Richard Glogau, and co-founder (with hubby Rick) of the Glogau Teddy Bear Rescue Fund (GTBRF).    Pam’s referring to the 7th annual “Snuggly Soirée” — a lively circus of clowns, games, face-painting, and cookie-decorating, that benefits UCSF Children’s Hospital and takes place in the covered courtyard of Ann & Gordon Getty’s Broadway manor.    At least, that’s where the children hang out. Their parents are welcome to roam the first floor, marvel at the lavish décor and priceless antiques, greet friends and enjoy “grown-up hors d’oeuvres.” As Ann’s popular niece Beth Townsend likes to say, “It’s not every day guests are served both cotton candy — and caviar.”    Speaking of the latter, one young woman at last year’s event tells of offering her four-year-old a taste of the delicacy. Amazingly, he liked it. So much so, says his mom, that a few days later at a birthday party, he turned to his host and asked, “Do you have any caviar?”    But on with the history.    “The ‘Snuggly’ story dates back to 1989 when our six-month-old son Gordon needed multiple foot surgeries,” explains Pam Glogau. “By the grace of God, the orthopedic surgeons and nurses, physical therapists, and everyone at UCSF hospital, he overcame severe foot problems. Today, he’s 18 and very active in sports.”     While spending long hours at the hospital, however, Pam and Rick had time to observe severely ill children, some of whose parents had no money. One couple was sharing a loaf of Wonder Bread because they couldn’t afford to eat in the cafeteria.     “When we saw a child crying out for something to hug on the way to surgery,” Pam says, “we decided that every child going into surgery should get a teddy bear. That’s how we started.”    And so in 2002, the Teddy Bear Rescue Fund was born, and not long after, Winnie the Pooh went big time.    Today, the thriving Foundation provides for such basic needs as food vouchers for parents of hospitalized children, taxi vouchers so young heart surgery patients don’t have to go home on buses, and even lodging for parents who would otherwise be sleeping in their cars.    Pam and Rick are looking forward to their March 13th Snuggly Soirée chez Getty. “Even though we had 500 guests last year, I’m always worried that nobody’s going to come,” laughs Pam. “I call every day to see how many are coming — and then finally, the Gettys have to tell me they’re closing it down before it turns into one of Gordon’s birthday parties and has to extend out into the street.”    The hosts promise surprises galore and “a night the kids won’t forget.” Tickets start at $225 for adults and $75 for children 18 and under. To date, the Foundation has raised close to $600,000 — can seven figures be on the horizon?       For info, kelley.o'brien@ucsfmedctr.org or 415-353-9394.

The Bark & Whine Ball    Teddy bears aren’t the only four-legged fundraisers.    Back in 1987, Dr. Buzz Kramer, a director of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF/SPCA), asked Bob Leitstein, Gump’s general manager at the time, if he would help the cause. Bob suggested putting some of SF/SPCA’s adoptable pets in their famous Christmas windows.    The idea took legs, so to speak, and soon there were mobs of shoppers admiring the adorable puppies and kitties. Jill Kramer, Buzz’s wife, recalls, “Jane Otto and I put together a group of friends and animal lovers to stand outside Gump’s in the crisp winter weather and talk to people about the pets needing homes. The store had a desk inside to interview prospective “parents.” (Pets could not be sent as Christmas gifts.)    “One of our volunteers had to leave her fur coat next door at Elizabeth Arden, for fear of offending animal lovers,” adds Jill. “And to make matters worse, another group was demonstrating at Roberts Brothers Furs with ghastly pictures of animals in traps.    “But that didn’t stop the shoppers. Gloria Getty adopted the first cat from the window and named him Gump’s. She had him for years. Then when Gump’s built a new store, their windows weren’t set up for animals, so we moved to Macy’s windows. And today, at Christmas, the SF/SPCA volunteers are still standing out there in the cold, explaining ‘This is Millie, a six-year-old cat that loves children….’”    Meanwhile, not one to lose good volunteers, SF/SPCA president Richard Avanzino had asked Jill to formalize the group. So in 1995, she met with Jane Otto, Ann Burns, Patti Costello and Jean McClatchy (all, unfortunately, deceased), and voila! CLAW — Critter Lovers At Work — was born, and the women decided to do an event at Fort Mason.    “I wanted it to be ‘for everyone and their dog,’ ” says Jill. “It’s an expression my Southern-bred mother used to say about huge events. ‘Everyone and their dog was there.’”    And so it happened — people brought their cameras and their canines and pronounced the party a howling success. Along with an AIA Barkitecture Contest for dog houses, and Wilkes Bashford’s fashion parade with pets, there were prizes for the longest tail and shortest legs, an owner/pet look-alike contest, caricaturists, and of course, an enormous display of pets needing homes.    Richard Avanzino had a crew of animal behaviorists standing by, but happily, the dogs all got along. (No cats — they don’t do well at such events.)    Committee members soon renamed the party the Bark & Whine Ball (thanks to ad exec Jeff Atlas), moved it to the Old Mint for a few years, and then to the SF Gift Center at 888 Brannan Street, where festivities will once again start at 7 PM on March 6.    Gail Glasser, current chair of the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) Foundation and early supporter, remembers when her husband, Dr. Harvey Glasser, invited Lassie’s owner-trainer to come to the Ball. He and his wife insisted on flying first class, renting an expensive car, and staying at a top hotel…where they tolled up an $800 bar bill. “That was a bit pricey for us,” says Gail, “but a huge number of kids had their pictures taken with Lassie, so we were happy about that.”     “The sad irony of all this,” says Jill, “is that when I married Buzz, neither he nor I had any idea he was allergic to cats, dogs and horses.  We had a wonderful cat that we couldn’t keep. Then I got Buzz a yellow lab and we had to give him up, too. It broke our hearts.  Buzz still loves animals from afar and is still a director of the SF/SPCA. But at the Ball, I can get close to as many pets as I like.”    The 13th annual Bark & Whine Ball, featuring Dick Bright’s orchestra and Dan McCall’s luscious goodies, will benefit the SF/SPCA’s Cinderella Fund that buys medical supplies for needy animals. Tickets start at $150 for two legs and $20 for four legs.    Who’d want to miss such a barkin’?       For info, www.barkandwhine.org or 415-522-3535.      Merla Zellerbach is the author of 11 books. She was a 23-year columnist for the SF Chronicle, a TV panelist, and an NHG editor for 12 years. Now she's happily back to writing — being the slashEE instead of the slashER.

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