Submitted by Maryann McKinley, Jan 23, 2007 12:03

It is always so interesting to see the clash of titans ... celebrity vs old wealth getting the press, when the silent majority continues to work at the core of community support. Having spent my 40-year professional career in the financial industry, the greatest joy I had in the final 10 years was to see that corporate funding was channelled into community needs, from the arts to historical and environmental causes and, most importantly to me, major social needs. For example, a group such as Villa Esperanza services (VES) based in Pasadea (in the San Gabriel Valley, N/E of Downtown Los Angeles) is dealing with young peopleaffected by Autism and other developmental challenges.. This childhood affliction is now being diagnosed in 1 out of 166 children in California... an alarming rate with hard-to-determine causes. Autism affects not only the child but the whole family, community and the school systems, where class disruption makes it vital to diagnose and treat the most affected children at an early age. An organization such as VES is supported by dedicated staff, hundreds of volunteers, board members, parents, siblings, professional support groups, major and minor grantmaking foundations and certainly the entertainment industry groups such as the wonderful ladies of SHARE. But media attention, being so focused on the entertainment fields' support of non-profits in So/California, is sort-sighted and somewhat long-winded. Let's give a hand to those in the silent-majority of dedicated donors and volunteers who really do make a difference in all of our lives, not only by what they do and give but also by their example.

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