Oscar Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx was honored among a host of celebrities including NBA legends: lead sports analyst Mark Jackson and business magnate Earvin “Magic” Johnson; Changing Lives activist Ed Roche; renowned conservationist Peter Byrne; Dallas Mavericks starting power forward Shawn Marion; and actor Boris Kodjoe for their philanthropic contributions at the fundraising event titled “Real Men Give Back,” benefiting women- and children-centered charities, Haven Hills, Inc. and The Little Princess Foundation.
Guests enjoyed a cocktail fête, live entertainment and an opportunity to bid in a live auction featuring exclusive, rare art pieces — Metallurgical Petty: oversized in scale, stainless steel and bronze original cast sculptures by renowned Chinese artist Yao Yuan; Picassos; and a one-of-a-kind piece, “Forever Goodbye” by Lucy Liu. The venue, the luxurious Vibiana, boasts 130 years of rich Los Angeles history, 35,000-square-feet of space, baroque inspired interiors and lush gardens all in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Also in their company were a number of leading female celebrities like Khloe Kardashian’s BFF Malika Haqq, Lauren London and Garcelle Beauvais.
The event’s host, Elsa Braithwaite, is dedicated to helping women and children that are displaced due to domestic violence, she’s served as a volunteer and supporter of the National Coalition of Domestic Violence for a decade. “Three women die every day to domestic violence … [that’s] Surreal4real,” she said in a recent interview. “It’s unbelievable but it’s true.”
Braithwaite’s upscale design firm, Casa Décor, partnered with the Verizon Wireless Hopeline® initiative, which encouraged guests to donate their old cell phones, from any carrier, to be refurbished, put into service, coded with special emergency numbers and donated to domestic violence victims. Baron-Fleming Construction Group and Rolls Royce of Beverly Hills were also sponsors of the evening’s festivities. –yvette caslin (photos by mike melendy)
