Eyebrows raised, and funds too By Nancy Rommelmann, Special to The Times
Sunday, May 23, 2004 - Page E.6
Those attending last Sunday's fundraiser for the Blue Heron
Foundation, which supports Romanian orphans, were shuttled by van to
an estate hidden high in the Hollywood Hills. "It was the first
house between Doheny and Sunset Drive," said Stefania Magidson, the
estate's owner and founder of Blue Heron. "We have a photo of when
the house was built in 1920, and Sunset Boulevard is just a dirt
road."
The cinemascopic view from the terraced gardens included the ocean,
downtown and two south-running avenues of jacaranda trees in full
bloom. When one guest commented that the latter showed good civic
planning, another said, "Yes, but no one gets to see them unless
you're up here."
The hilltop location did not, however, offer much respite from the
sun, and after they'd bid on a sundry array of silent auction items
(a poster for "Tupac Resurrected," a Persian rug, a "Happy Days"
model car),the guests sought shade beneath stands of live oak,all
except for caterer Jason Harley,
who served a lunch of salmon and lime cheesecake while wearing a
black leather chef's jacket of his own design. Wasn't he broiling?
"Nah," he said, and lifted an arm to show several eyelets. "Air
vents."
"I was getting two tickets to 'American Idol' for the auction!"
announced the gala's late-arriving guest of honor, Anastasia Soare,
a Romanian émigré well known as the eyebrow guru to the stars.
"Before, Anastasia had been asking her clients to give cans of food
and clothes to send to Romania," said Magidson, a former Romanian
gymnast who trained with Nadia Comaneci. "When I had the kickoff
[for Blue Heron] in October 2003, Anastasia was just bawling in the
front row. I thought, 'Ana, stop crying, I won't be able to talk.'
Then she began to speak with her clients, Kelly Preston, Rita
Wilson, Julianna Margulies. Our first check we got was from Kate
Capshaw. It was for $5,000. I began to cry. Then I thought, 'Maybe
someone is playing a joke.' "
"She called me, crying, and I told her, 'Instead of charging my
clients for eyebrows, I gave them the donation form,' " said Soare,
as a woman with diamond ear-studs the size of nickels approached,
her hand fluttering before her forehead.
"You can tell I'm doing my own brows!" she confessed to Soare, who
kissed the woman anyway. How many eyebrows in attendance would Soare
say she'd worked on?
"I'm looking around and I'd have to say … most," she said.
Not everyone knew Soare's work. Pop singer Michelle Branch, whose
all-white outfit was set off by several tattoos, said she knew
"nothing about the event except that the lemonade is good." And
Claudiu Lucaci, the Romanian consul general in Los Angeles, was less
concerned with brow lines than with fixing what communism wrought.
"Ceausescu tried to hide away the children, the poverty, people with
AIDS," he said. "We cannot solve it all in one year, but there is a
time for everything, and now the time for the children has come."
Still, plucking and shaping has this year helped to build the
"Spielberg Playmountain" playground and to hire eight additional
caregivers in the Brasov region, where there are 1,600 orphans.
"I am a mother, and I feel hiring people to cuddle and give these
children the human touch, you cannot replace that," said Magidson,
as little girls paraded fashions on a rose-petal-strewn runway. The
price of a cuddler in Romania these days? About $120 a month, or the
cost of two tweezings, plus tips.
Appeal For Help From Romanian Orphans Saturday, February 28, 2004
Remember the heartbreaking images of Romanian orphans after the fall
of the iron curtain and the Ceausescu dictatorship? Images of little
faces wracked by disease and severe emotional withdrawal after years
of warehousing and total medical neglect. Well, as Romania moves
forward on its path toward becoming a modern, enlightened country,
there is real hope and optimism for these kids. And thanks to the
Blue Heron Foundation, there is also an opportunity for those of us
in the United States who wish to help do our share to right this
terrible wrong.
The Blue Heron Foundation was formed in 2002 by Stefania Magidson.
Stefania and her parents were among the fortunate ones who managed
to escape the brutal Ceausescu regime and move to America in the
l980's. Now that she has grown up, married and had children of her
own, Stefania has undertaken the formidable task of trying to do
something really positive to help those less fortunate children left
behind. Helping Romanian orphans is more possible now than ever
before. The country is being fully integrated into the West and its
economic and political outlook has never been brighter. Their vastly
improved economic situation has finally allowed the Romanian
government to help many of its orphans, but there are still tens of
thousands in need. Stefania believes that for these children to be
left behind in a time of such promise would be a double tragedy.
Because the price of goods and services in Romania is still
extremely reasonable by international standards, Blue Heron is able
to have an immediate and substantial impact. Gifts to the foundation
truly go a very long way. Just a hundred dollars a month pays the
full-time salary of a caregiver to hold and cuddle infants. A
hundred and fifty dollars will pay for a full-time registered nurse.
Five thousand dollars will provide a wonderful library. Ten thousand
dollars will buy a fully equipped playground.
As part of Los Angeles's Magidson family, Stefania has been able to
draw on their decades of expeience with philanthropic activities to
make sure that every dollar collected goes directly to helping the
children. The foundation has no paid employees (only volunteers) and
all operating expenses are paid for by the founders.
Stefania feels that contributing or volunteering one's time to the
foundation is not only enormously rewarding, but an extremely
effective way to have an immediate positive impact on little lives.
A small contribution can make a very big difference to the future of
these wonderful children.
The name "Blue Heron", which in Native American symbolism stands for
inner reflection and manifestation of one's spiritual path, is also
an acronym for Be Loving Unselfish Enlightened Help Every Romanian
Orphan Now. For more information on the Blue Heron Foundation, call
(310) 275-2217 or go to their website at www.blueheronfoundation.org.
Licitatie la Los Angeles pentru orfanii din România Lili Lal-Maiorescu, Hollywood, CA
E adevărat că orfanii si copiii bolnavi de SIDA din România
constituie subiectele preferate ale mass-mediei internationale. Nu
putini străini sunt cei care, întrebati fiind despre eventualele
cunostinte despre tara noastră, dau acel răspuns dureros. Tigani,
copii ai străzii, orfani, bolnavi de SIDA. Si lista poate continua.
Dureros, dar adevărat. Iar dacă la nivel guvernamental, probleme de
acest gen nu pot fi remediate în totalitate, rămâne ca această
obligatie să ne revină si nouă, cetătenilor, celor care, din
întâmplare sau nu, ne-am născut cu ceva mai mult noroc.
Tocmai la Los Angeles, în una din cele mai de lux zone ale
metropolei americane, în West Hollywood Hills, a avut loc, duminica
trecută, un eveniment care atestă faptul că unora chiar le pasă de
soarta micutilor aflati în orfelinatele din România. Fundatia de
bienefacere "Blue Heron", prezidată de Stefania Magidson, româncă la
origini si emigrată în America de peste două decenii, a organizat o
gală având ca scop strângerea de fonduri pentru orfelinatele de pe
raza judetului Brasov. A fost o gală cu mult fast, cu mult bun gust
si cu cele mai bune intentii. Organizată la resedinta româncei,
resedintă ce se întinde pe o suprafată de mai bine de un
hectar,precum si americani dornici de a întinde o mână semenilor lor
năpăstuiti din România. Au fost prezente în jur de 300 de persoane.
Au participat si reprezentanti ai mass-mediei americane, de la
"People Magazine", în persoana lui Steven Cojocaru, român si el si,
totodată, editor la celebra revistă, reprezentanti de la
prestigiosul cotidian "Los Angeles Times", de la "Vogue", precum si
de la alte publicatii locale, publicatii care au tratat la modul cel
mai serios acest eveniment. Maestru de ceremonii a fost Michael
Buffer, cunoscut lumii întregi si mai ales pasionatilor de box,
datorită anunturilor pe care le face la începutul fiecărui meci mare
de box. De altfel, el a fost căsătorit până nu demult cu o
compatrioată de-a noastră. Printre cei prezenti s-au mai remarcat
Alexandra Nechita, cântăreata de pop Michelle Branch si Anastasia
Soare, căreia, în urma ajutorului oferit fundatiei, i s-a decernat
premiul "2004 Forget-me-Not". Invitat de onoare a fost ambasadorul
României la Washington, dl Sorin Ducaru, însă care n-a fost prezent,
retinut fiind în capitala americană cu probleme de serviciu.
Manifestarea a cuprins si o licitatie în cadrul căreia au fost
expuse spre vânzare diverse obiecte donate de persoane fizice sau
institutii… De la vinuri rare, de sute de dolari, de la imense
cosuri cu produse cosmetice, de la poze cu autografele Nadiei
Comăneci si Bart Conner, de la litografii semnate Alexandra Nechita,
de la o carte cu fotografii si cu autograful celebrei Naomi
Campbell, de la obiecte de artizanat confectionate de copiii români
adoptati de familii americane (până în prezent sunt 9.000 de copii
români înfiati de familii din SUA), până la bilete de croazieră pe
vase de lux, bilete la mari concerte americane, sejururi la mari
hoteluri, bijuterii de mii de dolari, precum si un pulover împletit
special pentru acest eveniment de actrita Julianna Margulies, a
cărei bunică, dinspre mamă, e româncă… Cea mai mare donatie a fost
de 20.000 de dolari, făcută de un om de afaceri sud-american, care a
preferat însă, să nu i se facă public numele.
Tot pentru această cauză caritabilă, Anastasia Soare, pe care presa
americană o răsfată denumind-o "regina sprâncenelor de la
Hollywood", a strâns sume mari de bani de la clientele ei, nume
cunoscute în lumea muzicii si a filmului din America. Rita Wilson si
Tom Hanks, Kate Capshaw si Steven Spielberg, Kelly Preston si John
Travolta sunt doar câteva cupluri celebre care au trimis cecuri
considerabile pe adresa fundatiei… De asemenea, la sediul fundatiei
a fost instalat deja, la loc de cinste, un panou imens pe care s-au
semnat vedetele, toate cliente ale salonului de cosmetică din
Beverly Hills al Anastasiei Soare. Printre acestea se numără
Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Stone, Naomi
Campbell, Nadia Comăneci, toate urând mult noroc în actele de
binefacere ale fundatiei "Blue Heron". Timp de opt zile a fost
prezentă la Los Angeles si Luminta Olteanu, directoarea celor 14
orfelinate si case de tip familial din judetul Brasov, institutii
aflate deja în grija fundatiei "Blue Heron". Luminita Olteanu a
călătorit la Los Angeles la invitatia fundatiei. Împreună cu Mike
Costache, vicepresedintele fundatiei, am petrecut mult timp cu dna
directoare si în urma discutiilor noastre am aflat nenumărate
detalii despre adevăratele vieti ale acestor copii abandonati.
Fiecare poveste este un caz cu totul si cu totul unic; ne-am dat
seama că nu putem generaliza acesti copii curajosi, care înfruntă
viata în fiecare zi fără dragostea si îndrumarea unei mame sau a
unui tată. În urma acestor convorbiri în care am apreciat adânc
onestitatea Lumintei Olteanu, am înteles mai bine cum putem
întrebuinta în cel mai efectiv mod sumele ridicate, completează
Stefania Magidson.
Cu banii strânsi, "Blue Heron" intentionează să continue plata
salariilor celor opt referenti educationali angajati în luna
ianuarie în orfelinatele din judetul Brasov, să angajeze specialisti
pentru copiii cu handicapuri, să pună bazele unui laborator de
computere, unde copiii să învete cum să folosească un calculator,
chiar si limba engleză si contabilitatea. Ni s-a spus că unii dintre
acesti copii abandonati ar avea o sansă de a studia la faculatate si
de a primi o diplomă universitară, cu putin ajutor de la un
meditator. Noi dorim ca o parte din bani să îi ajute pe acesti copii,
ca până la urmă să se ajute pe ei însisi si să devină membri
productivi ai societătii, a conchis Stefania Magidson.
Asemenea evenimente mondene cu scop caritabil sunt plănuite pentru a
se desfăsura si pe pământ românesc. Fundatia Stefaniei Magidson
intentionează ca astfel să inspire si românii înstăriti din România,
să doneze bani pentru construirea unor terenuri de joacă, biblioteci
cu computere în cadrul orfelinatelor, si, cu timpul, centre
educationale care să le dea o pregătire acestor copii abandonati.
Vrem să oferim "brate în plus" acestor copilasi, care, chiar dacă nu
vor avea niciodată parte de dragostea de mamă si de tată, pot să
simtă putină tandrete si intimitate, pot să asculte un cântec de
leagăn la începutul fragilei si tristei lor vieti. Vrem să convingem
si omul cu bani din România că oferind un bănut, oferim o sansă unui
copil încheie Stefania Magidson.
Over time, I have written a great
deal in the first person singular. For ten years, letters to my best
friend Iulia and for many more years than that, self-confessional
private notes jotted down in an attempt to hear my own thoughts more
clearly – often with a desire to move forward my inner process (and
to save money on psychoanalysis.) There always seems to be a
distance between my inner self and what emerges on the pages. My
writing, even though it is first person and confessional, still
doesn’t capture my being. Add to that a readership, and then I’m
really put on the spot!
So much gets transformed in the simple process of seizing a
thought, a trace of consciousness that we translate into language. I
used to feel uneasy with parts of what has been written about me.
Now I can’t blame the writers anymore and feel a sense of heightened
responsibility about the process of transferring truth on to paper;
it’s challenging because there is always the danger of the truth
being diluted, mutated and misinterpreted. (My friend Guita, a
Berkley graduate with degrees in law and philosophy just stopped by
and after reading this first paragraph, exclaimed “Stefania, you’re
tickling the realms of the post-modern and post-structuralism era!”
– OK, whatever that may be!)
Anyway, here I am sitting at my desk in the hills above the Sunset
Strip in West Hollywood, California. On the board behind my computer
are pictures of my husband, our sons and friends’ children. There
are drawings by the children I sponsor through Save the Children in
Bangladesh and Bolivia, a picture of an enigmatic orphaned girl from
one of Romania’s placement centres and a poem written for me by my
mother that ends “you’re gently weaving dreams that become reality.”
I’m moved by the words “We Can Do It!” printed on a vintage card
given to me by my son. It portrays a strong woman flexing her
biceps. And finally, there’s a picture of me speaking at a Los
Angeles fundraiser where we raised money for abandoned and
impoverished children in Romania.
So much of my life seems to be about children, their welfare, the
many facets of their complex lives and finding ways to elevate them.
I feel like their world is still so close to mine. I’m 5’2”, I do
cartwheels with them and love to play hide-and-seek. I volunteer in
our sons’ classrooms every week and often feel overwhelmed by the
harsh world of “grown-ups.” The real world can be an intimidating
place at times and I feel I have to summon the stronger parts of
myself and push through my fears to weave my dreams into reality.
I was born in Brasov, Romania in 1968 and emigrated to the United
States with my family in 1983. Twelve years ago I met my husband and
my life changed drastically on both a social and material level.
Even more profound than the external changes were the internal leaps
I had to take in order to adapt to my new environment. When I
married, I joined a family whose philanthropic activities spanned
decades. I was exposed to a myriad worthy causes and the undeniable
importance of giving back to one’s community and society in general.
Living an abundant life in Los Angeles is far removed from the
impoverished lives of people in other countries. It would perhaps be
a lot easier to forget that I was ever poor, that I’ve gone through
hardships, or God forbid, that I was born in Romania.
It is out of this strong sense of not forgetting where I come from
and my love for children that three years ago I started Blue Heron
Foundation, a non-profit charitable organisation. Our mission is to
improve the quality of the lives of abandoned and impoverished
Romanian children and provide them with greater access to life’s
opportunities. As tired as some people may be of the topic and
though conditions have continuously improved, there are still 83,000
children under the care of Protective Services in Romania. Annually,
4,600 children are abandoned in hospitals at birth and 3,500
children require treatment for Aids, according to the last year’s
UNICEF report.
I continue to be inspired and am so proud that in three short years,
with the help of many generous donors and talented volunteers, Blue
Heron has made a difference in the lives of many disadvantaged
children. This year alone we’ve raised almost $80,000 and are giving
away 27 college scholarships. We feel that we are helping change
people’s destinies. I think we all feel a little closer to God when
our efforts come together and we see the fruit of our work.
In the spring of 2002, I negotiated the author’s rights for Eric
Bogosian’s “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll”, a cutting edge 11-monologue
play that was to be played at Green Hours in Bucharest. I was
getting ready to travel to the Romanian capital and see it, when I
felt that perhaps I could do more than that. I thought I would go to
orphanages in Brasov, and see if I could help in any way. In getting
ready for the trip, I went to get a manicure at Jessica’s Nails in
West Hollywood, a wonderful salon for pampering. The owner,
Romanian-Armenian Jessica Vartughian hires manicurists and
pedicurists of a similar background who deliver first class nail
care and most importantly for me, a way of feeling again like I am
in my mother’s lap with caring people doting over me, addressing me
in Romanian. That day, Carmen was doing my manicure. I told her that
I intended to visit orphanages to see if I could help in any way.
She started to weep and refused to charge me the usual fee,
insisting that the money be the first contribution toward whatever
project I may undertake to help these children.
So off I go to Romania. I see the play, which later that year earned
the lead performer the UNITER award for best actor in a play
(equivalent of the Tony award in the US), then headed off for Brasov.
I went without a plan and got somewhat frustrated even trying to
find the name of the institution in the phone book. I was surprised
to learn that the terms “orphanages” and leaganul de copii were no
longer used. I finally found the proper name Centru de Plasament,
only to have a hard time getting in touch with the right people. I
was just about to give up and leave it for another trip, when I was
struck with a feeling of profound guilt and shame at the thought of
going back to Carmen and saying, “Here is the money you gave me; I
couldn’t help.” After a few more phone calls, I was able to meet
with the head of the orphanages and visit the Micul Print centre
where many beautiful toddlers under the age of three ran to me
calling me “Mama” and jumped in my lap. I was asked by the officials
there if I had a “foundation.” I panicked inside because I wasn’t
exactly sure at that point in time what a foundation was. I answered
“not yet.”
Little did I know how much I would learn about non-profits in the
next few years, and how exciting and maturing the whole process of
raising and spending money accountably would be. We started out by
raising funds the usual way: selling tickets to hundreds of guests
invited to a sit-down meal, a silent and live auction and a fashion
show. The events put us on the map, garnering awareness and positive
media attention. But over time we found ourselves frustrated by how
time consuming organising these events can be. We also felt that too
much of the money raised was spent on expenses. We decided to do
things a little differently in order to compete with the other
50,000 (California only!) non-profit organisations. The majority of
our contributions come from Blue Heron members who donate at least
$500 annually. Our goal is to have 200 permanent members. We now
have movie screening events; events at clothing stores where a
percentage of sales from an entire day goes to our cause; girls
scouts raised enough money in one afternoon selling cookies to pay
for 500 hours of Romanian caregivers’ time. Our next door neighbor’s
daughter started the Abandoned Romanian Children’s Club at her
private high school to do her share of giving back to the world.
Beauty guru Anastasia Soare shapes the brows of many accomplished
ladies in Hollywood, but instead of charging them she often drops
our donation form in their lap. We try to keep our finger on the
pulse of what is happening in the world of charities, especially in
L.A., and keep our fundraisers fun and creative. It helps that the
founders of Blue Heron cover one hundred per cent of the expenses
and that the dollar still goes a long way in Romania.
This past summer when I went back to Romania I was asked in an
interview “Why do you raise awareness about this cause? Aren’t you
in fact drawing negative attention toward Romania?” I swear I always
got the most challenging questions from Romanians themselves! I feel
that even in a country like the United States we are constantly
helping those in disadvantaged and underprivileged situations and
the philosophy of helping and of giving back is deeply rooted.
UNICEF and World Learning have a four-year exit strategy after which
Romania will be on its own in providing care for those whom these
organisations supported. Although our way of helping is minuscule in
the big scheme of things, I’ve always hoped it went further than
just helping the children directly; I wanted it to also be an
inspiration for others, in particular Romanians, to give back.
After years of lamenting “What’s my life’s work?” by reclaiming and
integrating my roots Blue Heron was born and continues to grow.
Carmen, my friend at Jessica’s Nails, never got her money back, but
hundreds of abandoned toddlers have been held by our Loving Arms
program; we built a state of the art playground in Rupea and gave 27
college scholarships to qualified abandoned children. Many
incredible projects are still waiting to be realised. With all the
challenges and ups and downs of running a non-profit, I still
believe that the personal benefits are very immediate. By elevating
others, we elevate ourselves.
I can affirm that this whole business of “saving the world” – even
on a microscopic level – seems somehow selfish because it feels so
good. I look back at the card given to me by my son, “We Can Do It
!” Yes. We can.
