June 29, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
PRESS CLIPPINGS
A narrow focus, trusted managers, and transparency are key ingredients to running a successful foundation, says the actor Michael J. Fox in the second annual issue of Town & Country (June) dedicated to the “power of philanthropy.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 30, Mr. Fox eventually started the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, in New York, which has distributed $70-million in the past six years, mostly to groups seeking to take risks to advance research. “I’m not so much a philanthropist as an encourager of philanthropy,” Mr. Fox says in the magazine.
In addition to Mr. Fox, the magazine profiles seven other people, most of whom started their own charities around the country.
Poor families in New York City benefit from Baby Buggy, a group founded by Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of the comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
The charity solicits baby goods such as clothes, high chairs, and cribs and distributes them to needy families. Since 2001 the charity has collected more than a million items. Ms. Seinfeld’s famous husband helps out by headlining fund-raising events that pull in much of the group’s $1-million budget.
In Los Angeles, Astrid Heppenstall Heger was appalled to discover in 1983 that children who were victims of sexual abuse were examined by doctors each time their cases came up for court hearings.
In response, Dr. Heger, a pediatrician, developed a method of photo documentation and evaluation to prevent victims from having to relive their traumas. In 2001, she founded the Violence Intervention Program, to evaluate victims of family violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, which now serves 5,000 people annually. Because Medicaid often won’t cover cosmetic surgery for victims, says Dr. Hepper, the group raises about $100,000 annually in addition to its $8-million annual budget to help pay for the services.
