CFF Turns 10, Features Poker Fund-Raiser
The California Fashion Foundation (CFF), the philanthropic wing of the California Fashion Association, will kick off its 10th year with a charity poker tournament on July 15 at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, Calif. The event will raise money for the CFF’s programs, which include apparel and textile scholarship support and community outreach.
The evening will feature a poker tournament and party held at a private casino and patio overlooking the Hollywood Park racetrack. Attendees can join the tournament, bet on the races, and enjoy a buffet and no-host bar. There will also be raffle prizes awarded throughout the evening, ranging from cash to a grand prize of a poker cruise for two donated by Card Player Cruises. Several manufacturers have already contributed raffle prizes, including Security Textile Corp., which donated a pair of Los Angeles Lakers tickets, Karen Kane Inc., which offered a pair of box seats for a Los Angeles Dodgers game, and California Apparel News, which will be giving away a free advertisement.
Organizers will also be raffling off several meals from the restaurants at Hollywood Park, courtesy of Leo Chu, owner of the racetrack. Chu, a former manufacturer who founded Ivy of California, is a longtime friend of the apparel industry.
Prices are $100 for admission, parimutuel betting and two drink tickets; $300 for admission to the event and the tournament; and $3,000 for a sponsored table for six. (Gamblers must be at least 21 years old.)
Among the companies already signed on as sponsors are California Apparel News; Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger; CIT Group; Norman Krieger Inc.; Stonefield Josephson Inc.; GMAC Business Credit; Cooper Design Space; Cohn Handler & Co.; Security Textile Corp.; Progressive Label; Grobstein,Horwath & Co.; Kaufman& Kabani; Todd Rutkin Clothing; and Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Pearson.
Members of the organizing committee— including the CFF’s Ilse Metchek, the CIT Group’s Debbie Steinberg and Mark Lesser— are currently seeking manufacturers to sign on as sponsors of the CFF’s deck of cards, a limited-edition, personalized deck featuring members of California’s fashion community. The cards will be used during the tournament and will be mailed to 5,000 buyers and merchants later in the year. Each card, created by graphic designer Joe Iacono, will feature a business’s name and a photo of an item from the company’s line. Prices for playing-card sponsorship are $1,000 for jokers and numbers (which includes admission for two and one poker seat), $3,000 for the face cards (which includes admission for four and one poker seat), and $5,000 for the aces (which includes admission for six and one poker seat). The deadline for card sponsorship is April 15.
The CFF is a nonprofit organization founded “to make a positive contribution to the knowledge and welfare of constituents of the apparel and textile industries,” while also “demonstrating that the industry supports the efforts of allied community support groups.” The organization funds scholarship support for new entrants to the apparel and textile industry and after-school arts and music activities, as well as other programs. CFF also provides clothing, through fund-raising or donations, to organizations such as Operation School Bell, which furnishes clothing and personal grooming products to school children in extreme need.
For more information about the event, call (213) 688-6288.
