The Islander Ladies Club presented a check for $10,000 at the Coronado Schools Foundation telethon to support the amazing programs CSF provides to the school children in our community. ILC raised the money at their first fundraiser, Beer by the Bay, which is set to return on October 8, 2016
The Islander Ladies Club (ILC) presented a check for $10,000 to the Coronado Schools Foundation (CSF) at the CSF telethon on Thursday, March 10. The money for this donation was raised at their first fundraiser, Beer-by-the-Bay.
While this was their first major donation, it is clear that these women are a force of philanthropy in Coronado.
The first notable act of philanthropy by the ILC was a re-do of a Coronado wedding that did not reflect the best of Coronado.
The initial wedding took place in August 2014. On that day, Arizona residents Oscar de Las Salas and Gary Jackson took their marriage vows outdoors, here in Coronado. Unfortunately, as has been reported in the national news, they were bombarded with hateful epitaphs and slurs during the ceremony.
When the ILC saw this negative attention hitting the national news, they brained-stormed how they could show the nation that this was not what Coronado was really like. (This, of course, was before the bike lane brouhaha that would later bring Coronado unflattering national attention.)
One of the group founders, Alisa Kerr, a local attorney, explained that fundamentally, rather than a re-do of a same sex wedding, the focus was on showing that the treatment these gentlemen received was not an accurate reflection of Coronado.
Indeed, once ILC saw the project draw in so many members of the Coronado community who wanted to help, it only confirmed what they already believed about Coronado: that Coronado is a place of kindness, generosity and acceptance; not a place of hateful discrimination.
Loews Coronado Bay Resort and Spa provided the location for the re-do wedding at no cost on a Saturday night. They also provided the newlyweds a room for the night. In addition, Loews provided the linens and services. The food was donated by local residents. Many other local craftspeople, vendors, and restaurants donated to the evening. Mayor Casey Tanaka officiated and gave the couple keys to the city. Three separate gondolas brought guests to the venue. All told, 300 people, included 250 people from Coronado, attended the re-do wedding.
While the wedding was a spontaneous response to an immediate need, the first official event of ILC was the Beer-By-The-Bay festival. This successful event took place in October 2015 and is scheduled to take place again this October 2016. Alisa explained that the beer tasting event was a great way to celebrate Coronado in a festive way, get visitors over to Coronado to support our vendors, and of course to raise money for causes that are important to Coronado locals.
The Islander Ladies Club plans to do one to two events a year, which will enable them to support our schools, individuals, or situations on an as-needed basis. They are completely focused on our community – something we can all support.
