On Wednesday, April 20, Jerry Seinfeld hosted the GOOD+ Foundation's second annual Los Angeles Fatherhood Initiative Lunch at the Palm Restaurant in Beverly Hills.
The luncheon raised nearly $200,000 to help support GOOD+ Foundation’s work with fathers in need. The GOOD+ Foundation – in partnership with the Children’s Institute’s Project Fatherhood and many others in the LA area — has made a focus on fathers integral to its mission.
Seinfeld described how many fathers who seek help from the Children’s Institute don’t have the resources or materials to create the best environment for their families. With the services and products donated by the GOOD+ Foundation, fathers are able to provide for their families and get the long term support needed to help lift the family out of poverty.
“When we heard that 63% of the families we serve are led by single mothers, we realized we needed to address the missing component – the fathers. They are an important piece of the puzzle to help prevent the cycle of absent fathers from perpetuating,” said host Jerry Seinfeld. “While women are naturally disposed to communicating with each other, men are not. A gigantic hurdle is encouraging these men talk to each other, share their stories and realize they are not alone.”
One of the fathers, who has personally benefited from the program, addressed the room to share his life-changing experience and the successes he has achieved since he started working with Children’s Institute Inc.’s Project Fatherhood and receiving donations from GOOD+ Foundation.
“The assistance and support we have received from the GOOD+ Foundation has played a crucial role in helping us provide the basic resources fathers in our program need to parent effectively,” CII’s Project Fatherhood’s Director Alan-Michael Graves said. “In addition to the group support provided by Children’s Institute, GOOD+ helps to provide essential items such as cribs, car seats, strollers, diapers and other hygiene items to help dads address the health and safety needs of their children. Their support has become an essential part of our programming.”
Guests at the luncheon included GOOD+ Foundation Founder and Board President Jessica Seinfeld and Project Fatherhood’s Director Alan-Michael Graves, as well as Dan Bucatinsky and Dan Roos, Brad Falchuk, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bob Saget, Sean Patrick Thomas and others. The event was sponsored by ICM Partners and Esquire magazine with additional support from George Shapiro. The event was generously underwritten by Bruce Bozzi and the Palm Restaurant. Fatherhood Leadership Council members and lunch guests promoted the initiative by posting photos with #DoGoodGiveGoods @GoodPlusFdn.
Founded by Jessica Seinfeld in 2001, GOOD+ Foundation (formerly known as Baby Buggy) connects donations of critical child gear with active parental participation in service and education programs to help move families out of poverty. To date, GOOD+ Foundation has provided nearly 20 million items to more than 100 anti-poverty programs in 15 markets. Most families living in poverty reside in a homes without fathers. Research shows that men often face obstacles to becoming engaged in the lives of their children, so GOOD+ Foundation expanded its reach to include a focus on involving fathers.
In Los Angeles, GOOD+ Foundation works with fathers through programs such as Project Fatherhood of Children’s Institute, Inc., which specializes in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect, and Homeboy Industries which works with a former gang population. These organizations offer a range of services including individual and family counseling, job training, financial literacy, marriage workshops, anger management training, parent-child enrichment activities, legal workshops and employment assistance.
The GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council is comprised of fathers who are deeply committed to their role as dads, and hope to raise funds and awareness for the initiative. The council members include Jerry Seinfeld (Chair), Jason Alexander, Judd Apatow, Jason Bateman, Neil Blumenthal, Bruce Bozzi, Rob Buccini, David Burtka, Christian Carino, Matt Cherwin, Camille Chidiac, Common, Shawn “Pecas” Costner, Victor Cruz, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Darren Edwards, Eric Eisner, Jack Essig, Spike Feresten, Nacho Figueras, David Fredston, Jeff Gordon, Alex Gorsky, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Hart, Hugh Jackman, Mitch Jacobs, Woody Johnson, Harry Kargman, Pierre Kim, Boris Kodjoe, Will Kopelman, Jay Leno, Greg Lipmann, Blaine Lourd, Bill Maher, Steve Mosko, Nas, David Neville, Rob Prinz, Michael Richards, Bob Saget, Matt Schneider, George Shapiro, Dax Shepard, Lance Somerfeld, Dax Shepard, George Stephanopoulos, Steve Stoute, Michael Strahan, Michael Tiedemann, James Van Der Beek, Dwyane Wade, Marcus Wainwright, Charlie Walk, George Wallace, Jason Weinberg and Mel Woods.
