A high-powered Hollywood crowd gathered under the stars for the first annual A Sense of Home Backyard Bowl Gala in Beverly Hills on Friday night.
Hosted and chaired by La La Land producer Gary Gilbert and his wife Charlotte Gilbert at their Beverly Hills home, the evening celebrated the organization’s fifth year working to prevent homelessness by creating first-ever homes for youth aging out of foster care.
Guests including Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, Suki Waterhouse, Zach Braff and Sugar Ray Leonard mingled with Colleen Bell, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and Camila Morrone while sipping on Moe?t and dining on Craig’s mac-and-cheese balls and pigs in blankets, while lounging on the new “Urbanology” furniture line from Ashley Home (which was picked up after the event and donated to upcoming home creations).
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Master of ceremonies Jamie Foxx was tasked with getting the party started and the crowd on the dance floor, before introducing interior designer and chef Georgie Smith, co-founder of ASOH alongside producer Melissa Goddard. “A Sense of Home began as a random act of kindness and has turned into friends and strangers gathering every weekend at the U-Haul in Santa Monica to collect donated furniture and now here we are 500 homes later,” Smith told the crowd.
“Homelessness in Los Angeles is everywhere and 30 percent of those are former foster youth. I simply saw an opportunity to share what we have too much of — furniture and home goods, which is the largest item in landfills. We can create a home in 90 minutes and a life is transformed forever.”
Producer and director Shawn Levy then took the stage to introduce the evening’s honorees former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant and husband Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Jena King, Irena Medavoy, Jennifer Flavin Stallone and Bui Simon. “I love being a part of A Sense of Home,” said Flavin Stallone, who was accompanied by husband Sylvester and daughters Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet, as the fundraising part of the evening started. “I’ve been there since the very beginning along with my daughters, helping to furnish these homes. It’s so rewarding…much more than just writing a check when you see firsthand how having a place to rest your head can change somebody’s life.”
Donations came flooding in, with DiCaprio leading the charge. “What do you need?” he shouted, upping the stakes several times before taking a break to catch the status of the Lakers game on his iPhone with a group of basketball fans. The amount soon surpassed the gala’s goal of raising half a million dollars. The evening wrapped up with guests including Estee Stanley, Liane Weintraub, Soleil Moon Frye and Rachel Zoe taking to the dance floor for performances by War & Treaty, Tyrese and Migos’ Quavo, while staff served tubs of Craig’s famous vegan ice cream.
“It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since we did the first house five years ago,” said Irena Medavoy surveying the scene. “Now here we are 500 houses later, giving homes to people for the first time. Georgie and Melissa are my heroes and tonight is an extraordinary moment.”
