Previous Event Reports
Phoenix Office Fashion Show Raises $47,000 – March, 2008
The Second Annual Mona Foundation Fashion Show and Luncheon for the Mona Foundation, Phoenix Office was held at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale on March 1, 2008. A local TV news anchor, Cory McCloskey from Fox 10 News, kindly volunteered to be the emcee for the event and did a wonderful job with his pleasing personality and local familiarity. He graciously spent time meeting with guests and signing autographs.
Mrs. Pune Ghebleh, Mona Foundation's Arizona regional director and Elham Mottahed were the two co-chairs of this event, making possible a pleasantly entertaining and information-filled and day for the 240 guests. Ali Javid, Connie Sana, Tracey Caminiti and Prem Jaychandren spearheaded active committees and May Mowzoon was an advisory chair all of whom played an integral role in the day's success. Rainn Wilson, an Emmy-nominated and three-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winner, and Mona Foundation's celebrity spokesperson and was in attendance too. He signed autographs, posed for photos and sold bobble-head dolls with his likeness to raise more money for the foundation. He has called Mona Foundation the “perfect charity” because he feels that education is more important than anything to build capacity in every culture and between people. Rainn's spirit of fun and dedication to doing good greatly contributed to the success of Saturday's event.
Sharing information about the Mona Foundation through a wonderful PowerPoint show was Dr. Rita Azizi Egrari, board member and Dr. Mahnaz Javid, president of the Foundation. During the tasty luncheon an elegant fashion show of the latest in men's and women's designer fashions was presented with the assistance of 14 volunteer models sponsored by Mahsa Boutiques. Stylist, Diane Aiello, generously participated again this year, working on proper staging, backdrops and giving runway and timing instruction to the models prior to the event. She and her staff did the make-up on the day of the event. Hair was done by five stylists from lacal “Choppers Salon.”
In addition, over 50 local Arizona businesses contributed items to a silent auction. Contributions included jewelry, golf lessons, sports teams suite tickets, shopping sprees, handbags, belts, Broadway show tickets and dining vouchers, skin care packages, and a salon cut and style. Many of these businesses contributed for the second year in a row.
The purpose of event was to benefit the Ruaha Secondary School in Tanzania, specifically for the development of the science classrooms and lab equipment at that school. The entire Phoenix community is to be congratulated on their support for the Mona Foundation. Organizers were able to achieve their goal of raising $ 47,000 building the much-needed science classrooms for Ruaha Secondary School and address some of the educational needs to an underserved population in Tanzania.
topBadi School Principal Visits Los Angeles
Mr. Oscar Torrez from Badi School, Panama, visited Los Angeles on March 8th, 2008, at the invitation of Kambiz and Sima Mobini. Wonderful bonds of deep friendship were formed among many people, including the Rabbani family who has been instrumental in supporting Badi in the past. The Mobinis hosted a dinner for about 60 people and while the event was not a fund raiser, a wonderful supporter donated very valuable items for a silent auction. Thanks to this thoughtful and very generous contribution, a large amount of funds was raised for Badi School. Diane Samandi also lent her unreserved support for this event, as always, and Mahnaz Javid attended as well. It was an extremely successful afternoon because new people learned about the school itself and the work they are doing now and for the future development goals of Badi School itself.
Special Link! Interview with Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson Event Supports the Work
of Mona Foundation
On a lovely Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 11:00 a.m., the roof top of the very posh and elegant Raffles L'Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills was the setting for an event to celebrate Rainn Wilson's Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a comedy. The televised Emmy Awards were the following evening. The Coach® brand hosted a very delightful brunch. The cast of The Office, Rainn's current television show, were almost all present, along with a few of Rainn's celebrity friends. After guests mingled and enjoyed brunch outdoors, Rainn took a few minutes to thank Coach® and his friends for attending, and then dedicated the event to the Mona Foundation.
Rainn spoke about the fact that he was approached by a few foundations and, after researching, he found that the Mona Foundation was the one involved in some of the projects with the most impact, dedicating 100% of earmarked funds directly to the projects it sponsors. He then introduced Mahnaz Javid, who spoke about the children of Mona. The event was a wonderful opportunity to introduce the Mona Foundation and projects it supports to celebrities in Beverly Hills. Rainn is a great addition to the foundation and his involvement will certainly have sustained impact on its success and will bring further attention to the projects that every year attempt to make a difference in the lives of thousands of children all over the world.
There were about 60 celebrities attending this luncheon including Melora Hardin, Jenna Fischer, and Rashida Jones who joined Rainn to honor his commitment to the Mona Foundation and the projects it supports. A wonderful committee, Melody Kulp, Ashlee Margolis, London Ahlers, Katie Stromsborg, Leah Rowan, and Shann Silver worked with representatives from Coach®, Heather Feit and Raina Penchansky, and the Mona Foundation Southern California Office Planning Team. Sima Mobini, Diane Samandi, Gouya & Payam Zamani, Duy-Loan Le and Mahnaz Javid were present to represent Mona Foundation.
People® magazine and Style® magazine were there, along with celebrity photographers. Coach® will have an interview with Rainn on their site for one month in which Rainn will speak on behalf of Mona, will select a handbag to auction, and all the proceeds from this auction will benefit Mona Foundation.
Many of the guests were moved by these stories and committed to support the Foundation. Several of the guests left the event with a copy of Mona's 2006 Annual Report and Mona's giving cards. The story of the event has appeared on several websites: In Style, Live Journal™, and others. Rainn was also interviewed recently on his religious beliefs for Bahá'í News.
Actor Rainn Wilson plays Dwight Schrute, the pompous assistant manager he plays on “The Office, ” the American version of a popular British TV show of the same name. His show, seen weekly by 8 million people in the U.S. alone, also airs in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, parts of continental Europe, Australia, Saudi Arabia, parts of Latin America, Singapore, and several other countries.
His other acting credits include the character of Arthur Martin in the series “Six Feet Under” and a one-episode stint in “Entourage,” both on the U.S. cable network HBO; guest hosting “Saturday Night Live” on U.S. television; and movie roles in “Almost Famous,” “America's Sweethearts,” “Galaxy Quest,” “House of 1000 Corpses,” “Sahara,” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.”
In a recent interview with the U.S. Bahá'í News, Rainn shared about growing up in the Bahá'í Faith, “When you grow up with a spiritual foundation that asks you to be conscious of the fact that all races are created equal, that men and women are equal and that all religions worship the same (God), it helps you see the world as one family and not get lost in the traps of political, social, and economic belief systems that can lead you astray. I always think of myself as a world citizen. It's a powerful thing.”
He also shared, “I'll be working as a spokesperson with the Mona Foundation, a Bahá'í-inspired not-for-profit organization that tries to provide quality education to all children, raise the status of women and girls, and build community.” Please follow the links in this article to read more of each of these stories.
Luncheon and Silent Auction in Northern California Raises $10,000!
On Saturday August 18, 2007 the Northern California office of the Mona Foundation held a fundraising luncheon and a silent auction in Moraga, CA. Our guest list was a great success as our attendance was higher than we had anticipated. Many generous supporters came to hear Dr. Mahnaz Aflatooni Javid speak about the generous work that the Mona Foundation is doing around the world. Mahnaz spoke of Mona and how the foundation was established in her memory, she spoke of Ferial in Brazil who started work with ADCAM which has now grown into a much larger organization. Mahnaz's speech brought guests to tears and moved them to act on behalf of the women and children that Mona supports.
The silent auction was a fun and exciting way for people to give back. Thanks to the local individuals and businesses that gave generously of items for the auction, we were able to make this even a greater success. We auctioned off various types of items, from a handmade Persian rug, spa skin care package, perfume and chocolates. Local businesses were kind enough to gift us with small items that we used to create goodie bags (coffee from Starbucks®, coffee mugs, pens, perfume and Mona donation cards) for all who came. A delicious lunch with three options of entree's was offered at Mondello's Cucina Italiana, followed by a very Italian Tiramisu dessert.
With 31 guests in attendance and many people offering their support from afar we were able to raise $10,000.00 for the Mona Foundation after our lunch expenses were met. Many thanks to Charlotte Chapman and my dear assistant Kaylin Gundry who stepped up and made this event a great success.
Phoenix Celebrates Mona!
The Mona Foundation Phoenix Regional Office launched its 2007 grand opening with a “First Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show” fundraiser, organized by Regional Director, Pune Ghebleh, assisted by many supporters. Every detail of the event was lovingly arranged, from the beautiful lakeside country club setting to the exquisite lunch and dessert, the fragrant fresh flower arrangements at each table, and the continual tea and coffee service at an outside buffet next to the lake.
Tickets were sold in advance for $75 each and the demand surpassed the attendance goal of 150 people. Local merchants, contacted to donate gifts or services, responded with gift certificates for dinners-for-two at renowned area restaurants, “Culture Packages,” or sports event tickets that were raffled off for $25 apiece. Over $3,000 was raised from the sale of these tickets. Additionally many other items were donated for a silent auction.
The centerpiece of the event was a spring fashion show. Pune coordinated with an exclusive boutique that agreed to feature its clothing line and ten of Pune's daughter's friends were asked to model. The event room was set up with 17 decorated tables arranged around the runway. Before the lunch and fashion show, Mona Foundation and its goals were presented in an introduction to the assembled guests. 
The thought and love that went into planning the event resulted in a very successful fundraiser. But even more, it was a beautiful, dignified and prestigious launch of the newly formed Phoenix Regional Office.