“What are they up to this time?” you ask, only adding to the crazy total amount of money donated to California hospitals that do Craniofacial Surgery for children. That’s right through the Cleft Pallet Fund our Native Sons have made another donation of $85,000.00 to the UCSF Craniofacial Center.
That brings the total amount donated in the last 62 years to a whopping Three million three hundred and two thousand, six hundred dollars
(that looks like this $3,302,600.00)
What is the Cleft Pallet Fund
Founded in 1953, this fund is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to helping children who are born with a cleft palate or other craniofacial birth defects. Today, the Native Sons Charitable Foundation annually contributes approximately $200,000 to hospitals that treat children with cleft palates and other forms of cranio-facial anomaly.
Why are the Native Sons doing this work;
Like many fraternal organizations whose origins are traced back to the 19th century or earlier, the Native Sons of the Golden West began as a mutual aid society. In the days before such programs or concepts as old-age pensions and workers’ compensation had come into prevalence, and when insurance often was expensive and difficult to obtain, people depended upon mutual aid societies literally to care for their orphans and widows. As time passed, the Native Sons cared for orphans more generally, whether they were the offspring of members or not, and for many decades provided adoption placement services. By the middle of the 20th century, foster care and other government-directed social welfare programs had assumed those functions; so the Native Sons sought out some new venture to provide charitable services to youngsters whose needs had been overlooked.
The UCSF Ceremony and Check Presentation
- On the morning of Nov 3rd, at the new San Francisco Medical Center at Mission Bay, Dr. Ophir Klein, the Medical Director of the Craniofacial Center, gave a tour of the new UCSF Craniofacial Center facilities and talked to the assembly about how it has become a world class facility in Craniofacial Anomalies (Cleft Palate).
- Grand President Dean also talked to the assemby on how important it was to partner with UCSF on acquiring still yet more grant donations to continue our 62 years of funding to USCF and other California facilities.
- Native Sons Grand President Dean Zellers, Grand Officers Paul Lapachet, Ron Brocco and parlor members Deborah De Martini, Gary Padgett, Garry Baker and Alex Yankee than capped of this historical event by presenting a check for $85,000 to Ophir Klein MD/PHD.