On October 9, the Lucky Duck Foundation will host the Showcase Soirée fundraiser to celebrate progress in its fight to prevent and alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego County. The Showcase Soirée, presented by the Gall Hale RBC Wealth Management Team, is meant to be fun, casual, and inspiring, featuring live music, performances, a live auction, gourmet food and drinks, many heartwarming success stories, and more. The event is typically emceed by sportscaster Neil Everett and PGA Tour Pro and NBC/Golf Channel commentator Peter Jacobsen. The Soirée will be held at the iconic Estancia La Jolla.
Funds raised will support the Lucky Duck Foundation’s numerous efforts including 25 employment and job training programs benefiting more than 1,800 people; a Food & Water outreach initiative that has provided more than 2,000,000 meals to unsheltered San Diegans; the distribution of 17,000 heavy duty winter coats that transform into sleeping bags; helping youth connect to shelter, employment and housing, and more. The nonprofit has also purchased and installed industrial tent structures that shelter 450+ individuals nightly; created “Shamrocks & Shipwrecks,” a public grading system to evaluate politician’s effectiveness fighting homelessness; and operates “Cash for Trash” which pays homeless individuals $2 for every bag of trash they clean up from downtown, resulting in 200+ tons of trash being removed. And, all donations are matched by Lucky Duck Foundation co-founders up to $1.5 million per year!
One of the Lucky Duck Foundation’s 2025 priorities is reducing youth homelessness in San Diego County, where more than 1,000 youth are unsheltered on any given night.
Additionally, the Lucky Duck Foundation San Diego invested $200,000 into “Fostering Futures,” a pilot program that equips foster youth, one of the highest-risk groups prone to homelessness, with a multitude of support including case management, access to education and employment, financial literacy, and more. This program, implemented in partnership with Promises2Kids and the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH), will aid 50 youth in their journey to self-sustainability.
In March, a $689,000 investment enabled the San Diego College of Continuing Education to extend and expand its “Pathways” employment and job training program. Pathways offers more than 75 certificate and job training programs, paid internships, case management, transportation, access to community college, and more, so that individuals suffering from homelessness can secure long-term, livable wage jobs.
Along with youth, the Lucky Duck Foundation’s other core focus for 2025 is seniors. Homelessness among individuals 55 and older is tragically the largest and fastest growing segment of people living unsheltered in San Diego. Rising rents, inflation, and stagnant fixed incomes are forcing too many seniors into crisis.
To support these seniors, the Lucky Duck Foundation announced another $700,000 investment to expand and extend its “Seniors Safe at Home” program in partnership with the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, Serving Seniors, and the San Diego Housing Commission. Seniors Safe at Home provides shallow rental subsidies, case management, and employment navigation to help at-risk seniors stay securely housed.
These are just a few of the many programs and efforts the Showcase Soirée presented by the Gall Hale RBC Wealth Management Team will support
Please visit www.luckyduckfoundation.org/events to learn more about the Showcase Soirée, including tickets and sponsorship opportunities.
