AbilityFirst Kicks-Off 2015 Stroll & Roll Fundraiser with the Goal of Raising $750,000

LOS ANGELES - March 10, 2015 - PRLog -- AbilityFirst kicked-off its 2015 Stroll & Roll fundraiser with a reception and a luncheon at the City Club in downtown Los Angeles.  The event was emceed by NBC4 “Today in LA” co-anchor Whit Johnson.  Among the 175 attendees were corporate executives, business owners, sponsors and AbilityFirst participants from throughout the Southland.

“The Stroll & Roll is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said Lori Gangemi, President and CEO of AbilityFirst.  “It was exciting and encouraging to see so many businesses supporting our event this year.  Our target is to raise $750,000 and the kick-off was an enthusiastic beginning toward that goal.”

The AbilityFirst Stroll & Roll, presented by Comerica Bank, will take place on Saturday, April 18 with over 2,000 people of all ages. Participants run, walk, roll and stroll through the Universal Studios Hollywood legendary behind-the-scenes backlot. They will view the many movie studio sets, meet Universal Studios’ many celebrity characters, shop at the AbilityFirst expo, relax in the expo’s beer garden, and spend the morning among friends.

Among others who spoke and attended the kick-off were Steve Brockmeyer, AbilityFirst Chairman of the Board of Directors and President/CEO of Bolton & Company; Mike Dokmanovich, AbilityFirst Board Secretary and Comerica Bank Regional President of Los Angeles and Orange Counties; and Lee Meriwether, AbilityFirst Honorary Chair, Former Miss America, the original “Today Girl” on NBC’s Today Show, and an actress who has starred and appeared in numerous TV shows and on the stage.

Additional current sponsors of the Stroll & Roll fundraiser are Nextera Energy, Platinum Equity,Jordana Cosmetics, NRG Energy, Quetico LLC, Skechers USA, Chubb Group, Commerce Casino, DIRECTV, Long Beach Center Guild, SC Fuels, Tesoro, Brentwood Originals, CBB Bank, OneBeacon Insurance Group, and The Word & Brown Companies.

To register for the event, donate, become a sponsor and for more information, visit http://www.abilityfirst.org

About AbilityFirst
Established in 1926 AbilityFirst (http://www.abilityfirst.org/index.aspx), formerly Crippled Children’s Society of Southern California, provides programs and services to help children and adults with disabilities reach their full potential. Through 25 locations (http://www.abilityfirst.org/locations/locations_intro.aspx)across Southern California, they offer a broad range of employment, recreational and socialization programs (http://www.abilityfirst.org/programs/programs_intro.aspx)as well as accessible residential housing complexes and an accessible camp, Camp Paivika (http://www.camppaivika.org), for both children and adults.