A Star Studded Charity Gala Will Be Held at the Malibu Home of Actor Jane Seymour Saturday
The Open Hearts Foundation's annual gala to raise money for the charity created by actor Jane Seymour fifteen years ago to honor her late mother's unfettered philanthropy will be held at the actor's Malibu home this year and will include honors that recognize the wildfires that tore through Los Angeles County.The annual star-studded event is slated to be an "evening of connection, collaboration, and inspiration" that supports Seymour's mission to help Angelenos in need. This year the event will recognize two outstanding Los Angeles County residents: philanthropist and businessman Henry Gluck; and Avery Colvert, who founded Altadena Girls by organizing a drive and collecting clothing, personal care items and essentials for fellow teens who lost everything in the unyielding wildfire.'As tragic and horrifying as these fires were, it was very uplifting to see people stop in their tracks and help in any way possible. That's the foundation of what Open Hearts strives to accomplish,' Seymour told Los Angeles from Dublin last month, where she's filming The Twelve Dates of Christmas, a six-episode limited series for the Hallmark Channel.Seymour acknowledged that the wildfires hit dangerously close to her home in Malibu, which survived, but so many others were not so lucky. Among the multiple people Seymour, who famously played 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman' in the long-running hit TV series of the same name, knew personally who lost everything was her former co-star, Joe Lando, a soap opera veteran who played her character Michaela Quinn's love interest on the show (the enigmatic mountain man Byron Sully).
The Palisades home he shared with his family burned to the ground. With nothing left, Seymour took Lando and six other members of his family, two German shepherds and two pet birds into her home as they struggled with the unimaginable loss. Seymour and Lando have been friends since the CBS show premiered in 1993 and ran for six seasons. The duo also appeared together as love interests in the 2022 Lifetime movie, A Christmas Spark. While they both married other people, their friendship remains an enduring one. Lando posted on social media after the Palisades Fire devoured everything his family owned:'Thankfully, there are angels in this world. We're left with nothing, except each other. My friend Jane Seymour allowed us to come up to her house and opened it up for us without any hesitation and, thank God, gave us someplace to come and sleep.' After she heard from Lando —and so many other friends who lost everything in the fires — she decided to open up her home. Her late mother surely would have chastised her if she hadn't. That woman, Mieke Frankenberg, was a spirited one-time Red Cross nurse who survived a Japanese internment camp during World War II by putting her skills and charm to work.That generous spirit was passed on to her daughter with a constant reminder, Seymour remembers. 'Darling, there are always people worse off than you,' Frankenberg would say. 'If you can open your heart and help somebody, you have purpose. And when you have purpose in giving, you are receiving.' That is exactly how Seymour felt during those days, having Lando's family close to her, fortunate to be the recipient of her friend's love and gratitude and surrounded by family, which epitomizes the energy of the Open Hearts Foundation. 'My dream is we have an Open Hearts philosophy spread all over the world that unites and empowers people," she said. "When people are throwing their hands up and living in fear, we are asking what we can all do uniquely right now to help others.'
A ticket to the Open Hearts Foundation's annual gala has become coveted, and this year, Seymour is hosting it at her Malibu home to bolster her city —which was devastated by the deadly Palisades Fire that left nearly 7,000 homes and businesses destroyed and claimed 12 lives. The gala will also recognize the devastation of the Eaton Fire that killed 18 people, injured 9 fire-fighters and devoured miles upon miles of homes and businesses in Altadena.
This year, the monies raised at the gala will invigorate her charity's focus on funding arts programs for youth affected by the fires.
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