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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Warner Bros. Division Teams Up With Animal Shelter

This is a regular feature on philanthropic activities by Valley-area businesspeople and companies. Warner Bros. Studio Facilities is partnering with the Burbank Animal Shelter to help animals in need over the next year, the entertainment company announced. Warner Bros. Studio Facilities is a division of Warner Bros. Studios that oversees the physical operations of the company, providing it with production and post-production services. The division plans to provide financial and in-kind support, volunteer assistance, pet adoption support and assistance in improving the shelter’s Victory Boulevard facility. To kick off the partnership, the division recently held a pet adoption event for Warner Bros. Studios employees at its Burbank main lot, where shelter volunteers brought dogs, cats and kitten that needed homes. The volunteers also provided basic dog and obedience training sessions, as well as dog and cat CPR demonstrations. Warner Bros. has long supported the local community, said Warner Bros. Studio Facilities President Jon Gilbert. “We wanted to further this commitment by aligning with a local organization to which we could bring the strengths of all of our departments as well as one that matches our employees’ interests, which, to the a great extent, include animal causes,” Gilbert said. Hospital Gets $1 Million Simi Valley Hospital received its first $1 million donation by two doctors who specialize in kidney disease, the hospital announced. Hospital officials are calling the donation by Dr. Kant Tucker and his wife, Dr. Irma Harriman Thakkar, one of the largest individual gifts pledged in the community. In recognition of the donation, the hospital is naming its emergency department the “Thakkar Family Emergency Pavilion.” “This incredible gift will help us expand our emergency services, which include the emergency department, cardiac services, surgical services, (neonatal intensive care unit) and other life-saving departments,” said Darwin Remboldt, the hopsital’s president and CEO. Tucker is the medical director of the Kidney Center of Simi Valley, a renal dialysis clinic that he opened with the help of the hospital. In 1982, the hospital agreed to fund the dialysis center project for 50 percent ownership and sell its half back to Tucker after five years, which it did. The project is now expanded to include more centers. After years of his practice’s growth, Tucker is now chairman, CEO and president of Kidney Center, Inc., which provides management services to the medical group. “I was the beneficiary of their generosity when the hospital helped me establish the first outpatient kidney dialysis center on Sycamore Drive,” Tucker said. “Nothing I give will ever match the generosity the hospital offered me and the Thakkar family.” The donation comes after the hospital set a goal in February to raise $3 million for the emergency services and the hospital’s expansion project. So far, the hospital has received $677,000 in donations from individuals, physician groups, vendors and others. Cydcor Volunteer Program Westlake Village-based Cydcor recently teamed with a local used bookstore to launch its volunteer program with a children’s reading fair. The fair, held at the Boys and Girls Club in Thousand Oaks, was part of the outsourced, face-to-face sales team company’s new Cydcor Cares Program, which provides its team members with volunteer opportunities. During the event, Cydcor team members dressed up as fictional characters and read to children of elementary school age. The Bookaneer donated bags of children’s books for the event. Eight team members from Cydcor participated by volunteering to read, act out scenes from books and coordinate the event’s flow. “We believe that community involvement is a collaborative effort,” said Cydcor CEO Gary Polson. “The vision of this program is to create real service opportunities for individuals as well as group team member participation.” The Cydcor Cares Program provides each team member with eight volunteer hours a year and provides direct connections to low to no-cost volunteer opportunities. Future plans for the program include participation in environmental impact programs, food kitchens, community bake sales, tutoring and business building programs. Medtronic Teen Program A local unit of medical technology provider Medtronic, Inc. is heading the company’s first free safe-driving program for teenagers with diabetes, the unit of the Minneapolis-based company announced. Medtronic Diabetes, located in Northridge, hosted the educational weekend event called “Test B4U Drive” from July 19 through July 21 at The Forum in Los Angeles. It offers teenagers hands-on professional training designed to help them identify and react to critical situations behind the wheel. “Test B4U Drive was inspired by the most important part of a teen driver’s diabetes management plan – checking his or her glucose level before getting behind the wheel,” said Dr. Francine Kaufman, chief medical officer and vice president of global medical, clinical and health affairs for the Northridge unit. – Compiled by Jessica Selva

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