It takes a lot for Malibu resident Daisy Fuentes to travel out to Hollywood, but on Saturday night, the fashion designer and model couldn’t turn down the opportunity to support the 16th annual DesignCare hosted by Holly Robinson Peete.
The event, held at The Lot Studios, benefited the HollyRod Foundation, an organization that offers help and hope through compassionate care to families living with Autism and Parkinson’s disease.
For Fuentes, the important cause is near and dear to her heart.
“I started supporting Holly many years ago,” Fuentes told The Malibu Times.
“We go way, way back and it just so happens that through the years, Parkinson’s touched my life and has hit very close to home.”
“Holly’s passion has always been inspiring to me,” she added. “So it means all that much more to me now.”
Fuentes and hundreds of guests including Russell Simmons, Laila Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Malibu’s own John Savage helped honor several individuals at the event for their outstanding contributions to the autism and Parkinson’s communities.
One of the deserving honorees was Izzy Paskowitz, who hosted one of his Surfer’s Healing events this past June in Malibu.
For one day, Paskowitz helped children with autism enjoy a day in the ocean complete with healing surf lessons. With the help of Malibu volunteers, the event was a huge success.
“The perfect little waves for 220 children, the biggest turnout ever in our California events,” Paskowitz told the Malibu Times before accepting his award.
“Our motivation is our son Isaiah,” he added. “He’s 23 years old and profoundly autistic and he can’t really converse very well. Today, he cruises. He’s my best buddy. In my eyes, he’s a pro surfer. He’s awesome.”
While the evening featured plenty of emotional, unforgettable stories of hope, DesignCare also had its share of light-hearted moments.
Project Runway alum Michael Costello debuted his brand-new collection before heading to New York Fashion Week and R&B a cappella group Naturally 7 got the crowd dancing.
“Every year, we put this event together and I wonder if people are going to show up,” Peete told the Malibu Times minutes before kicking off the program. “It’s just hard to raise money in this atmosphere right now but I have a lot of amazing, very compassionate friends and I feel very blessed to see everyone make it out here.”
One of those dear friends Peete can always count on is Fuentes.
“It has to be something very special to pull me out of Malibu,” Fuentes admitted. “Holly and Rodney Peete’s special event is it.”
