Hillsides Foster Soles gala Tuesday

Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, Elton John, Billy Joel, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Josh Groban, Ryan Seacrest, and Carson Daly donate autographed shoes for Hillsides Foster Soles in Los Angeles, an online auction of celebrity autographed shoes and celebrity photograph. Held during Foster Care Awareness Month in May, Hillsides Foster Soles Kickoff Party for the online auction raises awareness of national foster care issues and the plight of children and youth in the system.

Honorary event chair, Dr. Drew Pinsky of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” will serve as emcee at the Los Angeles Kickoff Party to launch the auction. Hosted by Bar Celona in Pasadena on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., guests will mingle with celebrities, sip signature sangria, savor tapas, view an amazing display of celebrity autographed shoes, and be entertained by Rose City Ballroom professional dancers and Polytechnic Dance Group.

“I have been practicing medicine in the Pasadena area for over 20 years and one of my patients actually introduced me to the institution,” said Pinsky about the foster care children’s charity. “She knew that I had a special concern for the pandemic of childhood abuse and the lack of quality mental health services for victimized children. I immediately saw that Hillsides was a model for how these children should be served and I wanted to play a part in supporting it.”

Pinsky’s wife, Susan Pinsky, who serves on the children’s charity’s board of directors, hounded him even though “I told her that no one would want my dirty old shoes. Anything I can do to support them I am always willing. The more extraordinary story though is how responsive my celebrity friends were when I started asking them [to participate].”

More than 120 celebrity shoes will be displayed in hopes of raising funds for the children’s charity. With more than 500,000 children in foster care and nearly 30,000 children in Los Angeles receiving child welfare services, Hillsides Foster Soles takes steps to lighten the load of children living at Hillsides, a Los Angeles children’s charity that services foster care children and vulnerable youth.

“Despite the barriers I had growing up as a child who was deaf, my parents treated me any child should be treated - with love and respect,” said Oscar Award winning actress Marlee Matlin, who will attend Hillsides Foster Soles. “I am a firm believer that children, regardless of who they are or the barriers that society places in their paths deserve no less than any other children. For me, it's important that those of us who are able to, should lend a hand and help these children achieve their dreams.”

Other celebrities that donated their shoes were: Aaron D. Spears, Adam Busch, Adam Sandler, Alec Mazo, Alex Kapp Horner, Allana Pratt, Amber Benson, Andrea Evans, Anya Sarre, Ashley Jones, Ashley Judd, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, Brent Spiner, Bruce Campbell, Buck Hollywood , Chad Billingsley, Cheryl Burke, Christine Devine, Coby Bell, Cole Sprouse, Dave Koz, Debby Boone, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dylan Sprouse, Edyta Slewinska, Emily Wynne-Hughes, Emmylou Harris , Faith Evans, Fletcher Dragge , Florence Henderson , Gabrielle Anwar, Genevieve Cortese, Graham Nash, Jack Johnson, Jack Wagner, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, James Galanos, James Loney, Jared Padalecki, Jarret Stoll, Jeffrey Donovan, Jennifer Gareis, Jimmy Kimmel, Joan Rivers, Joan Rivers, Joshua Morrow, Joy Behar, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Junior Seau, Justin Chambers, Kaitlyn Gilliland, Kate Gosslin, Katherine Kelly Lang, Ken Olin, Kirsten Storms, Kym Johnson, Lara Spencer, Lauren Petty, Lesley-Anne Down, Louis Van Amstel, Maria Shriver, Mario Lopez, Mariska Hargitay, Mark Harmon, Markie Post, Marlee Matlin, Martha Williamson, Mary Hart, Melissa Rivers, Mike Smith, Monique Coleman, Niecy Nash, Pam Dawber, Paul Wylie, Quinton Aaron, Rachel Hunter, Samantha Harris, Sarah Joy Brown, Slash, Sylvia Lopez, Taboo, Tiler Peck, Tony Valdez, Wayne Newton, Wendy Williams, Taboo, Sugar Ray Leonard, Halle Barry, Michaela Pereira, Susan Hirasuna, Ed Ruscha, Tricia O’Kelley, Gavin DeGraw, Cast of Rent, Dax Holt, Harvey Levin, Vera Jimenez, Chuck Henry, Richard Gililand, Debby Ryan, Jason Dolley, Bridgit Mendler, Nicole Anderson, Chelsea Staub, Mitchel Musso, and Larramie "Doc" Shaw.

Guests who bid on May 4 will get a chance to vie for celebrity shoes with online visitors until the auction’s closing date, May 20. The online auction is powered by Clothes Off Our Back, www.clothesoffourback.org/hillsidesfostersoles.org.

The event is open to the public. Admission is $25 if tickets are purchased online at www.Hillsides.org or $35 at the door. Bar Celona is located at 46 E. Colorado Blvd in Old Town Pasadena.

To learn more about the foster care children’s charity or “Foster Soles,” visit www.Hillsides.org or call Carrie Espinoza at 323-255-9005.