OCMetro

updated 02/12/2013 4:15PM Angelitos de Oro raises $275,000 for local students Local women’s volunteer auxiliary group, Angelitos de Oro, has concluded its annual Angelitos Card fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County (BBBSOC), raising a total of $275,000 for the mentoring organization. The funds from the program will mainly to to the support of the BBSOC High School Bigs program.

Now in its eleventh year, the Angelitos Card program is a partnership between the organization and South Coast Plaza to raise funds for BBBSOC. The cards can be purchased for $60 from the Angelitos de Oro group, or at select locations in South Coast Plaza, for a limited time in the fall. Then, during the fall, winter and early spring, cardholders receive a 20 percent discount at dozens of participating South Coast Plaza stores, including Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna, Michael Kors, Faconnable, and Yves Saint Laurent.

“We have tremendous confidence in our ability to impact children and put them on the right path,” said Keith Rhodes, CEO of BBBSOC. “But it means even more when an outside group recognizes the need, and chooses to lend a hand in providing the needed support and funding.”

A longtime supporter of BBBSOC, Angelitos de Oro has contributed to the organization not only through financial grants and fundraisers, but also through advocacy and awareness campaigns. Since its launch in 1961, Angelitos de Oro has raised more than $4.75 million for BBBSOC.

The High School Bigs program is focused on teenaged mentors for smaller children, providing classroom help with homework and reading together. The aim is to start a friendship, provide guidance and inspire the program’s “Littles” to reach their greatest potential. The program currently reaches more than 380 students from 16 schools throughout Orange County.

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