About The Charity Ball

San Diego’s Charity Ball is the grande dame of fundraising parties – a formal, black-tie dinner and dance dating back to 1909. Since 1953, the year before the hospital first opened its doors, the Charity Ball has exclusively benefited Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.

Since 1909, The Charity Ball has been an integral part of the social and philanthropic fabric of San Diego. Local families have played significant roles in carrying on the Charity Ball tradition. Familiar San Diego names show up on committee rosters and chairs of the event. Many families make a point of kicking off the social season with invitations to join them in their “box” adjacent to the dance floor. Society-page coverage of the Charity Ball, its décor and the beautiful gowns are almost as much anticipated as the event itself.

The end of World War II, particularly important to San Diego as a Navy town, saw a “Victory Ball” celebrated in 1946, and United States involvement in the 1991 Gulf War led to hundreds of American flags being incorporated into the Charity Ball décor that year.

Since its first formal dinner and dance in 1909, the Charity Ball has always helped kids. The Charity Ball founder, Lena Sefton Clark, led the way, and the first Ball raised $1,570.

Over the years, the Charity Ball has been directly responsible for increasing excellence in patient care through the purchase of equipment, funding of programs and services. The incredible success of the Charity Ball has been made possible by thousands of volunteers who dedicate their time and talents.

The Charity Ball Committee is an all-volunteer committee and the funds it provides to the hospital are supported through the beautiful Souvenir Program containing hundreds of pages of family and business photos celebrating the outstanding and crucial work done by the dedicated physicians and staff at Rady Children’s hospital. A copy of this program is kept for posterity at the San Diego History Center, as it has every year since when the charity Ball started in 1909.