On Monday, Los Angeles lost one of its biggest hearts with the passing of Wallis Annenberg. One of Southern California’s most prolific philanthropists, Annenberg championed the arts, education, animal welfare, healthcare, the environment, as well as LA’s youngest and oldest citizens. We encourage you to read the many obituaries published in the LA Times, NY Times, Associated Press, and elsewhere that chronicle a long life of giving, but today, we would like to express our gratitude for the direct impact Wallis Annenberg had on the youth we serve right here at Heart of LA.
Annenberg’s history of giving to Heart of Los Angeles goes back at least 30 years. Wallis Annenberg made her first donation to Heart of LA in the early 90s, and founder Mitchel Moore fondly remembers her first visit, which took place in the original church basement we once called home. In the decades in between, the Annenberg Foundation has donated well over $1.5 million to Heart of LA, playing a major role in shepherding us through the incredible growth into the multi-site organization we are today. Annenberg was a major contributor to two transformative capital campaigns, and to this day, when programming begins at the Arts and Recreation Center in Lafayette Park, families cross our beloved Wallis Annenberg Bridge to Success. If you happen to be on site the next time kids are climbing into a Heart of LA van to go on a field trip, you might notice her name on the back. It is an honor that in these indelible ways, Wallis Annenberg is still guiding our youth to success.
As recently as June 2025, Heart of LA was the grateful recipient of a grant of $50,000 from The Annenberg Foundation. In recent months, as the future of federal funding to arts and education has been thrown into uncertainty, Wallis Annenberg made a deliberate choice to step up her giving even more. Now more than ever, the world needs more philanthropists like Wallis Annenberg. She is proof of the fact that one individual can make a difference, that the spirit of giving can never be dimmed, and that hope survives even the darkest of times.
From one heart of Los Angeles to another, thank you, Wallis Annenberg, and rest in peace.
