Anyone who’s spent time with her can attest to the fact that Masy Bunnell is high energy. With a demanding career as an executive for a Long Beach-based IT firm and as the mother of three young children—seven year old Sophia, two-and-a-half year old Parker and 20 month old Scarlett—she would have to be.
Yet work and family aren’t the only matters that draw Bunnell’s keen interest. As Vice President of the Board of Children Today, a non-profit that provides free child care, preschool and family support services to infants and children up to six years of age facing homelessness in Long Beach, Bunnell is also heavily invested in helping her community.
Recruited to the board in 2008 by Children Today Co-Founder Theresa Bixby, Masy knew she had found the right avenue to give back.
“My kids are the most important thing in the world to my husband and me, and we work hard to make sure they have a stable home that provides them with everything they need to grow up healthy and happy,” said Bunnell. “It broke my heart to realize that there were kids in my own backyard who were homeless and had to go without the basics. In fact, I never thought of infants and children as being homeless. When I learned about Children Today and saw firsthand what a tremendous difference they were making in the lives of these children and their families, I knew I had to help.”
Bunnell threw herself into her role as board member wholeheartedly. Soon after arriving, she was chairing the Marketing Committee, helping to raise the agency’s profile, and before long she was voted into the Vice Presidency.
“She was a perfect fit right from the start,” said Children Today Executive Director Dora Jacildo. “Her talent for strategy, her connections with other prominent stakeholders, and her willingness to roll up her sleeves and work has made her a tremendous asset to us.”
Her latest undertaking is chairing the committee for Children Today’s marquee fundraiser, Holiday Cheer, a wine tasting and gallery style auction event that transforms into a fabulous after party. This year’s Holiday Cheer will be held on Friday, November 30, at 230 Pine Avenue (formerly home to Z Gallerie).
“Holiday Cheer is really a board-and-volunteer-driven event,” said Jacildo. “We have such a small administrative staff that it would be impossible for us to plan and execute such a high-profile, large-scale fundraiser.”
And it’s not just about throwing a big party. Holiday Cheer brings in a substantial portion of the agency’s operating income. “Masy makes it work,” continued Jacildo. “She comes up with the concept, and plans out every detail. Most importantly, she gets people involved. She gets them to say ‘Yes’ to her when they might have said ‘No’ to someone else.”
“I’m not unique,” said Bunnell. “Every member of the board is just as busy and just as committed to the mission of Children Today as I am. It’s about making a decision about what matters to you and making the commitment to do what it takes to give these children the start in life that all children deserve.”
To purchase tickets for Children Today’s Holiday Cheer, please visit www.childrentoday.org.
—Photo of the Bunnells courtesy of Masy Bunnell