"40 Years of Magic!" Gala Raises Nearly $300,000 for Los Angeles Homeless. Youth

LOS ANGELES - Rezul -- More than 160 guests filled the Avalon Hollywood on October 8 for 40 YEARS OF MAGIC!, the 40th anniversary gala for Youth Emerging Stronger, raising close to $300,000 for homeless and foster youth in Los Angeles. The evening was produced by Chris Isaacson Presents.

The evening was built around a magic theme for the fortieth year, with America's Got Talent semifinalist Trigg Watson headlining and strolling magicians working the room during the reception. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath attended and presented Youth Emerging Stronger with a commendation recognizing four decades of service to homeless youth. The organization honored the Karisma Foundation and Wendy Chang of the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund with its Key of Hope Award.

The emotional center of the night was a young man who came through the YES program and now works as a recruiter at a leading aerospace company. He spoke about leaving homelessness behind and about an organization that stayed with him into adulthood.

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"Nights like this are how YES keeps its doors open and its programs running for the young people who need them," Youth Emerging Stronger President and CEO Mark Supper wrote in the organization's recap of the evening.

It was the fourth gala Chris Isaacson Presents has produced for the organization, which operated as the Los Angeles Youth Network before rebranding. The company handles full production, development, talent booking and day-of direction. The company has booked artists for the gala over the years including Alisan Porter, the "Curly Sue" star who went on to win NBC's The Voice, and Shoshana Bean, winner of the 2026 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for The Lost Boys, as well as this year's headliner, illusionist Trigg Watson. Both Porter and Bean were booked for the gala years before those wins.

"My job is to run the show, so my client does not have to," Isaacson said. "A president and CEO should spend that evening greeting donors, welcoming honorees and hosting the elected officials and notable guests in the room. That is work only they can do, and they can only do it if they trust the show is handled. When a chief executive is watching cues instead of talking to the people who fund the mission, the organization has already lost money."