Fundraiser supports ECF’s lifespan of services helping people with disabilities build meaningful, independent lives from childhood through adulthood.
CULVER CITY, CA, UNITED STATES, August 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Jeopardy! winner Brendan Sargent brought his fast-paced trivia style to Culver City on Saturday, August 22, hosting Exceptional Children’s Foundation’s annual Trivia Night fundraiser at the ECF Kayne Eras Center.
Presented by ECF’s Associates Board and produced with Sargent’s Lucky Guess Trivia, the evening brought together local residents, young professionals, workplace teams and ECF supporters for three hours of trivia, food, drinks and friendly competition, with proceeds benefiting programs for children and adults with developmental, learning and emotional disabilities.
The fundraiser took place at the center of ECF’s work in Culver City. The Kayne Eras Center at 5350 Machado Road serves as ECF’s headquarters and is home to its K–12 nonpublic school and therapeutic services for children and families. The campus provides specialized education as well as behavioral, speech and language, occupational, educational and mental health services tailored to the individual needs of students and families.
For families of children with developmental disabilities, however, the need for support does not end when school does. Across the country, the transition out of the structured K–12 system can leave families confronting a difficult question: what comes next?
ECF’s lifespan of services is designed to help answer that question. Beyond special education and childhood therapeutic services, the organization provides employment and job training, residential support, fine arts, therapeutic services and community-based programs that help adults develop skills, pursue work, build relationships, participate in their communities and live as independently as possible.
Nearly 4,000 children, adults and families are served by ECF each year across Los Angeles County.
“For families raising a child with a disability, graduation should not feel like stepping off a cliff,” said Veronica Arteaga, President and CEO of Exceptional Children’s Foundation. “The real question is what a good adult life can look like after the structure of school ends. It can include meaningful work, relationships, creativity, community, greater independence and the right support along the way. ECF has spent 80 years helping build that lifespan of services, and our responsibility now is not only to provide those services, but to help families see that there can be a safe, purposeful, and fulfilling future beyond K–12.”
Sargent, founder of Lucky Guess Trivia, served as host for the evening, challenging teams through multiple rounds of questions and bringing the energy of competitive trivia to the ECF campus.
“I spent 12 years as a special education teacher, so this was much more than another trivia night for me,” said Brendan Sargent, founder of Lucky Guess Trivia and a Jeopardy! winner. “I’ve seen firsthand how much dedicated support can mean to students and families. Being able to use something I love to help an organization doing that work made the evening especially meaningful.”
Team The Jalapeno Lighties ultimately claimed first place, earning the evening’s top bragging rights and their choice of prize packages.
The event is organized by ECF’s Associates Board, a group of emerging professionals who support the organization through fundraising, volunteerism and advocacy, helping introduce a new generation of Los Angeles supporters to ECF’s work.
“It is especially meaningful to see people come together here in support of ECF,” said Maxine Moshay, Chief Development Officer of Exceptional Children’s Foundation. “ECF has deep roots in this community, and events like Trivia Night give people an opportunity to see how that work extends across a lifetime—from children receiving specialized education and therapy to adults pursuing employment, creative expression, community and greater independence.”
About Exceptional Children’s Foundation
Founded in 1946, Exceptional Children’s Foundation (ECF) provides a continuum of programs and services for children and adults with developmental, learning and emotional disabilities throughout Los Angeles County. Its services span early intervention, special education and therapeutic care through adulthood, including employment and job training, fine arts, residential support and community integration.
ECF’s work addresses one of the most consequential transitions facing families of people with developmental disabilities: building a meaningful adult life after the structure and supports of the K–12 education system end. Through an integrated continuum of services, ECF helps individuals develop skills, pursue employment, participate in their communities, build relationships and live as independently as possible.
ECF is headquartered at the Kayne Eras Center, 5350 Machado Road in Culver City.
For more information, visit www.ecf.net.
Samantha Maez
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