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In November of 1993, The Safe Place was incorporated thanks to the generous pro-bono work by the law firm of Latham & Watkins, and attorney Rick Zbur. Mr. Zbur also filed for the 501(C)(3), non-profit papers, and 10 months later TSP officially received word that their non-profit status was official. In the spring of 1994, The Safe Place made its first public appearance with a kick-off event thanks to the support of Ms. Tonian Hohberg, president and founder of FIDM, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Early the following year, momentum began to build with the creation of a medical advisory board, comprised of all the major doctors from hospitals throughout Los Angeles owning a branch dedicated to pediatric AIDS, a 16 member board of directors, a 12 member legal advisory board, and an advisory board. A video was created and produced with the help of Cathy Lee Crosby and several families and authorities in the field allied to the vision of The Safe Place. In March 1995, Emporio Armani in Beverly Hills hosted a very successful fundraising event for The Safe Place. This event was instrumental in bringing The Safe Place the exposure it needed by attracting many people from the entertainment industry, and bringing a new awareness of the lack of availability of any similar services in Los Angeles. In September, after more than a year of negotiations with a Hollywood church, The Safe Place had a home. The agreement between the two parties combined the church's existing child development center with The Safe Place, thereby creating a mainstream program in an educational facility. This pilot program offered a limited group of HIV/AIDS infected/affected families the opportunity to have their children attend this initial TSP campus at no cost to the families. Families whose children had been ostracized or ridiculed now had a place for their children to feel safe, loved and to have fun during the day just like they might at any other child development program. That same year, Sheryl Lee Ralph and her "Divas Simply Singing" benefited The Safe Place for the first time. The relationship with Ms. Ralph continued for six years, each year a greater success and further enabling TSP to reach more families and their children. In October 1995, Carol Behrman and her Courtyard Galleries hosted a successful fundraising event for TSP, attended by actresses Estelle Getty and Barbara Eden. Estelle Getty presented an outstanding Achievement award to Ms. Maria Garay. Garay, a member of The Safe Place board of directors, was honored for her dedication to the children and families that she serves, and for her innovative and courageous participation in TSP's mission. The following spring, the G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, in association with the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers, hosted an exhibit of the Society's honored photographers to benefit The Safe Place for Pediatric AIDS. In September of 1997, TSP Founder, Barry Bruder, was invited to the White House to meet with Sandra Thurman, then Director of National AIDS policy. Bloomingdale's in Los Angeles held a celebrity fashion show in 1998 to help raise money for The Safe Place's children and families. Between 1999 and 2000 The Safe Place worked to create a partnership with AIDS Service Center (ASC) in Pasadena, California. ASC is the single largest AIDS service provider in Los Angeles County to families with HIV/AIDS. Currently the majority of the children and families served by TSP come from this direct link to their primary service provider, ASC. The last three years have seen TSP expand all across Los Angeles, from South Central to Hollywood, from Glendale to West Hills. In February 2001, The Stranahan Foundation awarded TSP with a most unusual major gift: a grant to secure a firm or individual uniquely suited to effectively solidify and ensure the future financial viability of TSP. This rare example of philanthropic generosity illustrates the uncommon belief and expectation placed on TSP, and serves as a role model for other Foundations reach out and take a risk for causes they must see succeed.