A Scavenger Hunt with a Heart of Gold

Their outfits were colorful, and some of the challenges were whimsical. (Do you know how many steps there are at Sand Dune Park?)

But these urban scavengers were dead serious about one thing Sunday: the need to raise money for Golden Heart Ranch, a place that will be dedicated to young adults with special needs.

"So many young kids, once they grow up, are left on their own, with all [life's] perils and there's nowhere for them to go," said Mary Carron James of Redondo Beach. "So we want to have a residential place where our kids can go when we're no longer able to take care of them."

Like James, many of the participants in the scavenger hunt have children with special needs. But not everyone does: About 150 people participated in the second annual charity event, including tennis star Maria Sharapova and Los Angeles Laker player Sasha Vujacic. The event raised nearly $40,000, topping last year's $34,000 haul.

The hunt started at American Martyrs Catholic School and ended a few hours later at Shark's Cove in downtown Manhattan Beach. The teams, many dressed in costume and determined to be a top finisher, had to count those steps at Sand Dune Park and solve other challenges to make their way to the next destination point. Some teams went full steam ahead (Team Jack's Surfboards) while others lagged without apology (Team Pasta Primavera).

"It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot harder than I thought it would be," said Julie Lucero at the finish, summing up the general mood.

Team Justintime finished first followed by Team Dangerous and then the High Rollers. The three teams that raised the most money for the event were the Golden Girls, Justintime and Team Capo. 

Rose Hein of Manhattan Beach came up with the vision for Golden Heart Ranch three years ago. She has a special needs son and has been concerned about what was going to happen to him when he ages out of the school system.

"I want him to have the opportunity to have a full and rich life," Hein said. "I want him to be able to have a community. I want him to be able to have a job."

The ranch, which organizers hope to start building by 2013, would include a horticulture garden and a farm stand, as well as a cafe or a bakery so the residents could work and be self-sufficient. It would also have therapy and exercise activities, such as sewing, cooking and crafts.

These amenities would also give the outside community a reason to be a regular part of the ranch, said Krista Capo, Golden Heart's vice president.

"It's a vision. This is a dream. We're going to do it," Capo said.

They don't know exactly where it will be built yet. But there's a site plan for the ranch on the group's website designed by one of the growing number of volunteers who are inspired by the project when they hear about it, Capo said.

There are some community ranches of this sort in Europe, on the East Coast and in the Midwest, but none yet in California, Hein said.

"We want to build this first ranch and we'd like to build them throughout California, and create a model for the nation," she said.

To do that, Golden Heart Ranch will need more fundraisers like Sunday's urban scavenger hunt. The event was put on by entertainment company Feet First, which believes the more fun people have the more money they give.