Jennifer Hudson, the Dreamgirls actress who rocketed to fame after she won an Oscar, and the legendary Marvin Hamlisch will perform at a gala annual fundraiser for Help Raise Healthy Children at the War Memorial Opera House on Monday, Jan. 14. Other stars, yet to be announced, will also appear. The event will honor Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Foundation and will benefit the Edible Schoolyard in the Berkeley public schools, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Oakland’s Children’s Hospital, and San Francisco General Hospital.

Former President Bill Clinton and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are the Honorary Chairs. The Bouncing Bulldogs Rope Skipping Team will put on a demonstration of youth fitness. 
   

Help Raise Healthy Children encourages better choices of food and a more active lifestyle for kids. 
   

Fundraising wizard Deborah Strobin is coordinating the event. She has organized 21 charity events over the past 20 years.
   

“I wanted Jennifer Hudson from day one,” says Strobin, “because it sort of fits in with childhood obesity somehow. She didn’t make it with American Idol; she’s a dream-come-true type of person. I also like to get celebrities who haven’t been here in San Francisco before. It’s more exciting that way.”

When choosing a cause to support, Strobin doesn’t necessarily avoid controversy, such as last year’s fundraiser for stem cell research.     

“When I read about problems that are around,” she says, “I try to tackle, if that’s the right word, a cause that is not necessarily popular. I’ve done popular ones, of course, such as A.C.T. and the symphony. I found that [for] any cause that needs attention, you have to get the high-profile celebrities to come out and support it. Anyone who comes to these events makes a difference, no matter what price ticket you buy.”
   

She never intentionally set out to be a fundraiser, but she’s had great success.
   

“Luck has something to do with it, but fundraising is not in my background,” she says. I just find it easier to ask for something that’s not personal. I can’t imagine asking for money for myself.”
   

Strobin left Manhattan and moved to San Francisco 30 years ago with her husband, Edward Strobin, who was the chief operating officer of Banana Republic. That was only one of his titles. He died in 2000. She says she sold her business after she found that “it was interfering with my fundraising.”
   

The Governor recently joined Bill Clinton as co-leader of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which works with schools, businesses and health care professionals to fight childhood obesity. The honorary committee members include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto, and Elizabeth Edwards.
   

Help Raise Healthy Children Gala Fundraiser: War Memorial

Opera House, Monday, Jan. 14, 5 p.m. cocktails, 6 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. gala show,
tickets $50-$10,000, 415-409-4299, www.helpraisehealthychildren.org.