Friends of United Hatzalah of Israel announced that Jay Leno, former host of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” will be the recipient of the Humanitarian Award for his support and work with Hatzalah at the inaugural Los Angeles Gala, taking place on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Beverly Hilton, featuring a performance by Israeli recording artist Dudu Aharon and hosted by Israeli model Esti Ginzburg.

(photo courtesy of Event Pros LA)

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the philanthropic event, including elected officials, civic figures and community leaders. The evening will pay tribute to the 5,000 volunteers around the country that are the core of United Hatzalah of Israel and the organizations’ capabilities of providing service to an entire country around the clock – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

“We are very excited to be holding our first gala in Los Angeles,” said Eli Beer, president and founder of United Hatzalah of Israel. “The community there has been tremendous in supporting the lifesaving work that we do in Israel and we are happy to be able to provide them with this chance to partner with us and getting more involved with saving lives in Israel.”

United Hatzalah is the largest independent, nonprofit, fully volunteer emergency medical service organization that provides the fastest and free emergency medical first response throughout Israel. United Hatzalah’s service is available to all people regardless of race, religion or national origin. With the help of the unique GPS technology and iconic ambucycles, the average response time is less than three minutes across the country and 90 seconds in metropolitan areas.

For information, visit israelrescue.org or uhlagala.com.