A Partnership in Purpose

In hindsight, it seems fitting that John and Sarah Kobara met on a plane. With one seat empty between them on the flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii, they struck up a conversation. Though geography was against them—John lived in Los Angeles, Sarah in Hawaii—they built a connection that would lead to a decades-long marriage, three children, and a philanthropic vision rooted in the same instinct to bridge gaps and build connections.

John grew up in Silicon Valley, but studying at UCLA and working for Los Angeles-focused organizations helped him fall in love with the city. As his work took him into many different neighborhoods across Los Angeles, he became fascinated by the diversity of cultures and communities across different zip codes—and how connected people were, even across freeways. 

After moving to Los Angeles to join John, Sarah took longer to warm up. Having lived in small towns in Colorado and Hawaii, she was used to a slower pace of life. She often found the city overwhelming. Building community and giving back became a throughline for her, deepening connections to people and LA as she and John took up the work they loved together. 

Both their parents had modeled different forms of philanthropy throughout their lives—John’s parents giving time to Japanese-American organizations, Sarah’s mother supporting children of mixed heritage in Korea. They worked hard to pass these legacies on to their own children by planting the seeds of philanthropy early on. For more than 15 years, the Kobaras hosted an annual holiday party to raise money and collect goods for Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena. “We liked using any event as an excuse to have a philanthropic conversation,” says John. 

Their introduction to MLK Community Healthcare came through John’s mentor, Bruce Corwin, who was the first member of MLK Community Health Foundation’s board. Though healthcare was outside John’s usual area of expertise and philanthropy, MLKCH had clear connections with the social issues he cared about: community neglect, structural racism, economic disadvantages—all a part of the lack of healthcare availability in South LA. John became more involved at MLKCH, eventually stepping up to serve as Chair of the Foundation board, a role he continues to hold today.

Through conversations with Bruce and foundation president Dyan Sublett, John and Sarah came to understand how the systemic challenges in South LA impact other parts of the city. “Separation is probably the biggest obstacle for us to be successful. We’re in a city together, we’re in a county together, we need to understand each other. Otherwise, the whole thing doesn’t work,” says John. Programs that change health outcomes in South LA, like a diabetes center of excellence or a street medicine department, can have a ripple effect across the rest of the city—and beyond. 

John and Sarah have now supported MLKCH—through John’s board involvement and their giving—for more than ten years. Their plan is for the connections they’ve made in bringing communities together to far outlive them. With this intention, they created a planned gift, as a percentage of their estate, to benefit MLKCH. “When we give, we get pleasure out of that,” says John. Sarah agrees, noting “The pleasure and joy of being part of something.” John and Sarah are part of MLKCH’s Dream Society, a group of forward-looking philanthropists with a commitment towards a future where others will sustain the work they started. “We need to do both,” they agree. “Write a check today and at the end of life.”

The Kobaras are already seeing how a lifetime commitment can bear fruit beyond them: their three children are engaged in purpose-driven careers in nonprofit, healthcare, and documentary filmmaking. And now there’s a new generation to carry this purpose forward—they recently became grandparents for the first time, to a baby boy who will grow up in the sprawl of Los Angeles. Their gifts will continue to build connections for the world he’ll inherit.