A plethora of stars gathered at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco Monday night for the annual fund-raiser benefiting one of Paul Newman’s favorite charities, children’s camp The Painted Turtle.

The late actor and humanitarian had planned the event prior to his death and had invited some of the headliners and guests personally. Stars such as Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn, Danny DeVito, Bruce Willis and Joaquin Phoenix all came to continue Paul Newman’s generosity.

The event commenced with a video showing Paul Newman, who passed away Sept. 26 at age 83 of cancer, talk about his work with the Association of Hole in The Wall Camps, which runs eleven camps around the world including The Painted Turtle. Newman co-founded the camp, which helps children suffering from life-threatening illnesses, in 1999. Jack Nicholson narrated the clip. In it, Newman said he had tried to acknowledge luck and thus found it necessary in his life to do something for the less fortunate.

A great many stars took to the stage at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall for a reading of Ernest Hemingway’s “The World of Nick Adams,” adapted for television by A. E. Hotchner. Hotchner was Newman’s friend and longtime associate. The two founded food company Newman’s Own in 1982, turning it into a non-profit organization. All proceeds – more than $250 million - have gone to charities over the years.

The staged reading was followed by a performance from Bonnie Raitt, who dedicated “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” to the late actor. The stars as well as children from Newman’s camps joined her on stage. The young ones, dressed in yellow t-shirts, offered sunflowers to the cast.

Around 2,500 people attended the benefit.