On the Town: La Providencia Guild turns tacky for a good cause
When the invitation is a recycled birthday card with a sheet of paper pasted over the original greeting, the first person you encounter when you arrive is decked out in an old sweatshirt and hair curlers and the evening’s program is printed on tattered paper with rips repaired by Scotch tape, you can be pretty much assured it’s not going to be the classiest event you’ve ever attended.
While the women of the La Providencia Guild of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have a long history of staging glamorous gala fundraisers, for this year’s spring social, they did a complete turnaround as they welcomed members and guests to an evening of trashy inelegance held at the Pickwick Banquet Center on May 21.
Presented with the theme, “A Tacky Affair,” the far-less-than sartorial-conscious assemblage passed on the obligatory cocktail hour, and, instead, slurped down their adult beverages during “Moonshine Time.”
Chaired by Judy Pierce, this year’s spring social, which also provided the full complement of the guild with a quarterly update provided by Lynn White-Shelby, guild president, was made possible by the event committee made up of Sue Ann Gordon, Rosemarie Witten, Ann O’Donnell-Gardner, Linda Wilson, Malena Tappan, Beth Bowles, Nancy Wiggins, Juana Ballenger, Janice Shafer and Paul Sessum.
White-Shelby, whose presidential theme is “Light the Lives of Children,” presides over the guild that currently has 133 members.
She updated the crowd about the guild’s 2017 goals to recruit new members, retain current membership and to increase the organization’s presence in the community with presentations about Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to service clubs and other groups.
She also spoke of the guild’s current priorities that include building upon its established partnership with the Burbank Temporary Aid Center by providing attire for its clients who are preparing for job interviews, and with Burbank Noon Kiwanis in its service project called Hope in the Valley.
For the remainder of this year, guild members will also be focusing on their toy drive, which purchases gift cards and takes new toys and books that have been donated to their thrift shop to children at CHLA, and their commitment to provide treat baskets for the hospital’s emergency room staff.
They are also diligently working, under the guidance of chairwoman Joan Chandler, on finalizing plans for a major gala — with a return to elegance — that will be held at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel, where they will celebrate the guild’s 70th anniversary later this year.
Chartered by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 1947, the La Providencia Guild’s mission is to foster interest in the work of the pediatric medical facility with contributions of service and funds.
Along with the many fundraising efforts it stages throughout the year, the guild operates the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Thrift Shop, located at 3301 Burbank Blvd.
The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It accepts donations of household items, toys, books, collectibles and furniture as well as men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. All donations should be in good condition.
For more information about the guild’s work, its upcoming anniversary gala or to become a member, visit laprovidenciaguild.org.
DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
