Column: The Crowd: Big Canyon Country Club opens its doors to Angelitos de Oro

Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach welcomed some 108 specials guests and members of Angelitos de Oro for its annual luncheon and awards presentation. The tight-knit assemblage of dedicated volunteers finds its purpose in supporting and raising significant dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire.

Founded in 1961, Angelitos de Oro has contributed $6.5 million toward the support and mentoring of countless youth in the region. In 2017 the group contributed $350,000 — the highest amount of any year raised to date — through major fundraising efforts. Karen Taylor, president of Angelitos de Oro, welcomed the upbeat crowd, receiving major applause with the announcement of landmark success in 2017.

On hand for the upbeat celebration were dedicated members and staff from Big Brothers Big Sisters, most notably Chief Executive Melissa Beck, Sloane Kean, Jessica Prescott Romley, Dale Camera, Cristal Ochoa, Evelyn Soto and Angelia Martinez. Joining the executives were some 16 past presidents and 31 sustaining members of Angelitos de Oro. Among the VIPs were Hyla Bertea, Lisa Wetzel, Alicia Mape and Marilyn Bergman-Rallis.

One primary focus of the Angelitos de Oro fundraising efforts is fostering a program known as “High School Bigs.” The concept is to match local high school students with younger elementary school students, providing one-on-one peer support, friendship and encouragement. At the luncheon two “Bigs,” Destinee Rodriquez and Eduardo Mendoza, were honored as outstanding high school students helping to guide the lives of young people in need of support. Both high school honorees will attend college in the fall, Mendoza at Cal State Fullerton and Rodriquez at the University of Rochester (with the benefit of scholarship assistance from Angelitos de Oro).

The most important fundraiser of the year for Angelitos is the annual “Shopping Card Event” at South Coast Plaza, which is set to take place Oct. 3-9, (there’s a special preview on Oct. 2). 2018 will mark the 18th anniversary year of the shopping extravaganza, which helps kids in need all over Orange County and the Inland Empire.

An additional donation of $25,000 was granted to Big Brothers Big Sisters by Karen Taylor as a special surprise, which added to the excitement. Spotted in the crowd were Marilyn Wooten, Jana Hackett, Toni Berlinger, Ann Dennis, C.C. Knowles, Sherry Bilbeisi, Georgina Jacobson, Cari Young, Molly McCray and Merrilee Harris. Standouts also included the elegant Ronnie Allumbaugh, Barbara Bowie, Linda Yellen and the dedicated Natalie Pickup.

SPIN forms an alliance with Hoag Hospital

Serving People In Need (SPIN) is joining forces with Hoag Hospital Presbyterian to provide vital life services to under-served and at-risk individuals and families through the Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living. For 30 years SPIN’s mission in Orange County has been to provide at-risk individuals and families stable housing, financial counseling, job placement assistance, a reliable food supply and access to quality healthcare. Coming up on Oct. 5, SPIN will hold its 2018 dinner gala at the tony Newport Beach Country Club. The evening will take on an Oktoberfest theme starring comic Bobby Collins, a regular on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Principal sponsors are generous SPIN supporters Keith and Florence Smith. To learn more about SPIN, go to www.spinoc.org.

Decorative Arts Society gives $200,000 in grants

The Pacific Club Newport Beach was the site of the recent Decorative Arts annual grants reception bestowing $200,000 on 12 worthy non-profit organizations in the Orange County community. For the past quarter century, members of the design community have joined forces with community members at large with a passion for the decorative arts, including respected designers Ann Dennis, Brenda Eastman, Barbara Glabman, Marion Palley, Mary Anna Jeppe and Linda Phillips.

The goal is to raise funds for non-profits, many of which are specifically involved with assisting women and children. Maureen Madigan, president of the Decorative Arts Society, welcomed standout and long-time members Sandra Ayres, Cathi Bledsoe, Diane Cannon, Kim Donahue, Laraine Eggleston, Madeline Hayward and Shelby Rigg to the Pacific Club. VIP guests also included Carolyn Garrett, Adrienne Garrison, Sheron Henwood, Bonnie McClellan, Amy Trepus and Carole Steele.

Among the recipients of the Decorative Arts Society grants are Breast Cancer Solutions, Healthy Smiles, Women Helping Women, Environmental Nature Center, WaymakersOC, CASA Youth Shelter, Illumination Foundation, Taller San Jose Hope Builders, Women’s Transitional Living Center, Families Forward, SPIN and Fristers.

Stevie Wonder meets the cast of ‘Purple’

Segerstrom Center for the Arts recently presented “The Color Purple” for a week-long run in Segerstrom Hall. On June 23 one of the world’s most admired singer/songwriters, Stevie Wonder, decided to come down to OC from Los Angeles to catch a performance. The man, who has taken home 25 Grammy Awards, arrived early and headed over to Season’s 52 Restaurant at South Coast Plaza. Joined by his wife and two bodyguards, Wonder sat down for an early dinner, which naturally encouraged the piano bar entertainer, Lee Rugless, to play and sing an entire set of Wonder’s biggest hits.

The star was truly impressed with the performance and wanted to meet the entertainer, so his bodyguards brought him over to the piano bar where he thanked Rugless and then proceeded to sit down at the piano playing and singing “Overjoyed,” one of his songs that topped the charts back in 1985. Following dinner, Wonder and his wife attended “The Color Purple” performance, and to the surprise of the cast, he went backstage following curtain call to congratulate all of the performers in the show.

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.