For Human Options, the Light is Bright

Candlelight and Christmas trees shone at the “Starry, Starry Night” silent auction to benefit Human Options, a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

About 150 guests turned up for the recent holiday-themed auction and buffet, presented by the Professional Women’s Support Group at the Robert Mondavi Wine and Food Center in Costa Mesa. The $45-per-person benefit was expected to raise $25,000 for the women’s shelter.

Fund-Raising by Candlelight

Rudy Chavira, creative director for Human Options, orchestrated the evening’s romantic, candlelit atmosphere.

“These people deal with pain every day. I wanted to create a place that’s warm and personal,” said Chavira, who wore a military-style jacket complete with medals (for “surviving life,” she said.)

Chavira had three rooms of the center decorated in different color schemes--gold, silver and natural with English ivy and greenery--and filled them with hundreds of candles and decorated Christmas trees. It was his idea to display auction items in signature baskets “so people could buy something beautifully wrapped,” he said.

Guests wandered among the rooms sampling wines, hors d’oeuvres, pasta, cheese and fruits. They bid on baskets filled with gourmet food and certificates good for everything from massage therapy to house cleaning.

“People come here to do their Christmas shopping,” said Pamela Oligino, event chairwoman.

Safe Haven

Human Options has operated an emergency shelter for battered women and their children for 10 years.

“The shelter is like a safe cocoon,” said Sandy Condello, assistant director of Human Options. “By the time the women come to us they’re at their wit’s end. Sometimes they’re running for their lives.”

Women spend a maximum of 45 days at the 18-bed shelter at an undisclosed location in South Orange County. There, they receive counseling and assistance for how to obtain an education, get a job, find a place to live.

“Being a woman I have great empathy for these women. I can understand how stranded they must feel, how hard it is to change one’s life,” said Sondra Locke, the Hollywood actress, producer and director who served as the auction’s honorary chairwoman.

Locke was presented with a framed original drawing by Melissa, a 7-year-old girl who lived at the shelter. The drawing was featured on greeting cards and ornaments sold at the auction.

Proceeds from the benefit will help support Human Options’ newly purchased Second Step Housing Unit, an apartment house in Costa Mesa where graduates of the six-week shelter program can live with their children for up to a year as they rebuild their lives. Second Step is scheduled to open in February.

Faces in the crowd included Human Options’ executive director Vivian Clecak, Carole Bowman, Shelby Brown, Tracy Firsching, Katie Heap, Doug Hiatt, Nita and Vicki Katz, John and Anabel Konwiser, Art and Lyn Magill, Terry and Carolyn Noonan, Kerry Reynolds, Annamay Sims, Sue Swanezy, Carol Thomas and Nancy Thompson.