Simpson Case Proves Boon for Shelters : Charity: Trial has raised awareness of domestic violence and caused outpouring of help across the county.

Every week, at a flower market in Carlsbad, florist Nell Wade picks out a bouquet of flowers for women she’s never met.

Maybe some pinks and blues for soft colors, maybe some roses for the sweet scent--enough to fill vases in the four bedrooms at Laura’s House, a South County shelter for victims of domestic violence. .

“What really made me do that was the O.J. [Simpson] trial, and the fact that I felt very helpless,” said Wade, who sends the bouquet to the shelter via a volunteer. “I didn’t like the outcome. . . . I was always a person who felt I could make a difference. I can’t afford time or money, but I can afford flowers.”

Throughout Orange County, small-business owners and corporations have increased support to domestic violence shelters through services, money or goods after Simpson’s acquittal Oct. 3 in the murders of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.

The trial raised the issue of domestic violence after prosecutors noted Simpson had pleaded no contest to spousal abuse charges in 1989 and showed pictures of a bruised Nicole Brown Simpson during testimony and their closing argument.

Since the trial began last year, the cause of battered women has moved to the forefront, prompting private sector donations that previously had been targeted at other, more visible charities.

At a time when other charities have experienced a decrease in contributions, businesses have offered domestic violence shelters everything from a benefit at a pizza restaurant to $100,000 worth of jeans and denim clothes.

“All of us restaurant people are hit up for charitable causes,” said John Guarascio, owner of San Giovanni restaurant in San Clemente. “Everyone was aware that the Boys and Girls Club needed money, and young people needed a chance. They just weren’t aware so much that women were treated this way and didn’t have anywhere to turn.”

Guarascio is organizing a meal drive for Laura’s House, asking 30 local restaurants to provide one meal a month to the shelter. Several restaurants have agreed to participate, said Guarascio, who plans to start the service Nov. 1.

“It wasn’t that the awareness level was raised--it was that the level of responsibility was raised,” said Doreen Whitcomb, fund-raising coordinator for the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation in Dana Point. The foundation, started last year, seeks to raise awareness about spousal abuse and funds shelters for battered women.

Last week, Carmelo’s restaurant in Corona del Mar hosted a fund-raiser for the foundation, raising about $40,000.

On Wednesday, Irvine-based Roam Jeans donated $100,000 worth of new jeans, jackets and other denim items to the foundation, which distributed the clothes to 20 shelters in Orange and Los Angeles counties. On Dec. 3, Sonny’s Pizza and Pasta in San Clemente will put on a fund-raiser for the foundation, with restaurants donating shrimp, crab, chicken and ravioli.

At Human Options shelter in Laguna Beach, calls from donors have tripled to at least a dozen a day since the trial began, said fund development coordinator Susan Jenkins. On Nov. 4, Diane Nelson Fine Art in Laguna Beach will host an exhibit of new paintings by artist Marco Sassone, with a portion of the sales earmarked for Human Options.

“This trial was definitely a reason for it,” said owner Diane Nelson. “I just kept listening to all of it and thinking, ‘Why?’ . . . I thought this [fund-raiser] was an opportunity to do something for all of us.”