Grand Affair Has Latin Flair
The event: “An Evening of Latin Entertainment,” the first-ever black-tie gala staged by the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center. The center’s formal fund-raiser took place Thursday at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach.
Fiesta wear: In keeping with the gala theme, many of the 300 guests showed up in Latin-style formal wear. On view: everything from a celery satin gown wrapped at the hip with a black Spanish shawl--sported by gala chairwoman Margo Chamberlin--to men in color-splashed tuxedos.
Ballroom tables were decorated with brightly hued serapes, paper flowers and vases filled with fresh blooms.
“Details are important,” said Chamberlin. “When you walk into a room and it feels pretty--you’ve got a success.”
Guests enjoyed gourmet Mexican fare and were entertained by tango dancers and singer Debby Yeager, who performed Brazilian jazz numbers.
Help for parents: The Costa Mesa-based Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center offers six intervention programs designed to break the cycle of child abuse and domestic violence.
“We get calls from parents every day saying, ‘I’m at the end of my rope and I’m going to lose it,”’ said Kathy McCarrell, executive director of the center. “We go into homes where families want help, and a professional caseworker sets up a treatment plan.
“Most [parents who seek help] were raised in abusive homes and they don’t have the maturity or knowledge” to cope with raising their children, McCarrell said.
Last year, the center served 7,500 children in 3,200 families.
Quote: “Child abuse is on the decline, which experts are attributing to the improved economy, but in 1998 there were still 29,000 reported cases in Orange County alone,” McCarrell said. “We have a long way to go.”
Faces: Kelly Crean, who represented her grandparents, John and Donna Crean, the evening’s honorees; David Pelzer, guest speaker and author of “A Child Called It”; John Raetz, who received a special presentation in memory of his late wife, Carol Ann Raetz--past board president of the center; Nancy Becks, daughter of John and Carol Ann Raetz; Jane Kearl, board president; Robert Sadeghi; Lil and Alexandra Spitzer; Anita Tabib; Rudy Lukes; Gianni and Antoinette Latini; Antonio Cagnolo; Andrew and Karen McFarland; and Bill and Penny Walker.
Bottom line: The gala was expected to net $50,000 for the center. Proceeds will be used to expand child abuse prevention programs, which have waiting lists of families seeking help.
Where to call: The Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center can be reached at (949) 722-1107.