A Garden for Young Dreams
The event: An Enchanted Evening in a Child’s Garden, the 25th anniversary Black & White Ball for Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children. Saturday’s black-tie gala took place at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.
Making their garden grow: About 900 guests filled the hotel’s grand ballroom, which indeed looked like an enchanted child’s garden thanks to painted murals of foliage, forests and a storybook cottage. Tables were draped in springtime pastel cloths and featured towering topiaries that sparkled with mini-lights and tiny fairies. Partygoers dined on gourmet fare that included lobster thermidor and were serenaded by former “Phantom of the Opera” star Davis Gaines.
Rescuing a “Lost Boy”: The gala was held in honor of Dave Pelzer, best-selling author of “A Child Called It” and “The Lost Boy,” which described the suffering he endured growing up with an abusive mother.
Pelzer survived physical torture and near starvation before being rescued by teachers and social workers and placed in foster care at age 12. “My teachers saved me. If they hadn’t . . . I’d be dead,” said Pelzer, now 38 and the father of a 12-year-old boy. The author has flown stealth fighters as a U.S. Air Force commander and also works as a comedian. “My message is that if I can have all those problems and work them through, others can too.”
Olive branch: Founded 25 years ago by Donald and Lois VerLeur, Olive Crest offers a licensed foster family and adoption agency, residential group homes, two 24-hour emergency treatment centers, parent education programs, family therapy and a school. The Tustin-based agency serves more than 1,500 children annually in Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, desert communities, Las Vegas and Orange County, where more than 35,000 child-abuse cases are reported each year.
Quote: “Olive Crest has provided 25 years of nurturing” for abused children, said Cabbell Cobbs, an Olive Crest trustee who chaired the gala with his wife, Marilynn. “They not only provide care but a program of unconditional love. That’s their strength.”
Faces: Actress Amy Pietz of “Caroline in the City,” the evening’s emcee; Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks captain and winner of the Circle of Champions Award; Virginia Knott Bender, honorary chairwoman; actors Jerry Mathers (“Leave It to Beaver”) and Garrett Morris; Steve Pizula, Olive Crest Foundation president; Lynn and Sylvia Burnett; and Jenifer Dewsnap.
Bottom line: The Black & White Ball netted more than $600,000 for Olive Crest. Proceeds will be used to expand programs to serve 2,000 children and family members annually by the year 2000. “We still have to turn away about 100 children a month,” said Olive Crest spokeswoman Colette Smith.
Mark your calendar: The Olive Crest Foundation/Inland Empire will stage its black-tie gala at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside on Oct. 25. For information, call (909) 369-0708.