THE CROWD:

Eighteen accomplished young women were formally introduced recently at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort as the Children’s Home Society Debutants of 2008.

The Newport Harbor Auxiliary of the Children’s Home Society produced the afternoon tea in honor of the debs and their families. Many of the young women to be presented to society this year are legacies, as their mothers were also Children’s Home Society debutants.

Each debutant was given the CHS gold medallion of service, which she will wear over her white gown when she is formally presented to society at the 48th Newport Harbor Debutant Ball to be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Laguna Niguel in the fall.

One of the purposes of the deb ball is to raise funds to support the many services of the Children’s Home Society of California, which is one of the state’s oldest welfare agencies. Presently the Newport Harbor Auxiliary is celebrating its 60th year of service to the community.

Cerise Feeley reports that the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine will present the 6th annual Women’s Wellness Day on May 10 at the Island Hotel, Newport Beach. The theme of the event is “Stress in the City.” Organizers bill the wellness day as a channel to finding balance in a world of chaos.

The Samueli Center is associated with UC Irvine and is dedicated to “bridging complimentary and conventional approaches to health,” and providing knowledge to women of all ages and in all conditions. Keynote speakers include Dr. James Gordon, Dr. Martin Rossman, and Carolyn Gross.

Tickets to the wellness day are $125 if purchased in advance of April 20 and $145 thereafter. For more information, please call Laurie Macaulay at (949) 824-9278.

The Hyatt Regency Irvine was the setting for a recent cocktail reception hosted by the philanthropic Merage Foundation on behalf of their upcoming “High Hopes” luncheon to be held May 8. Lilly and Paul Merage, namesakes of the foundation and honorary chairs of the event, will join acting chairs Marsha and Darrel Anderson in presenting the honored guests and raising significant funds that will be used to support the education of some 200,000 low-income children in Orange County.

The Merage Foundation has created an arm known as the “Invest in Children Fund,” which is specifically dedicated to the expansion of early childhood education for low-income children. In addition, its purpose is to provide medical help for children in need, combined with improved academic preparation that is aimed at leveling the playing field in America between those that have and those that have not.

The upcoming luncheon will honor Dr. Maria Minon, vice president of medical affairs at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and Ted Smith, chair of the MIND Research Institute. Also supporting the luncheon will be Bill and Pat Podlich, and Lynn and Doug Freeman. For more information please contact Madeline Zuckerman at (949) 644-4777.

Chapman University proudly announces that Dr. Marilyn Harran will be honored with the 2008 Spirit of Anne Frank Award. Harran, who represents Chapman’s Stern Chair in Holocaust Education, is also the director of the Rodger’s Center for Holocaust Education. She will receive the annual award as an outstanding educator at a June 12 ceremony to be held at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.

Harran is the only university professor in the United States to receive this award this year. The Anne Frank Center USA has sponsored this annual honor since 1996, recognizing outstanding individuals who exhibit courage and commitment, promoting tolerance, inclusion and social justice in the community.

June 12 happens to be Anne Frank’s birthday. The young girl who wrote the diary that has echoed around the world, perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945. She would have been 79 years old this year.

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