Column: The Crowd: Soiree at Newport Beach home hosts pre-event dinner for Childhelp luncheon

About 10 miles inland from the much celebrated and often enjoyed lifestyle of residents living in Orange County, it is estimated that upwards of 48% of children living impoverished in Santa Ana received subsidized breakfast and/or lunch meals during the school day.

This may not surprise you.

But are you aware that between 30% and 41% of students at Ensign Middle School in the heart of the Newport-Mesa district are also recipients of this grant program, which provides this nutrition support to children coming from a family of four earning below $26,000 per year in California?

Surprising indeed.

Hard to believe? Not really. It is just one example of one school in one community. Clearly such statistics are more daunting in less affluent areas, yet the crisis in our society concerning general child welfare is epidemic.

While it may be considered insensitive, a question arises on the subject of childhood nutrition. No matter how difficult a parent’s financial and life situation may be, feeding their children must be a primary and non-negotiable expense. When did this become the responsibility of government?

Regardless of one’s political bent, it is clear that California, including even the somewhat insulated regions of Orange County, is challenged to provide the range of services demanded to support a growing population of people in dire need, especially children.

The subsidized school lunch program is the tip of the iceberg. The child welfare crisis goes so much deeper. Cares of abandonment, abuse, neglect and worse dominate and overwhelm the California welfare system. As a society, we must do better. As parents, we must do better.

Major gaps in services for children in trouble are fortunately covered in part by private sector citizens through charitable outreach.

In Newport-Mesa last week, one of the more formidable child welfare agencies known as Childhelp gathered its Orange County base for a dinner reception recognizing donors in advance of the organization’s upcoming annual fashion luncheon slated for March 15 at Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

The Sunday evening soiree unfolded at the Bayfront estate of Beverly and Robert “RT” Cohen who welcomed more than 100 Childhelp advocates to their annual pre-event dinner which has over the years been noted as one of the “must attend” events of the social season in Newport.

The reason is simple.

The Cohens — given their extraordinary background in the hospitality business as well as their artistic taste and culinary expertise — throw a dinner party that is always the talk of the town. Add to that formula the love and support shared by the Childhelp family for their very significant purpose and the event can’t help but be a win-win for the children that the long-running program supports.

This particular Cohen dinner had added significance.

Patti Edwards, Childhelp national board member and major fundraiser for the cause, shared that Beverly Cohen will be honored with Childhelp’s Inspirational Award at the fashion luncheon. The event will celebrate 32 years in Orange County, serving children housed in the Childhelp home in Beaumont and at other facilities.

Edwards, one of Newport’s most respected activists supporting community endeavors, proudly announced that more than $350,000 has been raised to date from Childhelp members, donors and committee members supporting the effort.

She joined her husband, Jim, and local Childhelp chapter president Julie Adams and event co-chairs Linda Burns and Tami Smith in bestowing gratitude on many people who have made the financial success a reality.

Among the guests enjoying the Cohens’ hospitality were Becky and Gary Cooper, Patty and Paul McDonald, Maralou and Jerry Harrington, Pam and Bud Pharris, Cate and Wayne Heck, Eve and Mike Ruffatto and Kathryn Cenci, who represented South Coast Plaza, major sponsor of the upcoming fashion show and luncheon for the charity.

Also supporting the Childhelp cause was the ever-elegant Patricia Cranford Cameron, Eileen Saul, Janet Ronnenberg, Erna Minkoff, Mary Rubenstien, JoAnn Fanticola, Mary Allyn Dexter, Gina Van Ocker and Brad Hinman, Carole Packard, Debra and Jim Violette and Pamela Selber.

To learn more about the work of Childhelp, visit childhelp.org.

Finding a new direction

The 10th annual “Circle of Life” breakfast is set to unfold March 19 at Balboa Bay Resort on behalf of New Directions for Women, an organization dedicated to providing drug and alcohol rehabilitation to women in crisis and future generations affected by substance abuse.

The breakfast event, which will kick off at 8 a.m. in the grand ballroom, is the most important annual fundraising event of the season for New Directions.

Monies raised in part will fund scholarships for women, their children and families in need of treatment to overcome substance abuse and break the generational cycle. The program is private, exclusively female and open to women of all ages and backgrounds.

In its 41st year in Orange County, New Directions will also welcome a new executive.

Sue Bright, a former vice president of patent services and quality at Livengrin Foundation, is a 26-year veteran in the addiction and recovery field. She will lead the efforts at New Direction’s sober-living home, one of only two Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in Orange County.

To learn more about the event and organization, please email [email protected].

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.