philanthropy - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T08:34:58Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/philanthropyEditor's Note: Say thanks by giving: It’s richly rewardinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-say-thanks-by-giving-it-s-richly-rewarding2023-11-01T16:29:47.000Z2023-11-01T16:29:47.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>Thankful. That’s the word for November. In today’s world, I think we can all be thankful for health, home and safety. </p>
<p>In this edition, readers will find our annual Philanthropy Season Preview. This special section provides information and contacts for organizations in our area dedicated to assisting our community. </p>
<p>Locally, there are staggering unmet needs for children and families, seniors and animals. Art and science, historic preservation, and our endangered environment are also in need of financial assistance. Organizations that promote health and wellness are critical and worthy of your support.</p>
<p>Many of the groups you’ll read about inside this paper will be familiar since they’ve been supporting our community for years. A few are new. With your financial help, all are well-positioned to reach the members of our community most in need in the coming year.</p>
<p>As I consider my own end-of-year giving, I’m drawn to situations outside of my daily scope of knowledge: children who need comfort at a crime scene, seniors without means to buy groceries, families living in cars because they can no longer afford rent. And to the groups that simply provide joy to people with little, through literacy, music, clean laundry or visits with furry friends.</p>
<p>Helping just one person improves our entire community.</p>
<p>At <em>The Coastal Star</em>, our hope is you will also consider this newspaper an essential member of the community. We, too, could use your financial support. </p>
<p>Although the paper provides more than municipal reporting, what sets us apart from other publications in our coastal area is a steadfast focus on spotlighting the decisions made by our local officials: good, bad and messy. Professional reporting doesn’t come cheap.</p>
<p>All donations will help pay for stories we’re working on right now and hoping to pursue in the coming year. </p>
<p>As part of your year-end giving, we hope you will consider a donation to <em>The Coastal Star</em>. Like a donation to the other local organizations featured in this month’s Philanthropy Season Preview, your support helps to make our community healthier, safer and more secure.</p>
<p>Please give.</p>
<p>Mail your contribution to <em>The Coastal Star</em>, 5114 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge, FL 33435.</p>
<p>Or donate online at <a href="https://supportfloridajournalism.com/newspaper/the-coastal-star/">https://supportfloridajournalism.com/newspaper/the-coastal-star/</a></p>
<p>Donations made online to The Florida Press Foundation benefit The Coastal Star Community News Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fund. They are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law and are subject to a 5.5% administration and processing fee. </p>
<p>Contributions made directly to <em>The Coastal Star</em> have no processing fee and are not tax deductible.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Mary Kate Leming, Editor</em></p></div>Coastal Star: Boca woman’s nonprofit gives children access to books, arts programshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/coastal-star-boca-woman-s-nonprofit-gives-children-access-to-book2023-08-30T16:43:59.000Z2023-08-30T16:43:59.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12213923679,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12213923679,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="12213923679?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Lulis Camarena, shown with her husband, Hermán, founded Imagina Children’s Foundation in the United States with the purpose of raising funds for the libraries and other programs she established in her hometown of León, Mexico. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Sallie James</strong></p>
<p>The transformative power of education was always a guiding force for Lulis Camarena, who grew up in León, Mexico. There, access to books was scarce and many children never finished school because they had to work.</p>
<p>She decided to help by establishing a children’s library in her hometown and then creating a nonprofit here in the U.S. to provide financial support.</p>
<p>On Sept. 30, residents in the tri-county area will also have a chance to help when the Imagina Children’s Foundation annual fundraising gala kicks off at The Studio at Mizner Park.</p>
<p>The event, “Imagine: A Musical Gala,” will feature a special performance by Mexican icon Fernando Allende, a famed actor, producer, recording artist and entertainer. Allende has starred in films, soap operas, and TV series like <em>Miami Vice</em>, <em>Flamingo Road</em>, <em>Maria Bonita</em> and <em>Sortilegio</em>.</p>
<p>The event will also feature Mariachi Pancho Villa, a full mariachi band; a silent auction; and a showing of artwork by Colombian artist Ana Maria Tamayo during cocktail hour.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a good way to spread the word about doing good for others and at the end of the day, whatever we get we know we’re transforming lives,” said Camarena, 63, of Boca Raton. </p>
<p>She and husband, Hermán, moved from Mexico to California in 1988 and to Florida in 2001. The couple has four adult sons. But it was in 1992 when her husband went to Mexico to work remotely that Camarena’s dream to help began taking shape.</p>
<p>Camarena realized she must open a library aimed at serving the children in her hometown. By 1994 she had a board of directors, and when she and her husband returned to the United States, her mother took charge of the Mexico project and worked to establish children’s programs.</p>
<p>In 1996 Camarena founded the nonprofit Imagina Biblioteca Infantil in León, which enabled the establishment of two libraries, a preschool and a flourishing ecological and cultural center. The programs took off, but they needed a steady stream of cash to stay afloat.</p>
<p>So, in 2010, Camarena established the Imagina Children’s Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit with the purpose of fundraising for IBI’s programs in Mexico.</p>
<p>“Now it’s a whole community center with learning education, art, music. It has kindergarten, it has virtual online high school and college,” she said. Today more than 1,300 children are enrolled in IBI’s various programs, which provide a range of educational experiences the students would otherwise not have.</p>
<p>Camarena’s dream to help children in Mexico was rooted in research. She wanted to do something to empower children in her hometown, but sought to be sure the need and interest existed.</p>
<p>What she learned was that children in her own community were attending school for only about five years and that only about 2% read for pleasure. The answers were proof she was on the right track.</p>
<p>“Parents whose kids participated in IBI’s programs became more aware of the value of education and IBI drew even more community support,” Camarena said.</p>
<p>Although IBI has only recently begun to compile metrics on its success, organizers believe about 20,000 students have benefited from IBI’s programs since it was founded.</p>
<p>IBI’s programs have helped children in León read at a higher level, stay in school and earn scholarships to fund their college education, Camarena said.</p>
<p>“We call it like our secret sauce, where the kids are really taken care of,” she said. “I call our hangout our magical place. It’s really a safe place for all these kids. The quality is very important — not just the education, arts and culture, but we take care of the whole child. We are changing the children’s lives, the family and the community.”</p>
<p>To learn more about Imagina, the foundation’s mission or the gala, or to get involved, contact Camarena at Lulis@imaginachildrenfoundation.org. </p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>If You Go</strong></span><br /><strong>What:</strong> Imagine: A Musical Gala<br /><strong>When:</strong> 6 p.m. Sept. 30<br /><strong>Where:</strong> The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 W. Plaza Real, Boca Raton<br /><strong>Tickets:</strong> $250 general admission online at imaginachildrenfoundation.networkforgood.com/events/58433-imagine-a-musical-gala<br /><strong>More info:</strong> Lulis@imaginachildrenfoundation.org</p>
<p><strong>NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR</strong> <br />Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.</p></div>Editor's Note: Philanthropic giving and your role in supporting The Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editor-s-note-philanthropic-giving-and-your-role-in-supporting-th2022-11-30T16:58:43.000Z2022-11-30T16:58:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>It’s hard to ask for money at the holidays. There are so many worthwhile organizations working to meet the needs of those struggling in our community — children, the elderly, animals. Agencies involved in these heart-wrenching efforts need your financial support. Please consider these groups as you plan your year-end giving. <br /> Please also consider financially supporting your free, local newspaper. We realize a newspaper may not appear at first blush to be a critical need. We understand. We are, after all, a for-profit business with support of local, sustaining business partners. <br /> These advertisers are the backbone supporting our ability to enlighten, educate and entertain our unique community — and have been for more than 14 years. We have no plans to change this business model; but with your (tax-deductible) donation, there’s a whole lot more we could provide. <br /> <strong>Investigative reporting:</strong> Filing public record requests, compiling and analyzing data, tracking government spending, mapping cross-jurisdictional areas of concern. These efforts all take time and resources beyond the limited number of stories we can currently provide each year.<br /> <strong>Legal fees:</strong> Investigative reporting requires paying legal fees — both for pre-publication review and for the inevitable lawsuits that ensue (often frivolous) in hopes of making the newspaper back down on our reporting. Without a cushion for legal fees, simple intimidation on the part of deep-pocketed individuals and organizations can force us to back away from reporting on topics that might prove crushingly expensive. <br /> <strong>Community forums:</strong> We’ve often felt the need to pull our coastal communities together (government, business and individuals) to host a broad range of discussions on topics of concern to our readers. It’s a role the newspaper is well-positioned to serve — when the resources are available.<br /> <strong>Advanced digital delivery:</strong> Since our conception, we’ve been a “print first” publication. More and more our readers are seeking out our digital delivery. We’d love to ramp up these efforts for both residents and advertisers. It’s critical we move forward on this front; but again, our resources are limited.<br /> <strong>Improved/targeted delivery:</strong> We do a good job delivering news, information and advertising to homes, businesses and condos in our market. With more resources, we could do this better. <br /> We promise not to solicit your contribution via email or social media on Small Business Saturday or Giving Tuesday. Instead, we’re making this plea on Page 2 of our print publication in the hope you’ll help us shine a brighter light on our community with your year-end contribution.<br /> • Donate at <a href="https://fpf.column.us/the-coastal-star">https://fpf.column.us/the-coastal-star</a>. Online donations made to the Florida Press Foundation benefit <em>The Coastal Star</em> Community News Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fund. These donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law and are subject to a 5.5% administration and processing fee. <br /> • Mail your contribution directly to: <em>The Coastal Star</em>, 5114 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge, FL 33435. <br />Contributions made directly to <em>The Coastal Star</em> are not tax-deductible, but have no processing fee.<br />Thank you.<br />Happy holidays!</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Mary Kate Leming, Editor</em></p>
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<p> </p></div>Pay It Forward: More than $600,000 up for grabs at Impact 100 Grand Awardshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pay-it-forward-more-than-600-000-up-for-grabs-at-impact-100-grand2022-03-29T19:39:05.000Z2022-03-29T19:39:05.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10247019701,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10247019701,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10247019701?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Impact 100 Palm Beach County President Holly Schuttler (in red) is joined by past presidents (l-r) Helen Ballerano, Sue Diener, Kirsten Stanley, Kathy Adkins, Karen Sweetapple and Susan Duane. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Amy Woods</strong><br /> <br />A vote by members of Impact 100 Palm Beach County will change the quality of life in South Florida for the better.<br />On April 19, the Grand Awards take place at Lynn University, where, inside an unassuming auditorium, more than $600,000 will be dispersed to nonprofit organizations with big plans.<br />“The night of Grand Awards is really a wonderful celebration of all of the women who have joined, and it is the moment in time where all of the nonprofit finalists who have applied for grants present,” communications co-chairwoman Jeannine Morris said. “It’s a very exciting event where all of the members come together.”<br />The annual gathering marks the culmination of the season for the charitable group that, to date, has donated more than $4.5 million in high-impact grants to 41 local organizations. Impact 100 Palm Beach County collects $1,000 from every woman who joins, pooling those funds for large, difference-making, truly grand awards.<br />“It’s an effective way of broadly impacting our community,” Morris said. “Powerful giving is our mission.”<br />Five finalists, whittled down from a list of 21 semifinalists, represent five focus areas — arts, culture and historic preservation; education; environment and animal welfare; family; and health and wellness. Each will receive $100,000. The remaining $100,000-plus gets divvied up among select semifinalists. A reception kicks off the evening, followed by presentations about the proposed projects. Then a vote is taken.<br />“I am just thrilled because of the proposed projects we have and how relevant they are as to what our community is facing right now,” President Holly Schuttler said. “COVID decimated not only businesses in our community but several nonprofits.”</p>
<p><em>Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>If You Go</strong></span><br /><strong>What:</strong> Impact 100 Palm Beach County’s Grand Awards<br /><strong>When:</strong> 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. April 19<br /><strong>Where:</strong> Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton<br /><strong>Cost:</strong> Free<br /><strong>Information:</strong> 561-336-4623 or <a href="http://www.impact100pbc.org">www.impact100pbc.org</a></p></div>Philanthropy Notes: Campaign for Boca Regional expansion exceeds $215 millionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-notes-campaign-for-boca-regional-expansion-exceeds-22022-03-01T16:41:51.000Z2022-03-01T16:41:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10162987300,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10162987300,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10162987300?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Steven Bernstein and his daughter Abby Rose Bernstein Henderson. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Amy Woods</strong></p>
<p>Boca Raton resident Steven Bernstein has made a $1 million gift to “Keeping the Promise — The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital.”<br />Bernstein’s contribution emanates from the Bernstein Family Foundation, which he runs with his daughter, Abby Rose Bernstein Henderson, and brings the total funds raised through the initiative to more than $215 million.<br /> “We are delighted to welcome Steven Bernstein and the Bernstein Family Foundation to our treasured group of Keeping the Promise donors,” hospital CEO Lincoln Mendez said. “This is the Bernstein Family Foundation’s first gift to Boca Regional, and we are eternally grateful it comes in the midst of our largest ever capital campaign and the most significant campus initiative in our history.”<br /> The ambulance entrance to the emergency room will be named in the foundation’s honor.<br /> “The Bernstein Family Foundation prides itself on supporting local charities and is excited to help fund the expansion of Boca Raton Regional Hospital,” Bernstein said. “We believe the hospital upgrades will enhance the quality of medical services provided to our community.”<br /> For more information, call 561-955-4142 or visit <a href="https://donate.brrh.com">https://donate.brrh.com</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Dream Makers milestone: 10,000 beds provided</span><br /> In five years of serving Palm Beach and Broward counties, the nonprofit Sweet Dream Makers has now distributed more than 10,000 beds at no cost to families in need.<br /> The bed sets each include a new mattress, mattress protector, box spring, bed frame, bedding, comforter and fresh pillows. As a result, nearly 5,000 recipient families are better rested and more prepared to face the day.<br /> “Families experience bedlessness for a variety of reasons, and each family has their own story,” says a news release from the group. “Some of these causes include co-sleeping, housing placement after being homeless, sleeping on an air mattress or blanket, surviving domestic abuse, mold or unsanitary conditions, eviction, cribs needed for a baby due soon or the economic strain of buying new beds.”<br /> For more information, call 561-571-7363 or visit <a href="https://sweetdreammakers.org">https://sweetdreammakers.org</a>.</p>
<p><em>Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net. </em></p>
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<p> </p></div>Pay It Forward: Bring on the night! Sting to headline Hospital Ball fundraiserhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pay-it-forward-bring-on-the-night-sting-to-headline-hospital-ball2021-11-30T17:18:36.000Z2021-11-30T17:18:36.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9865293892,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9865293892,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9865293892?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Boca Regional Hospital Ball committee members (l-r, front) Barbara Cohen, Freyda Burns, Joan Wargo, Debbie Lindstrom, Holli Rockwell Trubinsky, Margaret Mary Shuff, Pat Thomas, (back) Cristina Lewis, Alejandra Lippolis, Judi Larkin, Deborah Leising, Carrie Rubin, Amy Kazma, Emily Grabelsky, Judi Schuman, Arlene Ferrara and Dana Weiss. </em><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Amy Woods</strong></p>
<p>The legend known as Sting will headline the 2022 Boca Raton Regional Hospital Ball, an already sold-out affair that aims to raise $3 million.<br /> Through underwriting by philanthropists Bob Sheetz and Debbie Lindstrom as well as The Geo Group Foundation and the Stoops Family Foundation, the singer, songwriter, actor, author and all-around celebrity will take the stage Jan. 8 at The Boca Raton.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9865302071,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9865302071,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="103" alt="9865302071?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>“Sting is a most definite wow,” said Mark Larkin, the hospital foundation’s president. “It is Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s intention that our guests have a memorable evening to share with their family and friends, not only the day after but as an experience that will remain second to none for years to come.” <br /> Proceeds from the black-tie event will enhance and expand patient-care services via “Keeping the Promise — The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital.”<br /> “Since the ball’s inception and maintaining the spirit of the gala’s purpose, our legacy for the past 59 years has been a hospital built by the community to provide the very best medical care and services for our region and South Florida,” Larkin said. “This would never have been possible without the commitment of our local supporters, who make Boca Raton Regional Hospital an outstanding medical facility each and every day.”<br /> Activities include a lavish cocktail reception followed by a gourmet three-course dinner, libations and decadent sweets. Ten outstanding nurses, recognized as health care heroes for their commitment and dedication to the job, will be honored.<br /> “The Boca Raton Regional Hospital Ball is one of the premier events of Boca Raton’s social season, making it a must-attend gala mainly because of our mission,” Larkin said. “It’s a way of celebrating the incredible health care delivered to this community and honoring the heroes who dedicate their lives to caring for others.” </p>
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<p> </p></div>Publisher's Note: Philanthropy Season Preview meant to encourage givinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/publisher-s-note-philanthropy-season-preview-meant-to-encourage-g2021-11-03T17:19:47.000Z2021-11-03T17:19:47.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>Philanthropy is a way for those of us who have, to share with those in need. Charitable giving is critical to living in a balanced society. We should give not only to address suffering, but also to eliminate the sources of that suffering.<br /> It’s one thing to feed children’s hunger to learn by reading them books; it’s another to ensure they have the skills to read books on their own.<br /> Here at <em>The Coastal Star</em> we devote multiple pages each month to promotion of the people and organizations that serve our less-fortunate neighbors. Our Around Town section includes stories about philanthropic organizations, lists of upcoming events and “celebrations” photos that illustrate our residents involved with giving back to the community.<br /> Most months, the Coastal Star feature story that shares space with this column on Page 2 is about a local philanthropist.<br />Until early 2020, a reliable way for charitable organizations to raise money was to host in-person events. The coronavirus pandemic halted these events for at least a year, and the uncertainty dented many organizations’ budgets going forward.<br /> While we know the pandemic lingers, this month we are making a special effort to encourage you, our readers, to dig a little deeper and help financially support these organizations.<br /> Inside this edition, we are debuting our Philanthropy Season Preview. Our cover story celebrates the creative ways that organizations have been able to not only survive the effects of the pandemic, but also increase their outreach to the community. <br /> Inside the section, you will see paid story and advertising combinations funded by a few organizations, or their donors, to further tell their stories and promote their fundraising events.<br />Thank you for taking the time to consider a philanthropic gift during this month of Thanksgiving. The generous nature of the residents of the South County coastal communities is one of the many reasons I love living here.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Jerry Lower, Publisher</em></p></div>Philanthropy Season Previewhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-season-preview2021-11-02T17:20:58.000Z2021-11-02T17:20:58.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><h3 class="entry-title" style="text-align:center;">Publisher's Note: Special section debuting this month</h3>
<p>We are happy to announce the debut of our Philanthropy Season Preview. <br />This once-a-year section is intended to promote local charitable organizations and to serve as a reminder to all of us that the end-of-the-year giving season has arrived.<br /> In the next eight pages, you will see paid features and advertising packages funded by some of these organizations — or their donors — to amplify their stories and promote upcoming fundraising events.<br /> In this month of Thanksgiving, we encourage you to dig deep to help these and other charitable organizations that make this a better place to live.<br /><em> — Jerry Lower, Publisher</em></p>
<h3 class="entry-title" style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-season-preview-charities-innovate-during-pandemic-of">Philanthropy Season Preview: Charities innovate during pandemic, often surpassing fundraising goals</a></h3>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761162474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761162474,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761162474?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761169287,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761169287,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761169287?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761179677,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761179677,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761179677?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761183253,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761183253,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761183253?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761188063,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761188063,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761188063?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761199086,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761199086,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761199086?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761199501,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761199501,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761199501?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9761205691,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9761205691,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9761205691?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p></div>Rotary Roots Celebration: Old School Square, Delray Beach — Feb. 8https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/rotary-roots-celebration-old-school-square-delray-beach-feb-82018-04-04T14:05:14.000Z2018-04-04T14:05:14.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960775091,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960775091,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" class="align-center" alt="7960775091?profile=original" /></a><em>In honor of 70 years of service, the Rotary Club of Delray Beach event supported a project to plant 70 symbolic trees throughout the city in conjunction with local outfit Community Greening. The specimens will be located in Bexley Park off Military Trail. ‘It is such an honor to be part of such a community-oriented organization dedicated to making Delray Beach a better place to live,’ said Jessica Rosato, the club’s membership chairwoman. ‘Celebrating 70 years with 70 planted trees was such an innovative idea and one that I was truly excited to be a part of.’ <b>ABOVE:</b> (l-r) City Commissioners Bill Bathurst and Ryan Boylston, Betsy Owen, Tom Carney, Judy Mollica, Rosato, Delray Beach Assistant Police Chief Javaro Sims and John Fischer. <b>Photo provided</b></em></p>
<p></p></div>Tots & Teens: Boca teen honored for fighting hungerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/tots-teens-boca-teen-honored-for-fighting-hunger2018-02-28T17:24:30.000Z2018-02-28T17:24:30.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>The kids competing in the Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank aren’t the only youngsters making a big splash in the “help your neighbor” pool. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773686,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960773686,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="98" alt="7960773686?profile=original" /></a>Colin Wanless, 14, of Boca Raton, is an eighth-grader at Pine Crest Middle School. He started volunteering with Joshua’s Heart Foundation, a charity that fights childhood hunger, in 2009. <br />With Colin’s hard work, the Miami-based charity expanded to the Boca Raton area in 2015. Colin has helped raise more than $10,000 and feed more than 13,000 people. He also recruited two dozen local kids to join the board that leads the chapter. <br />In an interview with CBS local news anchor Michele Wright, Colin said, “If we want to make this world a stronger, healthier, happier and better place, we really ought to be helping one another.”<br />Now Colin’s work has been honored by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, which named Colin as an outstanding youth volunteer of 2018. The awards, in their 23rd year, are produced by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.</p></div>Philanthropy 101: Local teens put their ideas for helping others into action with guidance from team of mentorshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-101-local-teens-put-their-ideas-for-helping-others-i2018-02-28T17:00:00.000Z2018-02-28T17:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960777661,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960777661,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960777661?profile=original" /></a><em>Zoe Deitelbaum (left), Naven Parthasathy (standing) and Brianna Detamore started Hurricane Helping Hands, one of eight finalists for Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank funding. It aims to equip low-income older adults with survival kits. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story:</strong> Boca teen <a href="http://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/tots-teens-boca-teen-honored-for-fighting-hunger">honored</a> for fighting hunger</p>
<p><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></p>
<p>Songwriter Linda Creed is hardly alone in believing “the children are our future.” <br /> In 2016, a group of local philanthropists led by Bill Meyer, chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels, a hotel and restaurant management company with an office in West Palm Beach, started the Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank, a project of Advisors for Philanthropic Impact. <br /> API, formed in 2011, brought together local real estate and trust attorneys, financial advisers, CPAs, insurance professionals and nonprofit executives in a “network of good.” One of its tenets is to “inspire a new generation of philanthropic leaders,” and the Philanthropy Tank takes that idea from intent to action.<br /> Meyer started the Philanthropy Tank with an idea stolen from television and $25,000 he was willing to risk. “No one is giving young people the opportunity to take on community projects,” Meyer said, and he believed kids’ outside-the-box thinking might have an advantage over adult thinking. It did. <br /> In 2016 and 2017, the PBPT funded projects that fought hunger in Delray Beach, taught life-saving CPR to high school students, screened the eyesight of Head Start kids, and built boundary-less play areas and gardens for kids in wheelchairs. Gifts ranged from $7,500 to $18,000 per project. <br /> Every finalist gets something. <br /> In 2016, the first year, nine groups split a total of $109,000 in gifts. The awards ranged from $7,500 to $18,000. In 2017, nine winning groups split a total of $100,000, with awards from $8,500 to $15,000.<br /> This year, PBPT chose seven finalists among 47 submissions and got the community involved in picking another by asking people to vote for their favorite from a list of 10. The community voted for Hurricane Helping Hands, developed by Zoe Deitelbaum of South Palm Beach, Brianna Detamore of Boca Raton, Kiah Kimpton of Delray Beach and Naven Parthasathy of Boynton Beach, all students at American Heritage School in Delray Beach. Their project plans to provide hurricane emergency kits to low-income older adults to keep them safe during a hurricane.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Everyone pitches in</strong></span><br /> The group is an eclectic democracy, with each person holding a role. Brianna is the project manager. She sees the big picture. Zoe calls her “the delegator.” Kiah is the artistic one: “She did our logo, and she prepared our slide show.” Naven is the math guy, so “he handles the budget, and he’s also our presenter.”<br /> Zoe, whose mother, Lisa Deitelbaum, lives in coastal Boca Raton, is the detail person. “I do a lot of different things, whatever is necessary. I do the research. I have some artistic skills,” Zoe said. She keeps things from falling through the cracks. Whenever teammates need help, it’s Zoe they call. <br /> Being part of the community contest “was thrilling,” Zoe said. “We were up against kids from bigger schools and we worked really hard to get people to vote.” <br /> The impetus for the survival kit idea came from experience, Zoe said. She and her teammates all suffered, to varying degrees, after Hurricane Irma last September. <br /> “Everybody in the group saw it firsthand,” Zoe said. Friends were without power for days, the school was shut for more than a week, and it took more than a month for Zoe’s internet to be fixed. But what really stuck with Zoe and her friends? How older adults suffered. <br /> “Seniors are forgotten people,” Zoe said. During the hurricane, Zoe’s beloved grandfather, Lee Goldstein, already fighting cancer, got sick and couldn’t get immediate access to treatment or the medication he needed. Well known in Palm Beach, Goldstein died in October, but not without teaching Zoe a few things about life. <br /> “I was really close to him,” Zoe said.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960777456,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="400" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960777456,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960777456?profile=original" /></a><em>Zoe drew inspiration from her grandfather Lee Goldstein, who died after Hurricane Irma. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>An inspiring role model</strong></span><br /> Goldstein, 80, actually taught many people a few things. As the founder and president of Virginia Design Packaging Corp. and a member of the Society of the Plastic Industry, Goldstein helped create and implement the recycling symbols used on the bottoms of plastic containers around the world.<br /> He was a conservationist who served as a commissioner on the town’s Shore Protection Board, and he was former chairman of the Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach, which united co-op and condo owners to work together for the good of the community. He supported science through the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium and fought crime with Palm Beach Crime Watch.<br /> Goldstein’s death, combined with the news of the deaths of elderly residents at nursing homes after Irma hit, illustrated the special vulnerability of older adults during a crisis. <br /> Zoe and her team knew they could help.<br /> Hurricane Helping Hands plans to deliver safety kits at the beginning of each hurricane season to low-income seniors in Palm Beach County. Each kit will include a flashlight, a crank radio, a three-day supply of nonperishable food, a can opener, water, a first aid/hygiene kit and a survival guide with emergency information on shelter locations, packaged in a waterproof container.<br /> Zoe said the group researched what people buy for supplies, what experts recommend and the cost of putting together a kit, which reinforced the need for it. The students knew that lots of older adults just don’t have the extra money, no matter how badly they need the supplies. <br /> Working with the United Way, the group identified a pocket of about 800 people living within walking distance of the school as the target recipients. Zoe’s team wants to recruit student volunteers to do the heavy lifting and deliver the kits in time for the 2018 hurricane season, which begins June 1. The group members plan to ask for about $14,000 when they make their final pitch on March 11.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Presentation prep</strong></span><br /> For about a month before the final presentation, groups chosen for the Tank attend weekend workshops in preparation for their presentations. Public speaking, Bill Meyer says, isn’t easy, but it’s an important skill, so much of the coaching focuses on it. <br /> The group chose Naven as its spokesperson, so he’ll do the presentation. The free ceremony at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach is open to the public. <br /> Zoe said working with her teammates, who are all active in the Future Business Leaders of America, was fun. All have strong leadership skills but they’re also willing to defer to each other as needed. Not only do they understand the concept of emotional intelligence, they possess emotional intelligence. <br /> Zoe had already distinguished herself in a variety of forums before competing in the PBPT. In 2013, she earned a fourth-place medal for her project in the biochemistry category at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair. <br /> For another project, Zoe created a website for The Imagination Emporium, coding the site herself using HTML5, CSS and Javascript, and although she enjoyed the challenge, coding is a hobby, not a career goal. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the knowledge and skills, and that’s what Zoe is doing: acquiring skills and gaining experiences. <br /> The finalists’ ideas were evaluated for community impact, feasibility, solution creativity, sustainability and team strengths. <br /> The PBPT wanted forward- thinking, novel solutions, so indirect or passive solutions like fundraisers for charitable gifts, or money for operating funds and capital campaigns were given less weight.<br /> “The kids have done a terrific job taking this from idea to execution,” Meyer said. “We coach these kids in how to make their presentations, and that mentoring is invaluable to them. If they’re selected, they get 12 months of mentoring to help them solve difficulties along the route, and there are always difficulties.” <br /> The students learn leadership skills, negotiating and sometimes just cold hard facts. In fact, the hardest part might be keeping the kids grounded, but the mentors have to do it without discouraging them.<br /> “You want them to be successful, but sometimes what they’ve suggested seems impossible. But you don’t want to discourage them. Kids don’t see the world the way adults do,” Meyer said. “They don’t come in with negative perceptions.” <br /> Meyer and the mentors call the students Positively Disruptive Change-makers. <br /> Meyer has a rule he uses when he’s talking to them: “If it’s hard to choose what to say, you go with the truth.”<br /> Another good lesson for tomorrow’s leaders.</p>
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<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank final presentations</strong></span> <br /> <strong>When:</strong> 4-6 p.m. March 11<br /> <strong>Where:</strong> A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, 501 S. Sapodilla Ave., West Palm Beach<br /> <strong>Reservations:</strong> <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com">www.eventbrite.com</a> <br /> <strong>Info:</strong> <a href="http://www.philanthropytank.org">www.philanthropytank.org</a></p>
<p>The other seven finalists: <br /> • Aquaponics Educational Enrichment for PBC Schools, Tess Flemma and John Schuttler of Boca Raton High School. <br /> • Surface 71 — Ocean, Plastics & Marine Health, Emily Briceno, Jemma Currie and Angeli Romero from Suncoast High School. <br /> • Find the Keys Music Program, Sophia Zheng and Hayley Huber, Dreyfoos School of the Arts. <br /> • canCode, Noah Rubin of Rosenblatt High School.<br /> • Read With Me, Nestor Flores and Shane Herman, The Weiss School. <br /> • Helping Hands, Guadalupe Alcala-Garcia, Mya Rodriguez and Yalissa Baltazar, Glades Central High School.<br /> • Shoes2You, Joseph Rubsamen of Oxbridge Academy.</p></div>Boca Raton: Three gifts add up to $35 million for hospital expansion projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-three-gifts-add-up-to-35-million-for-hospital-expansio2018-01-31T17:00:00.000Z2018-01-31T17:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Sallie James</b></span></p>
<p>Just months after celebrating its 50th anniversary, Boca Raton Regional Hospital is celebrating the largest philanthropic gift the health care facility has received in one day of giving.</p>
<p>The $35 million in gifts is a combination of donations from three benefactors who have supported the hospital for many years: Stanley and Marilyn Barry donated $10 million; Christine E. Lynn $15 million, and Richard and Barbara Schmidt and the Schmidt Family Foundation gave $10 million.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776694,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="201" class="align-left" alt="7960776694?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776877,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776877,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776877,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="105" class="align-left" alt="7960776877?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776877,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776886,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776886,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="203" class="align-left" alt="7960776886?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960776877,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><br /></a>The gifts will provide the seed money for the hospital’s $260 million capital project, which will include a 278,000-square-foot addition with a seven-story patient tower, an expanded and renovated surgical suite, enhanced and expanded surgical and medical intensive care units, a cardiovascular intensive care and step-down unit, expanded private rooms, a remodeled patient lobby and a new parking garage.</p>
<p>“These donors are among our most cherished community partners and intimate members of the Boca Raton Regional family, who lead through their commitment of time and expertise as well as philanthropy,” said Jerry Fedele, president and CEO of the hospital. “They set the pace for others to ensure outstanding, best-in-class health care in Boca Raton. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”</p>
<p>Fedele thinks the hospital’s close connection to its community and residents is why such generosity comes from local people.</p>
<p>“Because we are so community-oriented, the philanthropy comes primarily from the Boca Raton community,” Fedele said in an interview last year. “I’ve been in health care more than 30 years and I have never seen a feeling of community ownership anywhere in the country like we have here.”</p>
<p>The $35 million in gifts was announced in January during a reception at the Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute.</p>
<p>Mark Larkin, president of the hospital’s fundraising foundation, said the generous gifts will enable the hospital to grow as needed to serve a booming patient population.</p>
<p>“We have been growing considerably and so we are ready to take the next step and have our facilities catch up to the number of people we care for,” Larkin said. “We have seen a marked growth in the quality and the number of programs we offer. We started now a full academic teaching facility and so all of those things have led to more and more people coming and turning to us for care.”</p>
<p><i>U.S. News & World Report</i> named the hospital the top-ranked medical facility in Palm Beach County for 2016-2017, and Becker’s Hospital Review called it one of “150 top places to work in health care” in 2017. </p></div>Coastal Stars: Women and children have special spot in couple’s heartshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/coastal-stars-women-and-children-have-special-spot-in-couple-s-he2017-11-01T20:04:39.000Z2017-11-01T20:04:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960751295,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960751295,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960751295?profile=original" /></a><em>Anne and Peter Vegso own Health Communications Inc., a book publisher in Deerfield Beach. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong><br /><br />If Anne and Peter Vegso’s last name sounds vaguely familiar, it may be because it can be found on a sprinkling of buildings throughout the area. <br /> There’s the Vegso Community Resource Center in Boca Raton; Casa Vegso, a shelter and transitional housing center for victims of domestic abuse; and the Vegso Family Arena at the Equine-Assisted Therapies of South Florida facilities in Coconut Creek. <br /> While their name might ring a bell, Anne and Peter Vegso tend to fly under the radar when it comes to the big names in South Florida philanthropy — and that’s just fine with them.<br /> “We don’t need to see our name on a building,” Anne Vegso says. “We don’t need people to know who we give to. We just want to know that we improved someone’s life, and if it’s a woman or a child it’s so much better.” <br /> This month, the Vegsos will help raise money for one of their favorite causes — women and children — by having their successful book-publishing company, Health Communications Inc., serve as presenting sponsor of the 18th annual Women of Grace Luncheon on Nov. 9 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.<br /> The event, expected to include 650 guests this year, raises money for the Center for Women and Children at Bethesda Health, addressing a different specific need each year. <br /> This year, money raised will be used to purchase a state-of-the-art, realistic mother-and-baby birthing simulator for training both staff and parents. <br /> For the Vegsos, who will bring in as speakers the authors of <em>Oola for Women, Find Balance in an Unbalanced World</em> (and who will provide each guest with a copy of the book), the Women of Grace Luncheon is a perfect match for their philanthropic philosophy. <br /> They became familiar with the event after Anne was recognized as a Woman of Grace in 2014 for her work with Delray Beach-based AVDA, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. <br /> “We like the idea of supporting local nonprofit organizations that need a specific amount of money for a specific purpose,” Anne Vegso says. <br /> Adds Peter Vegso: “When you give to local organizations, you have a better understanding of where the money is going.” <br /> While they support a variety of causes, the focus of the Vegsos’ giving through their family foundation is on organizations that help women and children. <br /> “It’s just something that my heart is close to,” Anne says.<br />In addition to supporting the luncheon, which each year recognizes five women doing outstanding work in the community, the Vegsos have supported the renovation of the maternity, labor and delivery areas at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. <br /> They also support Equine-Assisted Therapies of South Florida, a therapeutic riding program for children and adults with special needs. Their business warehouse is used as the storage and distribution area for the Junior League of Boca Raton’s diaper bank, and their foundation supports Boca Ballet’s First Step program, which introduces ballet to at-risk children. <br /> “Anne and Peter have always been doing great work in the community, but they do it in a very low-key way,” says Kimberley Trombly-Burmeister, this year’s chairwoman of the Women of Grace Luncheon. “They are fabulous philanthropic leaders in our community.” <br /> Peter Vegso, 73, grew up outside Montreal while Anne, 69, was born in England and moved to Canada with her family when she was 18. They met at a party in Toronto that Anne went to only because her sister didn’t want to go alone. It was there that she caught Peter’s eye. <br /> “I saw her and said, ‘That’s it,’ ” Peter Vegso said. <br /> The Vegsos were together while Peter and partners built a small business that started out printing a weekly newspaper and information pamphlets about addiction. It evolved into a multimillion-dollar book business that has published thousands of titles — mostly in the health, self-help and inspirational areas — and now Health Communications has about 65 employees. <br /> The couple, who live in Boca Raton, have been married for 46 years and have two daughters and five grandsons, some of whom are already learning about the importance of philanthropy. <br /> Before making a donation to an organization in the names of her two oldest grandsons, Anne Vegso asked them what causes they would like to support. One chose Save the Turtles and the other The Caring Kitchen.<br /> “It’s important for them to recognize that they are extremely blessed,” she said.</p>
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<p><span style="font-family:helvetica;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">If You Go</span></strong></span><br /><strong>What</strong>: 18th annual Women of Grace Luncheon benefiting Center for Women and Children at Bethesda Health<br /><strong>When</strong>: Nov. 9, reception at 10:30 a.m., luncheon 11:30 to 1 p.m.<br /><strong>Where</strong>: Boca Raton Resort and Club<br /><strong>Honorees</strong>: Yvonne Boice, Tammy Culmer, Linda Heneks, Jacqueline Moroco Maloney, Kirsten Stanley<br /><strong>Chairwoman</strong>: Kimberley Trombly-Burmeister<br /><strong>Speakers</strong>: Troy Amdahl and Dave Braun, authors of Oola for Women, Find Balance in an Unbalanced World. They will sign books at 7 o’clock that night at Murder on the Beach bookstore in Delray Beach.<br />Cost: $150<br /><strong>Information</strong>: Email PHenderson@BHinc.org or call 737-7733, Ext. 84429.</p></div>Philanthropy Notes: Braman gives $25,000 to Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Societyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-notes-braman-gives-25-000-to-palm-beach-zoo-conserva2017-05-03T15:30:00.000Z2017-05-03T15:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Amy Woods</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Braman Motorcars general manager Stephen Grossman ceremoniously gave Andrew Aiken, president and CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, a $25,000 check as part of a multiyear commitment to support the zoo’s tiger exhibit.<br /> The money enabled the natural habitat for four Malayan tigers to nearly double in size and provided extra space for behind-the-scenes tiger housing.<br /> “Their ongoing support of the health and wellness, education and daily operations [involving] the four Malayan tigers that call Palm Beach Zoo home is pivotal in helping us expand our role as Malayan tiger ambassadors,” Aiken said.<br /> Said Grossman, “This partnership makes sense because both organizations are about relationships. For Braman, it’s between us, our customers and the community. For the Palm Beach Zoo, it’s between people, the animals and the community.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Secretary of state lauds Young Singers</strong><br /> Young Singers of the Palm Beaches received a $1,000 Diversity and Inclusion Award from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner.<br /> The award recognizes Florida-based arts organizations with initiatives that reflect inclusion. It is given by the Division of Cultural Affairs and Citizens for Florida Arts and made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.<br /> Young Singers of the Palm Beaches CEO Beth Clark and managing director Melanee Blankstein accepted the award in Gainesville during the 2017 Convening Culture Conference. The money will go toward “Choir in the Glades,” an after-school program offered to elementary- and middle-school children in the Belle Glade area.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960724857,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960724857,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960724857?profile=original" /></a><em>Nearly 250 were in attendance to support the Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club at its Be Great Celebration Dinner on March 8. ABOVE: Event co-chairwomen Kirsten Stanley and Sue Ambrech flank honoree Muriel Losee-Pratt. BELOW: Former board member John Lynch also was honored.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960725285,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960725285,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="92" alt="7960725285?profile=original" /></a></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><strong>Photos provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Boys & Girls Club raises more than $100,000</strong><br /> The Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club of Delray Beach celebrated its fifth-annual fundraiser March 8 at the Seagate Country Club. The Be Great Celebration Dinner raised more than $100,000 to benefit the club. <br /> The dinner honored club supporter Muriel Losee-Pratt; Youth of the Year Karah Pierre of Delray Beach, a club member and Atlantic Community High School student; and former board member John Lynch.<br /> Sue Ambrecht, Beau Delafield, Patsy Randolph, Kirsten Stanley and Juliet Warner chaired the event. Sponsors included Muriel Losee-Pratt, Kenneth and Sue Ambrecht, Marc and Melissa deBaptiste, Beau and Carrie Delafield, Goldman Sachs, and Gary and Penny Kosinski as well as James Morley Jr., Murat Davidson Jr., Bruce and Margaret Warwick, Eric Sorensen, Henrik and Louise Vanderlip, George Bell, the McCarthy Foundation, and Michael and Ondine Hefley.<br /> <br /> <strong>New program provides free cribs, diapers, formula</strong><br /> Boca West Foundation, Boca Raton Regional Hospital and Sweet Dream Makers have kicked off an initiative that will help new mothers who need it most.<br /> “Beginnings” guarantees that no baby will leave the hospital without a crib, diapers and formula. Boca West Foundation, via board member Neil Gillman and wife, Doris, has committed $20,000 toward the initiative. In addition, the foundation has made a $10,000 donation for the renovation of the maternity wing. <br /> “This is going to be a transformational partnership in that we will be able to help so many families and especially the children,” said Sarah Pollak, director of development and donor relations at the hospital.<br /> Added Suzanne Broad, founder of Sweet Dream Makers, whose mission is to promote the health and wellness of children and families by providing beds and other essential furniture, “A bed for every child is a dream come true, but thanks to the support of the Gillmans through the Boca West Foundation, it is now a reality.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Community Foundation names new VP</strong><br /> The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties appointed Sheila Kinman as vice president for development. Kinman is responsible for connecting donors to philanthropic causes, facilitating legacy and planned gifts and establishing impactful charitable funds.<br /> <br /> <strong>Boca Chamber celebrates DIAMOND Awards</strong><br /> The 11th annual DIAMOND Award Luncheon took place Feb. 24 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club and was attended by close to 300 who watched Susan Saturday and Rebecca Zerbo earn high honors.<br /> The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce annually recognizes professional women in south county who contribute to the vibrancy of the community. A DIAMOND Award recipient is a dedicated, inspiring, accomplished, motivated, outstanding, noble and driven woman.<br /> Saturday, of BBX Capital and Bluegreen Vacations, was the award recipient this year.<br /> Zerbo, who founded the charitable organization Positive Pocket to empower, inspire and motivate people affected by bullying, received the Pearl Award. The award is given to a young female who is a graduate of the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy.</p></div>Philanthropy Notes: Dancers chosen for Boca’s ninth-annual Ballroom Battlehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-notes-dancers-chosen-for-boca-s-ninth-annual-ballroo2016-05-04T16:09:24.000Z2016-05-04T16:09:24.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>Even with the 2015-16 social season coming to a close, board, committee and staff members at local nonprofits remain busy planning events for 2016-17, including the <strong>George Snow Scholarship Fun</strong>d.<br /> <strong>Debi Feiler</strong>, vice president of program services, announced the date of <strong>Boca’s Ballroom Battle</strong> — Aug. 22 — and identified the dancers who will undergo rigorous training to perform professional routines at the Boca Raton Resort & Club to raise money for college-bound students. This year’s community dancers are: <strong>Donna Biase</strong>, <strong>Dan Davidowitz</strong>, <strong>Alex Eremia</strong>, <strong>Peter Gary</strong>, <strong>Bonnie Halperin</strong>, <strong>Stacey Packer</strong>, <strong>Doug Paton</strong> and <strong>Samantha Vassall</strong>o. The ninth annual benefit is patterned after the popular <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> television program.<br /> “This is the do-not-miss event of the summer, as eight of our community’s most recognizable personalities take to the dance floor for a good cause — not to mention that coveted mirror-ball fundraising trophy,” President <strong>Tim Snow</strong> said.<br /> Tickets start at $185 and include two drinks and hors d’oeuvres stations. Call 347-6799 or visit scholarship.org.<br /> ***<br /> <strong>The Spirit of Giving Network</strong> is in the news after appointing <strong>Sue Diener</strong> as executive director.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960655486,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960655486,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="97" alt="7960655486?profile=original" /></a>Diener is a veteran in the nonprofit industry, having served as a volunteer for nearly 30 years. She is the former president of Impact 100 Palm Beach County and a past president of the Junior League of Boca Raton. <br /> “A longtime resident, Sue has a wealth of experience in the nonprofit arena,” Spirit of Giving Network President <strong>Ann Rutherford</strong> said.<br /> Diener will be responsible for supporting the agency’s 60 nonprofit member groups, strengthening community partnerships and promoting volunteerism.<br /> ***<br /> A $15,000 grant from the <strong>Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation</strong> will pave the way for an interactive health-clinic exhibit at the <strong>Boca Raton Children’s Museum</strong>.<br /> The exhibit, titled “Living Healthy Living Well,” will let little ones play doctors, nurses and patients in a make-believe medical setting.<br /> “By providing high-quality early arts, science and creative education through hands-on exhibits and classes, our children have the opportunity to play, which is the work they need for a lifetime of success,” museum President and CEO <strong>Ellyn Okrent</strong> said, noting that play enables children to learn about and interact with their world and gain the mental, physical and social skills necessary to succeed in adulthood.<br /> “We’re pleased to support the Living Healthy Living Well exhibit,” foundation President <strong>Mark Larkin</strong> said. “It’s a great opportunity for children to learn about their health in a fun and imaginative setting.”<br /> ***<br /> <strong>Impact 100 Palm Beach County</strong> set a record — again — by recruiting 532 members who collectively donated $532,000 to local charities.<br /> Grants of $100,000 went to <strong>Alzheimer’s Community Care, American Association of Caregiving Youth,</strong> <strong>Camelot Community Care</strong>, <strong>Delray Students First</strong> and <strong>YMCA of South Palm Beach County</strong> at the fifth annual Grand Awards Ceremony, which celebrated the theme “Power of Women Giving as One!” <strong>Flamingo Clay Studio</strong> and the <strong>Florida Atlantic University Foundation Pine Jog Environmental Education Center</strong> each received $16,000.<br /> The organization, whose members each agree to make a $1,000 contribution and attend one meeting to vote on which organizations will receive funds, scored another coup when it was announced the <strong>2016 Impact 100 Global Conference</strong> will take place in Delray Beach. The conference, scheduled for Oct. 23 through 25, is designed to encourage collaboration and the sharing of best practices among Impact 100 groups around the world to allow for continued growth and sustainability.<br /> <br /><em>To submit your event, contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.</em></p></div>Pay it Forward: Fun with purpose always in seasonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pay-it-forward-fun-with-purpose-always-in-season2015-09-30T16:51:25.000Z2015-09-30T16:51:25.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Amy Woods</b></span></p>
<p>The 2015-16 philanthropy season has arrived. In honor of the time of year that brings balls and bashes, dinner dances and luncheons, and parties of all themes to South County, I’ve highlighted one must-do charity event for each month from October through March.</p>
<p><b>October:</b> Milagro Center, a children’s nonprofit whose mission is to enrich young lives through cultural-arts programming, will get its spook on at Halloween Hollywood Horror Fundraising Night from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 31 at Delray Beach Elks Lodge, 265 NE Fourth Ave. Activities include dancing, a costume contest and pumpkin carving.</p>
<p><b>November:</b> Impact 100 Palm Beach County, a philanthropic organization that has awarded $1.1 million in grants to 19 deserving groups in the area, enters its fifth year of giving with a membership kickoff event from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at Delray Beach Club, 2001 S. Ocean Blvd. Goals include boosting membership to 500 and donating a half-million dollars in 2016.</p>
<p><b>December:</b> Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club in Delray Beach celebrates its 13th annual Holiday Trunk Show from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 1 (preview party) and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3 (public opening) at Seagate Hotel & Spa, 1000 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Proceeds from gift items, including accessories, holiday ornaments, jewelry, clothing and toys, will go toward programs that help children excel academically, physically and socially.</p>
<p><b>January:</b> George Snow Scholarship Fund will throw its 22nd annual party, the Caribbean Cowboy Ball — where the Wild West meets the tropics — from 6 to 11 p.m. Jan. 30 at Red Reef Park, 1401 N. State Road A1A, Boca Raton. Help top last year’s attendance of 450 and donations of more than $85,000 to support college scholarships for deserving students.</p>
<p><b>February:</b> Food for the Poor will bring a special evening of dining and dancing to philanthropists when the Building Hope Gala returns at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 East Camino Real. Proceeds will go toward efforts to build homes for destitute families in Haiti.</p>
<p><b>March:</b> Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County will ring in the 25th Love of Literacy Luncheon at 11:30 am. March 10 at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The always well-attended fundraising event will feature a special guest speaker, not yet announced at press time.</p></div>Coastal Stars: Couple finds job of giving an enjoyable onehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/coastal-stars-couple-finds-job-of-giving-an-enjoyable-one2015-09-02T17:48:11.000Z2015-09-02T17:48:11.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960600652,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960600652,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="289" alt="7960600652?profile=original" /></a><em>Irving and Barbara Gutin at their home in Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Rich Pollack<br /><br /></strong> Over the years, Barbara and Irving Gutin have funded millions of dollars’ worth of projects in South Florida and previously in New Hampshire. <br /> They were a major driving force behind bringing robotic surgery to Boca Raton Regional Hospital and helped finance the hospital’s first stroke center.<br /> Their financial support extends throughout the community to organizations such as Family Promise of South Palm Beach County, which was able to establish a mentoring program thanks to a $150,000 grant.<br /> But the contribution that may best illustrate the Gutins’ philosophy of philanthropy could be the donation of a ping-pong table their visiting grandchildren no longer used to a center serving homeless families struggling to get back on their feet.<br /> “Philanthropy doesn’t have to be about a lot of money,” Irving Gutin said. “It just has to be something where you can see the impact.” <br /> The Gutins share their philosophy of philanthropy with many others in South Florida, including Henrietta, Countess de Hoernle, and this month they will serve as honorary chairs of the countess’ 103rd Birthday Philanthropic Concert, “A Knight in Budapest.” <br /> Hosted by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller, the Sept. 19 concert at Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center is both a benefit and a tribute. <br /> Among the charities supported by the order are: The American Association of Caregiving Youth, Boca Helping Hands, Estella’s Brilliant Bus, Family Promise of South Palm Beach County, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, HomeSafe and the Spirit of Giving Network. <br /> “The countess has been an outstanding member of this community,” Irving Gutin said. “She has been a symbol and a reminder for all of us to do good.” <br /> Gutin said that all organizations benefiting from the concert, which will feature the Lynn University Philharmonia under the direction of Dr. Jon Robertson, are ones he believes are making a positive difference in South Florida.<br /> “These organizations are all having a real impact on our community,” he said. “It’s going to be a great evening.” <br /> A former senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Tyco International, Irving Gutin understands the importance of due diligence and applies the skills he developed in the corporate world to his family foundation’s philanthropic giving.<br /> “Giving is a tough job,” he said. ‘It’s a very difficult task to understand where your funds are going and to make sure they’re having the impact that you were promised.” <br /> Their philosophy of philanthropy, the Gutins say, was developed while they were living in a small New Hampshire community, where charitable giving had a strong impact on the area. <br /> “We continue to follow that concept of giving today,” Irving Gutin says. <br /> Perhaps the contribution the Gutins made that has had the greatest impact is the donation of $4 million used to purchase two da Vinci robotic surgical systems. <br /> Those systems, Irving Gutin says, have been part of a dedicated effort to make Boca Raton Regional Hospital a world-class facility where patients can find the state-of-the-art technology. <br /> For the Gutins, support of the community goes beyond just giving money. Both Irving, 83, and Barbara, 73, also serve on several committees and boards. <br /> Barbara Gutin serves on the advisory council of the Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital while her husband is a member of the hospital’s board of trustees and chairman of the finance committee. Both also serve on the community advisory board of Family Promise of South Palm Beach County.<br /> While finding the right organizations to support can be a job unto itself, Irving Gutin says he and Barbara don’t mind the work.<br /> “I enjoyed what I did for 30 years with Tyco and we have enjoyed the last 12 years donating money to worthy causes in our community,” he said.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">If You Go</span></strong><br /><strong>Countess’ 103rd Birthday Philanthropic Concert, ‘A Knight in Budapest.’</strong> In celebration of people who love humanity and contribute to the good of their community, Countess de Hoernle continues to sustain her life of philanthropy through her 103rd birthday wish, to be fulfilled with a memorable concert fundraiser for local charities. <br /><strong>When:</strong> 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19<br /><strong>Where:</strong> Wold Performing Arts Center, Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton<br /><strong>Tickets:</strong> $35-$150<br /><strong>Proceeds:</strong> Go to charities addressing needs of the sick and the poor. <br /><br /></p></div>Pay it Forward: Challenge grant offered for symphony orchestrahttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pay-it-forward-challenge-grant-offered-for-symphony-orchestra2013-04-03T15:28:53.000Z2013-04-03T15:28:53.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960435485,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960435485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="203" alt="7960435485?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Joe Griffin with conductor Sebrina Maria Alfonso. </em></p>
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<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong><br /><br /> If it weren’t for a last-minute birthday present from his friend Claudia Willis, chances are Joseph Griffin probably wouldn’t have discovered the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. <br /> Willis, knowing that Griffin was a lover of classical music, was running out of ideas for a present when she remembered she had two tickets to the orchestra’s January performance at Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre that she couldn’t use.<br /> For Griffin, who makes his home in Highland Beach and Mary Lou Schillinger of Ocean Ridge, his close friend, that performance was a real eye-opener. <br /> “I was so impressed with this little orchestra of 70 musicians,” he said. “The sound was just magnificent.”<br /> Now Griffin showing his support for the orchestra through a $10,000 challenge grant, which he hopes will lead to the Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit’s raising an additional $20,000. <br /> That money, he says, would go a long way toward covering the cost of the upcoming concert and helping ensure the orchestra — which is performing on April 9 at the Delray Beach Center for the Art’s Crest Theater — will be able to return to Palm Beach County next season.<br /> “These are world-class musicians who come from all over the country,” he said. “Once you hear them, you’ll be blown away by the quality of their music.” <br /> Griffin, who spends part of the year in South Florida and part of the year in Manhattan, says he’s long been a fan of classical music, having had a subscription to the New York Philharmonic for many years. <br /> The April 9 master concert performance, “From Darkness Comes Light,” is expected to be equally impressive, with renowned cellist Zuill Bailey as the featured soloist.<br /> Led by award-winning conductor Sebrina María Alfonso, the orchestra will perform works of Elgar, Brahms and Schubert. <br /> “Having a symphony of this caliber performing in Delray Beach is a real coup,” said Willis, who has been a supporter of the orchestra for several years and who won’t be giving away her tickets this <br />time. <br /><em> To find out more about the concert, visit <a href="http://www.southfloridasymphony.org">www.southfloridasymphony.org</a> or call 954-522-8445.</em></p></div>Philanthropy: Gulf Stream residents honored for their contributionshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-gulf-stream-residents-honored-for-their-contribution2012-10-31T19:00:00.000Z2012-10-31T19:00:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><span><b> </b></span></p>
<p><span><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960413065,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960413065,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="278" alt="7960413065?profile=original" /></a></b></span></p>
<p><span><b>National Philanthropy Day Luncheon</b></span></p>
<p>The Association of Fundraising Professionals - Palm Beach County Chapter will recognize leaders in the categories of Outstanding Philanthropist, Outstanding Philanthropic Private Foundation, Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation, Outstanding Philanthropic Corporate Foundation, Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser and Outstanding Planned Giving/Legacy Honoree. </p>
<p><b>When:</b> 11:45 a.m. Nov. 15</p>
<p><b>Where:</b> The Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach</p>
<p><b>Tickets:</b> $100 for individual tickets</p>
<p><b>Reservations, information:</b> Email Brian Edwards at bedwards@gulstreamgoodwill.com or (561) 848-7200, Ext. 3250, or see <a href="http://www.afppbc.org">www.afppbc.org</a></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960413259,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960413259,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="238" alt="7960413259?profile=original" /></a>Sheila O'Boyle and Barbara Whittaker<br /></b></span></p>
<p><span><b>Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s <br /> 13th annual Women of Grace luncheon</b></span></p>
<p>Susan Duane is serving as chairman and Suzanne Boyd, anchor of WPEC-News 12 will be the emcee. </p>
<p><b>Honorees:</b> Laurie Gildan, Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County; Rosemary Krieger, Soroptomist International of Boca Raton/Deerfield Beach; Sheila O’ Boyle, Lupus Foundation of America, Southeast Florida Chapter; Mary Pittman, Habitat for Humanity; and Barbara Whittaker, Christians Reaching Out to Society (C.R.O.S. Ministries)</p>
<p><b>When:</b> 10:30 a.m. Nov 14</p>
<p><b>Where:</b> The Ritz-Carlton, 100 South Ocean Blvd., Manalapan</p>
<p><b>Tickets:</b> $100 per person or $1,250 for a VIP table of 10.</p>
<p><b>Reservations, information:</b> <a href="http://www.bethesda">www.bethesda</a>hospitalfoundation.org</p>
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<p><span><b>By Mary Thurwachter</b></span></p>
<p>Four Gulf Stream residents who are generous with their time and money will be recognized this month. </p>
<p>Barbara Whittaker and Sheila O’Boyle are Women of Grace nominees who will be spotlighted during Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s annual Women of Grace luncheon Nov. 14. </p>
<p>Deborah and Harry Sargeant III will be receiving the Outstanding Philanthropist award on Nov.15 during the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon sponsored by the Palm Beach County chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. </p>
<p>The Sargeants have given more than $1 million to organizations in need. This year, they chaired the 57th annual Bethesda Ball, of which the net proceeds benefited the Foundation’s Caring for Our Community Campaign. The campaign supports technology advancements at Bethesda Memorial Hospital’s Centers of Excellence — including the Center for Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery, which included a surgical robot and a first-in-the state simulator needed for in-house training. </p>
<p>With the Sargeants’ leadership and outreach to like-minded donors, they set a record raising $1 million net through the event. In addition, the couple made a major effort to personally underwrite event expenses. </p>
<p>They have supported the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, the Junior League of Boca Raton, the Delray Beach Public Library and the Delray Beach Historical Society, in which they were not only significant sponsors, but Deborah Sargeant also served as a co-chair of the society’s annual antiques show and sale for many years. </p>
<p>“The majority of my volunteer work during the last three years has been for the Bethesda Hospital Foundation,” Deborah Sargeant said. “I serve as vice chair of the Foundation Board and the executive committee.” She also does volunteer work for Gulf Stream School.</p>
<p>“I feel very fortunate to have the time and assets to share and give back to this community,” she said. “It allows me to be productive and learn something new. I know the community benefits from the time I give. I believe every community needs volunteers.”</p>
<p>Barbara Whittaker volunteers with several organizations, including the Caring Kitchen. </p>
<p>“I help with the food preparation, cooking and serving for 225 people/guests for lunch,” Whittaker said. “I’ve driven the van for pickups from Publix/Costco and do anything that’s needed at the Health Department. I’ve also been involved in fundraising.”</p>
<p>Whittaker also volunteers at Paul’s Place After School Program, where she started a vegetable garden for the children. </p>
<p>“We plant everything from seed with the children and they help take care of weeding and harvesting the garden,” she said. “We try to grow what they would like to eat for dinner, which is prepared for them five nights a week.” She is also involved in fundraising at St. Paul’s.</p>
<p>Whittaker also volunteers with C.R.O.S. Ministries and the Florida Coalition for Preservation. She is vice president of both the Delray Beach Historical Society and the Gulf Stream Civic Association and is on the board of directors of the Grass River Garden Club.</p>
<p>“Volunteering is important to me because I feel that it is necessary to give back to your community, especially in Palm Beach County, where one in four children live in poverty,” Whittaker said. “I would hope to make this community a better place to live and make a difference in someone’s personal life.”</p>
<p>Sheila O’Boyle says its easy to get involved and there are so many worthwhile causes being addressed by organizations like the Lupus Foundation of America, Southeast Florida, a nonprofit she has been volunteering with for 18 years. She has served on the board of directors and been a leader in advancing the mission to help those living with lupus as well as to raise awareness about the disease. </p>
<p>A strong supporter of LFA, O’Boyle has been instrumental in fundraising for the group. She served as chairman of the Butterfly Ball for numerous years, and in recent years started new events to benefit the organization: the Closet Couture Luncheon and the Great Holiday Tea Party. </p>
<p>“About 18 years ago I was asked to attend a meeting with the Lupus Foundation,” O’Boyle said. “At the time I knew nothing about lupus; but being a volunteer and invited to join a meeting for the Lupus Foundation, I went to the meeting — which was to plan a fundraiser. I learned a lot that day about lupus and how it affects so many women.”</p>
<p>Then she discovered that most of the people at the meeting were suffering from it or had mothers who died from lupus. </p>
<p>“Volunteering makes me feel connected to the community that I live in,” O’Boyle said. “It makes me feel good to contribute back to the community.” </p></div>Philanthropy Calendar: Pay It Forwardhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/philanthropy-calendar-pay-it2012-10-31T16:00:00.000Z2012-10-31T16:00:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p></p>
<p><i>Pay it Forward is </i>our new calendar designed to celebrate the many philanthropic events in the community from October through April each year. <i>Events in this listing are current as of 10/25. Please check with organizers for any changes.</i></p>
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<p><span><b>Allegro Society</b> </span></p>
<p>Delray Beach Club</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408875,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960408875?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><b>November 9:</b> Boca Raton Symphonia’s support group, Allegro Society, is tuning up its instruments for the third-annual Musical Luncheon and Music Scholarship Award. A performance by members of the Symphonia and the presentation of a $1,500 grant to a high-school student will highlight the event. The location is the Delray Beach Club, 2001 S. Ocean Blvd. Time is 11:30 am. Tickets are $75. For information, call 866-687-4201 or visit <a href="http://www.bocasymphonia.org">www.bocasymphonia.org</a>. <b>Photo:</b> Committee member Joan Gallo and scholarship sponsor Marie Iandoli stand outside the Delray Beach Club. <b>Photo provided</b></p>
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<p><span><b>Dinner Cruise Aboard ‘Lady Atlantic’</b></span></p>
<p>Veterans Park, Delray Beach</p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960409094,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960409094,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960409094?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><b>November 9:</b> Veterans’ Pathway to Business Success embarks on its first fundraiser as it sets sail on a mission to provide grants to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking funding for their businesses. Dinner Cruise Aboard ‘Lady Atlantic’ includes a reception, dinner, open bar and dancing under the stars. The location is Veterans Park., 802 NE First St., Delray Beach. Time is 6 p.m. Tickets are $500. For information, call 235-4584 or visit <a href="http://www.veteranspathway.org">www.veteranspathway.org</a>. <b>Photo:</b> Herb Romanow; Veterans’ Pathway to Business Success founder, Jerry Kramer; retired Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto and Gerry Goldberg plan the dinner cruise. <b>Photo provided</b></p>
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<p><b>Christmas Designer Showcase House</b></p>
<p>Cason Cottage Museum, Delray Beach</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408888,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408888,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960408888?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><b>December 1:</b> The Delray Beach Historical Society’s special preview of the 2012 Christmas Designer Showcase House will feature decorations dating back to 1915 that were artistically crafted by eight accomplished South County designers. Proceeds will help support society projects, including education programs for elementary-school students. This year’s house is Cason Cottage, 5 NE First St. Opening party at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $75. The house will be open to the public Dec. 2-Jan. 1. Times are noon-4 pm Sundays, 10 am-4 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays and noon-4 pm Jan. 1. Tickets are $15. For information, call 274-9578 or visit <a href="http://www.delraybeachhistory.org">www.delraybeachhistory.org</a>. <b>Photo:</b> The designers of the 2012 Christmas Designer Showcase House include Sharon Koskoff, Marsha Love, Karen McClaren, Gus Martinez, Virginia Courtenay, Hazel McGuire, Kim Baguley and Annette Smith. <span><b>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</b></span></p>
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<p><span><b>Holiday Trunk Show</b> </span></p>
<p>Seagate Hotel & Spa, Delray Beach</p>
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<p><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408685,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408685,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="275" alt="7960408685?profile=original" /></a>December 3-5:</b> This year’s Holiday Trunk Show will celebrate the 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club, as more than 30 vendors offer everything from jewelry and accessories to Christmas ornaments and holiday décor. Funds raised will go toward programming for the 300-plus children who attend the club. A Preview Cocktail Reception on Dec. 3 kicks off the show at The Seagate Hotel & Spa, 1000 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Time is 6-8 pm. Tickets are $85. The public can peruse the gifts and goodies Dec. 4-5. Time is 9 am-5 pm. Admission is free. For information, call 683-3287 or visit <a href="http://www.bgcpbc.org">www.bgcpbc.org</a>. <b>Photo:</b> Holiday Trunk Show chairwomen include Kari Shipley, Susan Mullin and Melissa De Baptiste. <b>Photo provided</b></p>
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<p><span><b>Wee Dream Ball</b></span></p>
<p>Woodfield Country Club, Boca Raton</p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408901,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960408901,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960408901?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><b>November 30:</b> Florence Fuller Child Development Centers’ signature fundraising gala will be an affair as energetic and unique as the children the center helps. The ball is projected to raise more than $400,000 for programs that target low-income youths ages 6 weeks to 12 years. The location is Woodfield Country Club, 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton. Time is 7-11 pm. Tickets are $250. For information, call 391-7274, Ext. 128, or visit <a href="http://www.florencefullercenters.org">www.florencefullercenters.org</a>. <b>Photo:</b> (front row) Co-Chairwoman Carrie Rubin and Honorary Chairwoman Denise Zimmerman and Co-Chairwoman Stacey Packer are planning the Wee Dream Ball with committee members (middle row) Lauren Johnson, Suma Farsedakis, Heidi Johnson, Tiffany McDonnell, Kelly Thill, Eda Knopf, (back row) Rosa Feeney, Linda Behmoiras, Kathy Adkins and Tracy Louv. <b>Photo provided</b></p>
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<p><span><b>NOVEMBER 3</b></span></p>
<p><b>Saturday - 11/3 - 5th Annual Denim, Diamonds & Dice Casino Night</b> is held at The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Gaming complimented by hors d’ oeuvres and an open bar. Benefits the Unicorn Village Academy in Boca Raton. 7-11 pm. $125/general, $225/VIP, $250/Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament. 620-9377.</p>
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<p><span><b>NOVEMBER 4-10</b></span></p>
<p><b>Sunday - 11/4 - Caring Hearts Auxiliary Keep Memories Alive</b> at Town Center at Boca Raton, 6000 Glades Road. Participate in the seventh-annual walk and help raise money for Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. 9 am. $30-$40. 297-4066 or <a href="https://fauf.fau.edu/memories">https://fauf.fau.edu/memories</a>.</p>
<p><b>Tuesday - 11/6 - Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s Magnolia Society Brunch</b> at The Ocean Club, 6849 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge. Join a society that supports Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s Women of Grace Luncheon. 10 am. $250 for renewing members, $500 for new members. 737-7733, Ext. 84445 or <a href="http://www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org">www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Friday - 11/9 - David T. Harden Preservation Award</b> at Delray Beach Golf Club, 2200 Highland Ave. Honor Delray Beach’s retiring city manager at a dinner sponsored by Delray Beach Preservation Trust.<br /> 6 pm. $50. 276-8968 or <a href="http://www.delraybeachpreservation.org">www.delraybeachpreservation.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Saturday - 11/10 - “Make Waves on the 50” Gala</b> at Florida Atlantic University Stadium, Palm Beach Avenue, Boca Raton. Support the FAU President’s Scholarship Fund at a black-tie event that will be capped by a fireworks display. 6:30 pm. $250. 297-3010 or <a href="http://www.fau.edu/2012gala">www.fau.edu/2012gala</a>.</p>
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<p><span><b>NOVEMBER 11-17</b></span></p>
<p><b>Wednesday - 11/14 - Women of Grace Luncheon</b> at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach, 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Honor five volunteers for their work and accomplishments and support Bethesda Hospital Foundation and Center for Women & Children. 10:30 am. $100. 737-7733, Ext. 84445 <a href="http://www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org">www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Thursday - 11/15 - Palm Beach Closets Fashion Show & Luncheon </b> at Boynton Woman’s Club, 1010 S. Federal Highway. Ten club members will model clothes, jewelry and accessories from Second Time Around Consignment Boutique to benefit Crossroads Program at Palm Beach State College. 11:30 am. $20. 737-3392 or <a href="http://www.boyntonwomansclub.com">www.boyntonwomansclub.com</a>.</p>
<p><b>11/15 - National Philanthropy Day</b> at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Recognize philanthropists Harry and Deborah Sargeant III for their contributions to society. 11:30 am-1 pm. $100. 848-7200, Ext. 3250 or 3286 or <a href="http://www.afppbc.org">www.afppbc.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>11/15 - “Best of Boca & Beyond”</b> at The Shops at Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton. Join Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation to kick off the social season in the shopping center’s newly renovated courtyard. 6-9 pm. $50.<br /> 494-6888 or <a href="http://www.hpbcf.org">www.hpbcf.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Friday - 11/16 - Delray Beach Stiletto Race</b> at SE Fourth and Atlantic avenues. Strap on those stilettos and race to support Achievement Centers for Children & Families Foundation. 5-8 pm. $25. 266-0003 or <a href="http://www.delraychild.org">www.delraychild.org</a>.</p>
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<p><span><b>NOVEMBER 18-24</b></span></p>
<p><b>Monday - 11/19 - End Hunger</b> at DIG, 777 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Savor the five serving stations and sip soft beverages to help C.R.O.S. Ministries’ hunger programs. 5-8 pm. $35. 233-9009, Ext. 106. </p>
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<p><span><b>NOVEMBER 25-30</b></span></p>
<p><b>Thursday - 11/29 - Grand Opening</b> at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service Food Pantry, 430 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach. Share the vision, work and generosity of those who make feeding the hungry possible. 5:30 pm. Free. 852-3333 or <a href="http://www.ruthralesjfs.org">www.ruthralesjfs.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>11/29 - Havana Nights Exclusive Poker Event</b> at Boca Raton Resort & Club. Cocktail reception at 6 pm, tournament begins at 7 pm. Benefits the Achievement Centers for Children & Families. $1,000 per player. 266-0003 or <a href="http://www.HavanaNightsPoker.com">www.HavanaNightsPoker.com</a></p>
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<p><span><b>DECEMBER </b></span></p>
<p><b>Saturday - 12/1 - Hair Saving Event in Support of Cancer Patients</b> at Lifestyles of Lynne, Royal Palm Place, 284 Esplanade, #52B, Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Volunteers will have their heads shaved to show support of everyone that has ever been diagnosed with some form of cancer. 10 am-1 pm. Free: Donations go to St. Baldrick’s. 347-2933. <a href="http://www.royalpalmplace.com">www.royalpalmplace.com</a>.</p>
<p><b>12/1 - “Lady in Red” Gala</b> at The Mar-a-Lago Club, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. <i>Tonight Show</i> host Jay Leno and Sultans of Swing headline a fundraiser for Leaders in Furthering Education. 6 pm. $700. 865-0955 or <a href="http://www.life-edu.org">www.life-edu.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Thursday - 12/6 – Sandler Family Major Gifts Event</b> at St. Andrews Country Club, 17557 W. Claridge Oval, Boca Raton. Listen to presentations by a CBS News correspondent and an Israeli intelligence expert while lauding Harvey and Phyllis Sandler for being the largest donors in the history of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s Annual Campaign. 6 pm. $125. 852-3333 or <a href="http://www.jewishboca.org">www.jewishboca.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>12/8 - River of Grass Gala</b> at The Colony, 155 Hammon Ave., Palm Beach. Support the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation for the Everglades by attending a “green-tie” affair. 6:30 pm. $350. 233-9004 or <a href="http://www.artmarshall.org">www.artmarshall.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>12/8 - 12<sup>th</sup> Annual Caridad Center “Wrapping up Your Holiday Wishes” Gala</b> at Four Seasons Resort, 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. An evening of auctioning, dining and dancing will honor four dentists for their 20 years of volunteer efforts at Caridad Center. 7 pm. $250. 582-2800 or <a href="http://www.caridad.org">www.caridad.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Friday - 12/14 - Jingle Bell Ball</b> at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Participate in a festive evening of dinner and dancing to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. 7 pm. $600. 683-3287 or <a href="http://www.bgcpbc.org">www.bgcpbc.org</a>.</p>
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<p><span><b>January</b></span></p>
<p><b> Saturday - 1/5 - Your Medical School Gala</b> at The Royal Palm Yacht Club, 2425 Maya Palm Drive W., Boca Raton. A black-tie-optional reception, auction, dinner and dancing will benefit the “Compassionate Care Through Education” Medical Scholarship Campaign at the Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. $295. 6:30 pm.<br /> 699-7198.</p>
<p><b> Wednesday - 1/9 - Bell Society Dinner</b> at Colony Hotel, 155 Hammon Ave., Palm Beach. Enjoy a black-tie event to benefit Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County, Inc. 7 pm. $500. 832-2755. </p>
<p><b> Friday - 1/11 - Caron and Hanley Treatment Centers Gala 2013</b> at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Ring in the beginning of a new year and stay through the night for the Young Friends After Party. 7 pm. gala; 10 p.m. after party. $500-$1,000. 841-1048 or <a href="http://www.hanleycenter.org">www.hanleycenter.org</a>.</p>
<p> <b>Saturday - 1/12 - 51<sup>st</sup> Annual Boca Raton Regional Hospital Ball</b> at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Pay tribute to Elaine J. Wold and celebrate the Wold Family Center for Emergency Medicine. $400. 955-4142 or <a href="http://www.brrh.com">www.brrh.com</a>. </p>
<p> <b>Friday - 1/18 - Iron Chef Competition</b> at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Teams compete to benefit Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum. 6:30 pm. $175. 395-6766. </p>
<p><b>Thursday - 1/24 - Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala</b> at Mar-a-Lago Club, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. A four-course gourmet dinner with wine pairing and silent auctions benefits Food for the Poor. 7:30 pm. $450. 888-404-4248 or <a href="http://www.foodforthepoor.org">www.foodforthepoor.org</a>.</p>
<p><b>Monday - 1/28 - 20<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Luncheon of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum</b> at Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive, Boca Raton. The celebration will include a keynote speaker, a reception, lunch and a presentation. 11:30 am-1:30 pm. $125. 995-6773 or <a href="http://www.ushmm.org">www.ushmm.org</a>.</p>
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<p><i>To submit your event, please contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net. </i></p>
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<p><b> </b></p></div>Pay it Forward: Philanthropy Calendarhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pay-it-forward-philanthropy-calendar2012-10-04T21:24:52.000Z2012-10-04T21:24:52.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em>Pay it Forward is our new calendar designed to celebrate the many philanthropic events in the community from October through April each year. To submit your event, please contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net</em><br /><em>Events in this listing are current as of 9/28. Please check with organizers for any changes.</em> <br /><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>October 6</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Saturday - 10/6 - Shred Your Personal Papers Event</strong> at Boca Raton Lions Club, 399 NW 35th St. Help the club fund eye examinations and prescription glasses for the community. 1-3 pm. $5/regular-size storage box. 512-2675.<br /><strong>10/6 - Golf Classic</strong> at Osprey Point Golf Course, 12551 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Tee off to support Florida Fishing Academy. 1:30 pm/registration, 2 pm/scramble. $100/player, $375/foursome. 740-7227.<br /><strong>10/6 - Delray Bash</strong> at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave. Savor signature dishes from local restaurants to benefit American Lung Association. 7-9:30 pm. Guests must be 21 years old. $50-$60. 659-7644, Ext. 1601, or <a href="http://www.thedelraybash.com">www.thedelraybash.com</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>October 7-13</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Wednesday - 10/10 - Girls, Pearls, Hats & Heels</strong> at Delray Dunes County Club, 12005 Dunes Road, Boynton Beach. Enjoy a fun-filled afternoon of shopping in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Presented by Delray Beach Public Library and Bethesda Hospital Foundation. 11 am-1:30 pm. $40. 266-0775.<br /><strong>10/10 - Tribute to Henrietta, Countess deHoernle and her Legacy of Giving</strong> at St. Jude Catholic Church, 21689 Toledo Road, Boca Raton. Celebrate deHoernle’s 100th birthday while benefiting St. Jude Church & School. Noon. $50. 314-1250.<br />Friday - 10/12 - Signature Chefs Auction at Marriott Boca Raton at Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle. Bring an appeite and some friends to support March of Dimes. 6:30-7:30 pm/VIP reception, 7:30-10 pm/tasting and auctions. $195. 290-0901.<br /><strong>10/12 - Casino Royale</strong> at Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive. Enter the daring world of James Bond at a “shaken-not-stirred” event benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. 7 pm. $150. 683-3287, Ext. 28, or <a href="http://www.bgcpbc.org">www.bgcpbc.org</a>.<br />Saturday - 10/13 - Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse’s 13th Annual Race for Hope at Anchor Park, A1A, Delray Beach. All ages can participate in the 10K Run, 5K Run/Walk and Kid’s Dash. 6:30 am/registration, 7:30 am /start. $30-35/advance, $35-40/race day. 265-3797, Ext. 109.<br /><strong>10/13 - 23rd Annual Celebration by the Sea</strong> at Delray Beach Club, 2001 S Ocean Blvd. Gala features waterfront dining, fine wines and spirits, and dancing to live music under the moon and stars to benefit Hospice by the Sea. The club requests that guests refrain from wearing denim or shorts. 5:30-10 pm. $125. 416-5007.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><br /><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">October 14-20</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Sunday - 10/14 - 18th Annual C.R.O.S. Walk</strong> at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 211 Trinity Place, West Palm Beach. Take steps to benefit the ministries of Christians Reaching Out to Society, which has provided a secure food source for families for 33 years. Participants collect pledges for a 5K walk on Flagler Drive along the Intracoastal Waterway. 2:30 pm/registration, 3 pm/walk. 233-9009, Ext. 106, or <a href="http://www.crosministries.org">www.crosministries.org</a>. <br /><strong>Thursday - 10/18 - Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon</strong> at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. The Junior League of Boca Raton pays tribute to local women and their pledge to volunteerism. 10:30 am. $125-$200. 213-2497 or <a href="http://www.jlbr.org/wvoy">www.jlbr.org/wvoy</a>.<br /><strong>10/18 - Lights Out</strong> at Rosso Italia, 1901 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton. Learn what it’s like to be visually impaired during a fundraising dinner for Stand Among Friends, in which guests are blindfolded. 7 pm. $85. 297-2208.<br /><strong>Saturday - 10/20 - Third Annual Scarecrow Festival</strong> at St. Ann Catholic School, 324 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach. Enjoy Native-American dancers, hay rides, a scavenger hunt, pumpkin decorating and a corn-shucking contest to benefit Historical Society of Palm Beach County. 11 am-2 pm. $10. 832-4164, Ext. 106.<br /><strong>10/20 - St. Vincent Ferrer Golf & Tennis Classic</strong> at Quail Ridge Country Club, 3715 Golf Road, Boynton Beach. Proceeds benefit the parish and its children through the Ferrer Fund. 11:30 am/registration, 12:30 pm/shotgun start, 12:30 pm/Tennis Round-Robin Mixer, 5:30 pm/Oktoberfest dinner and celebration. Golf: $125/player, $500/foursome; Tennis: $100/player, $200/team; Oktoberfest: $45. 276-6892.<br /><strong>10/20 - Palm Beaches Crab Cake Cook-Off</strong> at Lake Pavilion and Terrace, City Commons and Waterfront, West Palm Beach. Enjoy a tasty benefits for the Parent-Child Center. 6:30-9 pm. Regular tickets: $55/person, $100/couple; VIP tickets: $95/person. 841-3500, Ext. 1081, or <a href="http://www.gocpg.org">www.gocpg.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>October 21-27</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Sunday - 10/21 - 18th Annual Buddy Walk</strong> at John Prince Park, 2700 Sixth Ave. S, Lake Worth. Acknowledge the talents and capabilities of children and adults with Down Syndrome. 8 am-1 pm. $15-$20. 752-3383 or buddywalk.kintera.org/gcdso.<br /><strong>Wednesday - 10/24 - “Augmented Reality” Art Fundraiser</strong> at Max’s Harvest, 169 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. Enjoy drinks and appetizers to benefit Artworks4food during a demonstration that layers digital information onto real-world objects. 6-8 pm. $30/advance, $40/event. 889-3575 or <a href="http://www.artworks4food.org">www.artworks4food.org</a>.<br /><strong>Friday - 10/26 - Ninth Annual Go Pink Luncheon</strong> at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Join the fight against breast cancer to benefit Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. 11 am-1:30 pm. $150. 955-4142 or <a href="http://www.brrh.com/Foundation.aspx">www.brrh.com/Foundation.aspx</a>.<br /><strong>Saturday - 10/27 - Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Boca Raton</strong> at Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real. Put on a pink bra and take a big step to help end a disease that threatens the lives of so many loved ones. 9 am. Free for spectators. 394-7751.<br /><strong>10/27 - Raising the Barre with Susan G. Komen</strong> at two locations: Palm Beach Studio, 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite No. 307; Delray Beach Studio, 200 NE Second Ave., Suite No.111. Participate in barre and yoga classes, and get spoiled with massages, facials and hair styling, with proceeds going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 9 am-noon at Palm Beach Studio, 833-8999. 3-6 pm at Delray Beach Studio, 366-5899.<br /><strong>Sunday - 10/28 - Par for Promise Golf Classic</strong> at Boca Greens Country Club, 19642 Trophy Drive, Boca Raton. Help support Family Promise of South Palm Beach County during a day of golf. Noon/registration, lunch and warm-up; 1:30 pm/shotgun start. $175/player; $650/foursome; $40/awards dinner. 212-8092.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>November</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Friday - 11/2 - Expedition Epilepsy</strong> at Palm Beach Zoo, 1301 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach. Encounter animals, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and dance under the starts in support of Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. 6-8 pm. $50. 478-6515 or <a href="http://www.epilipsyfla.org">www.epilipsyfla.org</a>.<br /><strong>11/2 - Boca Bus Loop</strong> at The Spaniard, 99 SE Mizner Blvd. Tour Boca Raton venues to benefit Junior League of Boca Raton, Golden Bell and Spirit of Giving, and receive a free drink or other item at each venue. 5:30-9 pm/check-in; 6-11 pm/Bus Loop. $20/door, free/designated drivers. 954-574-6000.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960412269,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960412269,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="576" alt="7960412269?profile=original" /></a><em><strong>November 6:</strong> Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s Magnolia Society will sponsor a 10 a.m. brunch at The Ocean Club, 6849 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge. The society supports the Women of Grace Luncheon’s efforts to fund the hospital’s Center for Women & Children. Tickets: $250/renewing members, $500/first-time members. For information, call 737-7733, Ext. 84445, or visit <a href="http://www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org">www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org</a>. Photo: Magnolia Society chairwomen at the 2011 event were Peggy Martin, Eileen Augustyn, Bettina Young and Phyllis Spinner. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><strong>Friday - 11/9 - David T. Harden Preservation Award</strong> at Delray Beach Golf Club, 2200 Highland Ave. Honor Delray Beach City Manager David Harden at a dinner sponsored by Delray Beach Preservation Trust. 6 pm. $50. 276-8968.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960412067,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960412067,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="378" alt="7960412067?profile=original" /></a><em><strong>November 10:</strong> A fundraiser for Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, the Take Steps Walk will get under way at 3 p.m. at CityPlace, 700 S Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach. Free for spectators, the walk raises money to aid the more than 1.4 million Americans affected by digestive diseases. For information, call (800) 932-2423, or visit <a href="http://www.ccfa.org">www.ccfa.org</a>. Photo: Walk Chairwoman Wendy Greenhut, with husband, Doug, and daughter Jamie. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /><strong>Wednesday - 11/14 - Women of Grace Luncheon</strong> at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach, 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Witness an elegant, heart-warming and inspiring event that honors five volunteers for their work and accomplishments and benefits Bethesda Hospital Foundation. 10:30 a.m. $100. 737-7733, Ext. 84445.<br /><strong>Thursday - 11/15 - National Philanthropy Day</strong> at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Recognize philanthropy’s role in enriching lives and honor philanthropists Harry and Deborah Sargeant III. 11:30 am-1 pm. $100. 848-7200, Ext. 3250 or 3286.<br /><strong>Friday - 11/16 - Delray Beach Stiletto Race</strong> at SE Fourth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. Strap on those stilettos and race to support Achievement Centers for Children & Families Foundation. 5-8 pm. $25. 266-0003.<br /><strong>Thursday - 11/29 - Grand Opening</strong> at Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service Food Pantry, 430 S Congress Ave., Delray Beach. Share the vision, work and generosity of those who made the Food Pantry possible. 5:30 p.m. Free. 852-3333 or <a href="http://www.ruthralesjfs.org">www.ruthralesjfs.org</a>.<br /><strong>Friday - 11/30 - Wee Dream Ball</strong> at Woodfield Country Club, 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton. Experience an event as energetic and unique as the children it helps while benefiting Florence Fuller Child Development Centers. 7-11 p.m. $250. 391-7274, Ext. 128.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>December</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Monday-Wednesday - 12/3-5 - Holiday Trunk Show & Preview Cocktail Reception</strong> at The Seagate Hotel & Spa, 1000 E Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Monday: Preview goodies and gift items at a cocktail reception. 6-8 pm. $85. Tuesday-Wednesday: Shop for jewelry, accessories, home decor and a variety of other items during the 10th annual fundraiser for Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club. 9 am-5 pm. Free. 683-3287.<br /><strong>Thursday - 12/6 - Major Gifts Event</strong> at St. Andrews Country Club, 17557 W Claridge Oval, Boca Raton. Laud Harvey and Phyllis Sandler for being the largest donors in the history of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s Annual Campaign. 6 pm. $125. 852-3333.<br /><strong>Saturday - 12/8 - River of Grass Gala</strong> at The Colony, 155 Hammon Ave., Palm Beach. Preserve and protect the Everglades by attending this “green-tie’ affair. 6:30 p.m. $350. 233-9004.<br /><strong>12/8 - 12th Annual Caridad Center</strong> “Wrapping up Your Holiday Wishes” Gala at Four Season Resort, 2800 S Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. An evening of auctions, gourmet food, drink and dancing that honors four dentists for their 20-year volunteer efforts at Caridad Center. 7 pm. $250. 582-2800.<br /><br /><em>To submit your event, please contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net</em><br /><br /></p></div>