Gala honoring police chief benefits BTAC Burbank...

Gala honoring

police chief benefits BTAC

Burbank Police Chief Thomas Hoefel will receive the Burbank Top

Award for Citizenship at a fundraising dinner Feb. 27 at The

Castaway. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7.

All proceeds benefit the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, a

nonprofit, community service organization dedicated to helping meet

the short-term emergency needs for food, shelter and necessities for

the less fortunate.

The board of directors hopes to raise a minimum of $50,000 to

rebuild its facility, said board member Tim Murphy. The board must

raise a percentage of funds to receive a federal block grant to

finance the remodel. The facility is a converted house and lacks the

amenities to serve its clients, Murphy said, such as private

interviewing rooms, showers and storage.

BTAC is funded through donations from local business, churches,

temples, service organizations, grants and private individuals. There

are a number of ways to participate, including purchasing tickets or

ads in a tribute program, becoming an event sponsor and donating

silent and live auction prizes.

Dinner tickets are $75 each. For more information, call Sharon

Kurges at 954-5672.

Incarnation Church leader speaks to Cabrini Guild

Father Paul Hruby will be the guest speaker when the Cabrini

Literary Guild has its luncheon meeting Thursday at the Oakmont

Country Club in Glendale.

Hruby, of Incarnation Catholic Parish in Glendale, will speak on

Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, a Trappist monastery that was the home

of Thomas Merton, monk, poet, philosopher and author, who wrote

prolifically on a vast range of topics. Hruby will discuss his

monthlong stay at the abbey and his experiences of the contemplative

life that Thomas Merton experienced and wrote about.

The guild is a Catholic philanthropic organization in the

Glendale-Burbank-foothill area dedicated to stimulating interest in

literature and philanthropy. The guild has contributed thousands of

dollars to students of archdiocesan high schools who have

participated in the annual creative writing contest. In addition,

money raised from the annual fundraiser allows the guild to support

local charities including the Salvation Army Meals on Wheels, Good

Shepherd Center for Women, Glendale YWCA Shelter for Women and the

Glendale Library Literacy Program.

Sign-in for the meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by luncheon

served at noon.

For information and reservations, call 248-9226.

Boy Scouts Council planning Big Strike Auction

The Verdugo Hills Boy Scouts Council once again is looking to

strike it rich at this year’s 30th annual Big Strike Auction

fundraiser March 20 at the Hilton Glendale Hotel.

Every year since 1974, members, supporters and participants from

Glendale, Burbank, Montrose, La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge,

Sunland and Tujunga, as well as parts of Los Angeles and the San

Fernando Valley, go to ever-greater lengths panning for larger

financial rewards than earned during any previous year at its annual

Big Strike Auction dinners.

Council Executive Director Andrew Messer said the fundraiser

revenue from this year’s event benefits the region’s many scouting

programs that stress the teaching of character and ethics to Scouts

of all ages. Hundreds of supporters expected once again to attend

this extensive Boy Scouts auction will avail themselves to more than

500 colorful, treasured and highly valued items during the silent

auction before dinner and live auction following the meal.

Event Chairman Sam Engel Jr. said plans are near completion and

reservations are now being accepted from all interested Gold Rush

miners and prospector friends of scouting life.

Tickets are $100 and reservations can be made by calling 243-6282.

Autism alliance members offered education options

The Foothill Autism Alliance Inc., which supports families of

individuals with autism, will have its next family resource meeting

at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Burbank Center for the Retarded (“A Place

to Grow”), 230 Amherst Drive, Burbank.

A panel presentation will feature representatives from several

local nonpublic schools to speak on the topic “Non-Public Schools:

Exploring Educational Options.”

Scheduled speakers include Laurie Stephens, director of the HELP

Group; Sylvia Lougheed, principal of the Brill School of Autism,

Tobinworld; and Sandra Babcock, director of the Dubnoff Center for

Child Development. Discussion will center on the option of placing a

child with autism in a nonpublic school and an overview of each

program.

For more information, call 662-8847.

Designer clothing sale benefits YWCA programs

The YWCA of Glendale will have its Third Friends of Friends

Apparel Fundraiser to help support the Domestic Violence Project and

Encore Plus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 21.

YWCA officials have partnered with R & S Enterprises, a company

that purchases new women’s designer apparel overstock from Macy’s,

Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and other leading retailers, to offer

designer clothes for sale to those attending the event. Some of the

designers include Alfani, Jones New York, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY and

BCBG, to name a few.

There will be all sizes and styles, and payment can be made by

cash, check or credit card. Prices are discounted up to 93% from

original retail.

Proceeds will go to programs of the YWCA of Glendale, which

provides services to women in Glendale, Burbank, La Crescenta and La

Canada Flintridge and surrounding communities. For more information,

call Judy Logan at 242-4155, ext. 220. The YWCA is at 735 E.

Lexington Drive, Glendale.

Compiled by Joyce Rudolph