THE CROWD

B.W. Cook

“Through the Eyes of a Child,” a holiday luncheon and boutique,

attracted more than 750 guests and raised a net amount of $65,000 for

Childhelp USA. The massive undertaking, chaired by Julie Whittington, was

actually billed as a “beary merry holiday” event, and you can guess who

was the guest of honor. Bears, bears and more Christmas bears were in

abundance, as the crowd shopped at the holiday bazaar that featured

everything from handcrafted gingerbread houses to teddy bears dressed in

Santa suits.

One of the major highlights of the popular annual gathering was the

silent auction featuring gift baskets, lovingly created by Childhelp

volunteers. The baskets, some extremely lavish and others creative,

humorous and just plain delicious, attracted a plethora of busy holiday

shoppers all decked out in their Christmas finery.

Whittington’s decoration committee chose a green, burgundy and silver

palette to transform the Irvine Hyatt Regency ballroom into a “beary

merry” wonderland. Naturally, the centerpieces were furry friends that

were auctioned off to raise additional funds to support the children

housed at the Beaumont, Calif. Childhelp Village.

Major donors and underwriters for the afternoon event included Cleo

Bluth, Betty Huges, Kathy Slavick, Eileen Saul, Sara Hinman, Pam Weston

and Patti Edwards, to name only a few. Orange County Childhelp chapter

President Nancy Whitlock joined committee members Pam Butler, Katherine

Meredith, Diana Miner, Carol Packard, Jana Shuler and Mary Fitzgerald,

helping to make the $50 per person luncheon a smash.

Spotted in the local crowd were Mara Cole, Rosemary Denzler, Suzanne

Gauntlett, Donna Pagano, Linda Roberts, Aly Shepard and Ellie Snow. Also

supporting Childhelp USA were Susan Tancredi, Carolyn Hormuth, Rachel

Gaglio, Jacque Goldberg, Jeanne Bowan, Janet Biegler and Freida Adams.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.