THE CROWD:’Paying rent’ means giving back to humanity

“Service is the rent we pay for living,” commented Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund and keynote speaker at the annual luncheon symposium of Women of Vision, Orange County. In Newport Beach from her headquarters in Washington, D.C., Edelman, recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, went on to tell her local audience, “The higher your intellectual and financial success, the higher your rent.”

The daughter of a Baptist preacher and a mother who worked by her father’s side with the family and the congregation, Edelman shared that her young life was infused with and inspired by the model of service. The path of her life has born out this axiom. As the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar and later counsel to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Edelman has worked for and championed the poor, the disenfranchised, the discarded members of society and indeed, the human race.

The lady with the Yale Law pedigree and high-profile connections came to inspire at the grass roots level. “Everyone’s our neighbor,” she said, speaking about a world population of some 100 million children living in various stages of poverty and malnutrition. “Change your moral compass. Learn how to share. Turn your faith into action.”

Citing serious statistics, Edelman said, “Millions of poor mothers die in childbirth; perhaps as many as 14 million women each year die invisibly — like leaves falling in a forest.” Her parents, whom she called “great” taught her to “fly, drive, walk or crawl if need be to keep moving in order to make a difference.”

The full house at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach came at the invitation of Women of Vision, a program of World Vision U.S., a Christian ministry to women and families in need.

Presently World Vision funds and assists some 50 million people worldwide in 90 countries including the United States. Chaired by Karen Stockman, the event was certainly much more than another luncheon on the social circuit. Motivated participants including Beverly Peters, Betsy Tarbell, Susan Anderson, Nancy Baldwin, Susan Champion, Marilyn French, Melinda Moiso, Trish O’Donnell, Joni Rehnborg and Judy Sweeney. They helped fund the success of the program and bring Edelman’s message to life.

Also attending the event and introducing Edelman to the local crowd was actress Jane Kaczmarek, in from San Marino where she makes her home with actor husband Bradley Whitford and their children. Kaczmarek came to share the profound impact and influence Edelman has had on her own life, as well as to inform the audience about her personal avenue of “paying rent.” It’s called the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, and it is an organization that sells celebrity threads to the public via the internet and other forms of outreach. Proceeds benefit charity.

Edelman cautioned the crowd about the dangers of “excessive individualism.” She dove into political waters chastising government for inaction in matters of humanitarian need.

A massive silent auction under a white tent in the Fairmont’s courtyard produced significant funds in support of Women of Vision and World Vision efforts helping organizers to reach the ambitious goal of raising $300,000 at the event.

Funds will support Women of Vision and World Vision projects in places such as Mexico, Kenya, Peru, Sudan, Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Others deserving mention for their support include Julia and George Argyros, Nancy and Rod Daley, Dee and Richard Dick, Patricia Edwards, Kitty Jones, Gail Ochs, Susie Perry, Becky Pollock, Diane and Dan Sweet, Jan and Prentice Taylor, Judith and David Threshie, and Jean and Bill Wenke.

“Powerful women must take care of the powerless,” concluded Marian Edelman, quoting the late Eleanor Roosevelt. Her words were both a challenge as well as a promise.