Thursday, November 12 was a gangbuster of a night for Dallas fundraising. Following an earlier of day of nonprofit loving, it was hard to imagine anyone had recovered long enough to make the evening rounds, but they did just that.
Crystal Charity Ball Underwriters Party
Sarah Perot and Christi Urschel
The Crystal Charity Ball underwriters gathering at Sharon and Terry Worrell was such a big hit thanks to gal pals/evening Co-Chairs Sarah Perot and Christi Urschel that within the first hour, minions were sent out because they were worried about running low on wine and tonic.
The bar in the Worrells great room
No surprise! The Worrells’ house was a killer. One top-ten gorgeous blonde type told her bestie pal, “You should see the bar!”
Good luck on that. The bar was located just under a balcony in the grandest great room in these parts. But just getting to the great room was an interior decorator’s delight. You had to go past the leisurely winding staircase with its non-aggressive lions and then past the “let me have a book” library to discover the great room.
But the conversation of the night focused on, of all things — pooches.
Comerica’s Ralph Babb was soloing the event. Wife Barbara Babb was grandchild tending and Ralph’s stay was gonna be brief. He had lab work. No, not the medical type. The Labrador type that were at home waiting for Ralph.
Michal Powell and Sharon Worrell
And then there was hot Terry, who had spotted a lynx in the back grounds. Not good for the Worrells’ Cavalier Spaniels. Terry reported that despite living in the very civilized Volks Estate, the neighborhood was still the stomping grounds for coyotes and now lynxs.
Adorable newlyweds April and Russ Lambert check out the display of gifts for the guests. It was so perfectly arranged by Gregory Dunbar, that it hurt to have one taken.
AWARE Announcement
Janet Broyles and Christie Scardino*
Speaking of great rooms, Joyce and Larry Lacerte put theirs in Highland Park to use for the announcement of the 2015-2016 grant recipients. With the Texas Winds Musical Outreach musicians playing, AWARE President Janet Broyles reported the following groups will receive funds thanks to AWARE Affair’s Celebrate the Moments on Saturday, April 9th, at the Hilton Anatole:
- Baylor AT&T Memory Center: Salary support for a Ph.D. Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Baylor AT&T Memory Center;
- Center for BrainHealth: Support for researching the efficacy of early intervention in Mild Cognitive Impairment with cognitive training;
- Center for Vital Longevity: Support for Dr. Denise Park’s online repository of data from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study;
- Jewish Family Service: Salary support for a Clinical Social Worker to provide independent living services to adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias;
- Juliette Fowler Communities: Support for a music therapist to work with JFC memory care residents;
- UT Southwestern Medical Center: Support for Dr. Roger Rosenberg’s research on the development of a vaccine to prevent Alzheimer’s disease;
- Presbyterian Communities and Services Foundation: Support for the Grace Caring Fund, specifically to help residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other related dementias;
- Texas Winds Musical Outreach: Support for music programs for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or other related dementias.
AWARE Affair Celebrate The Moment*
Christie Scardino will be chairing the gala with both silent and live auction and a three-course dinner. The evening’s entertainment will once again be Wayne Foster Entertainment from LA.
In other words, get your dancing shoes in fine shape. They’ll have a real workout that night.
The evening’s honorees will be Sally and Forrest Hoglund, Sarah and Alan Losinger and Gail and Bill Plumber. Honorary chair will be Robert “Bob” Miller.
A Night Of Light
Over at Sixty-Five Hundred, Nikki and Crayton Webb chaired the 2015 A Night Of Light benefiting CNM Connect where the following awards were presented:
- 2015 Nonprofit of the Year presented by Atmos Energy
Equest - 2015 Nonprofit CEO of the Year presented by Wells Fargo
Michelle Kinder of Momentous Institute
- 2015 Nonprofit Board Leader of the Year presented by Deloitte, EY and PwC
Greg May of Dallas CASA - 2015 Nonprofit Communicator of the Year in Honor of Robert Miller presented by Communities Foundation of Texas and The Dallas Morning News
New Friends New Life - 2015 Corporation of the Year presented by Texas Instruments
Southwest Airlines nominated by VNA
Urban Revival
Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity Event Co-Chairs Beverly and Al Childs and Kristen and Ladd Sanger welcomed over 150 guests to the third annual Urban Revival benefiting Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity on Thursday, November 12, 2015, at 3015 at Trinity Groves.
Al and Beverly Childs and Ladd and Kristen Sanger**
Upon arrival, partygoers entered the venue, which had been transformed into a swanky lounge with white banquettes, cocktail seating and bright pops of colorful linens in orange, fuscia and purple – all created by event designer Tom Addis. House elements, such as windows, doors and trusses, were painted white and suspended above the crowd to represent the homes built by Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity in partnership with hard working Dallas families. Top donors enjoyed their own private Metropolitan lounge, with dedicated bar and delicious passed hors d’oeuvres. DJ Andre 7 with Medric G on drums provided a cool vibe while patrons mingled, sipped cocktails and posed for party pics in the photo booth.
Urban lounge**
Chef Van Meter’s delicious cuisine took center stage with an artisan cheese display upon guests’ arrival. followed by food stations offering small plates including jalapeno glazed fired chicken on Callie’s hot little biscuit with pimento chees simmered field peas; ancho braised duck on homestead gristmill grits and southern greens; Coca-Cola braised pot roast with gold potato puree with roasted Brussel sprouts and bacon and her crusted pork loin with hominy grill tomato pudding. For dessert, a pink petit dessert station sponsored by Mary Kay featuring pink velvet cakes, French raspberry macarons, pink frosted rice crispy treats, white chocolate pretzels; pink lemonade bars and prink sugar cookies.
Pink desserts**
A highlight was this year’s silent auction of five unique designer series Habitat houses, 3D printed in full-color and designed by Kevin Page 3D Gallery. Each home model was based on Habitat’s most recent home designs.
Bill Hall**
Mid-way through the evening Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity CEO Bill Hall took a few minutes to thank everyone for attending the third annual fundraiser and shared the importance of their financial support to the work Dallas Habitat is doing in the community. Co-Chair Al Childs followed and added his thanks to the many sponsors and donors who had made the evening possible. He then encouraged all including Cara and Jim French, Nancy Gopez and Katy and Lawrence Bock to continue to support Dallas Area Habitat’s mission of revitalizing neighborhoods, by purchasing raffle tickets or by bidding in the silent auction.
Cara French, Katy and Lawrence Bock and Nancy Gopez**
At 9:00 Co-Chair Kristen Sanger announced the four lucky winners of this year’s raffle prizes, which included a Dallas Design package of one-of-a-kind fashion and home accessories package from some of Big D’s talented designers, a Mountain Getaway with a five-day, four-night stay at Casita Eileen, a two bedroom home (sleeps six) nestled in the Sangre de Cristo mountains just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with airfare, Dinner with Chef Samir, which includes an exclusive dinner for six in your home prepared by the renowned Nick & Sam’s Executive Chef Samir Dhurandhar, and a one-of-a-kind 3D printed 14k gold Habitat house charm representing Habitat’s ongoing commitment to urban renewal.
* Graphic and photo provided by AWARE ** Photo credit: Rhi Lee
