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The Crowd: SPIN in need of matching funds

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Serving People In Need (SPIN), the Costa Mesa-based nonprofit assisting working-poor families in O.C. with housing and basic life necessities, will gather advocates Friday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Huntington Beach for its 26th annual gala. Celebrity Chef Antonio Cagnolo of Antonello Ristorante will create a gourmet Italian dinner with Hyatt culinary staff led by Chef Manfred Lassahn.

The big news, reported by SPIN director Jean Wegener, is the opportunity to raise $500,000 due to the generosity of an anonymous donor pledging a $250,000 match if the dinner crowd will raise the other half. “The match is in play until the end of the month, Oct. 31,” Wegener said. “We begin tonight with great enthusiasm. This is a game-changer for SPIN and it will help countless children and families in O.C. Every contribution, no matter its size, will make a difference.”

To donate to the match, go to https://www.spinoc.org or call development director Kim Frazier at (714) 751-1101, ext. 19.

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The transformative power of education

Haute Cakes Caffé in Newport Beach welcomed friends of Santa Ana-based KidWorks, an educational enrichment program for underprivileged Hispanic youth. An overflow crowd of some 150 guests filled Haute Cakes’ popular patio on a recent Friday night in support of a KidWorks auxiliary known as WINGS (Women Investing in Graduate Success). Guest speaker of the night was Erlinda Martinez, president of Santa Ana College, who shared her story of success through educational opportunities.

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Funds raised at the gathering will be directed to funding KidWorks scholarships at Mater Dei High School. The WINGS event was organized by Stephanie Bernardy and Michele Mullen, both of Newport Beach. The women are among a group of 10 Newport-Mesa citizens responsible for founding WINGS in 2012. Other WINGS board members enjoying the evening were Pam Blom, Anita Brown, Lisa McBean, Anne Folks, Linda Simmonds, Susie Gaunt and Cari Hoyt.

To learn more about KidWorks, visit https://www.kidworksonline.org or call Claudia Soto-Neira, director of development, at (714) 834-9400, ext. 140.

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Dining for dollars

A dinner for some 100 invited guests and donors to the James Beard Foundation unfolded Sept. 24 at the chic Marché Moderne at South Coast Plaza. Marché chef/owners Amelia and Florent Marneau welcomed the highbrow culinary crowd, offering flutes of NV Lanson Brut Rosé Champagne to the arriving crush.

Celeb chef and radio personality Jamie Gwen swooshed in along with respected former editor of Bon Appetite Barbara Fairchild. Also front and center for James Beard Foundation culinary scholarships were local restaurateur Margarita Avila, Leyla and Manny Khoshbin, Cherly Effron and Marguarite Clark. South Coast Plaza VIPs included Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom, Debra Gunn Downing with beau Charles Kantor, Lee Healy and, from the Beard Foundation, Jared and Diane Harris Brown. A five-course dinner with wine pairings helped to raise $20,900 for the culinary heritage and educational programs advanced by the foundation.

To learn more, please visit https://www.jamesbeard.org.

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Raise a glass for charities

Over the past decade, the Share Our Wine Foundation has raised and donated more than $1 million to local children’s charities. The 10th annual Share Our Wine Auction will take place Nov. 22 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. in the Samueli Theater at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

The event has been called the “premiere luxury wine auction” in the O.C. Some 250 silent and live auction lots will be up for sale. Items have been donated from the personal wine collections of local connoisseurs.

Prior to the auction, on Nov. 6, the volunteer board of directors will host a “wine drop-off event” at Charlie Palmer’s Bloomingdale’s restaurant at South Coast Plaza. Special guest will be Steve Zotovich of Zotovich Cellars. The public is invited to drop in and donate a bottle of wine valued at $75 or more.

Tickets to the big auction are priced at $200 per person. Sponsored by South Coast Plaza, proceeds will benefit a host of children’s charities, including Cystinosis Research Foundation, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, Shea Therapeutic Riding Center and the Festival of Children’s “The Possible Dream” grant program. For reservations and information, call (800) 527-6201 or email bmorgan@festivalofchildren.org.

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Ebola has the spotlight, but HIV/AIDS must not be forgotten

The AIDS Services Foundation (ASP) of Orange County presently assists 1,600 men, women and children in the community living with HIV disease. Services include a menu that offers education and prevention, support groups and mental health, as well as the all-important daily life-saving necessities such as food, transportation, housing and emergency financial assistance. HIV/AIDS may not grab headlines like it once did, but it has not been eradicated.

To support the work of ASF, a late summer event unfolded under the banner of “Getting to Zero,” the mantra of an ASF support group dedicated to raising funds in support of ASF objectives. The guild held a fashion show cocktail party at the Marc Pridmore Design Studio in Costa Mesa showing off the trend-setting fashions of Betinnis of Brea with designs by J. Hilburn and Undercover Men’s Wear.

Chaired by Zai Holder, the event sold out at just $25 for general admission. Guy Babisett handled the emcee duties with catering by Thank Goodness Its Sofia (TGIS Catering) and wine tasting courtesy of Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.

To learn more about the Getting to Zero Guild for ASF, visit https://www.ocasf.org/getting-to-zero-guild.html.

THE CROWD runs Fridays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.

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