shopping spree

Junior League Houston heroes help local kids get back to school

Junior League volunteers helped more than 100 kids shop for school.

Photo by Haylie Lehtovaara

What: Childspree, an annual event benefiting Child Advocates, Inc.

Where: Target Central

The scoop: Just in time for the back-to-school season, the more than 100 Junior League Houston volunteers assisted more than 100 children with much-needed school shopping.

Volunteers from the League served as personal shoppers to help the children — many of whom are in foster care — select back-to-school clothing and accompanied them and their guardians to an in-store breakfast party.

Children also received backpacks filled to the brim with school supplies and other necessities to help them transition seamlessly into the new school year and set them up for success.

This was the first time that many of the children had ever shopped for new school clothes, and the excitement was palpable as the kids selected pieces that will give them a sense of confidence, belonging, and pride on their first day of school.

For more than 30 years, League members have worked with Child Advocates, Inc., in a multitude of capacities, including volunteering for special projects and events, and creating Life Books. The goal for the joint program is for “every child in foster care to have a scrapbook of their life, not only to be used as a therapeutic tool but often as the only mementos these children have of their biological families,” according to the Junior League.

Who: Big-hearted Junior League volunteers and a host of energetic school kids.

young-professionals kids charity-guide

legacy and lyrics

High notes and higher hopes put Houston's Omega House in the spotlight

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Deborah Duncan, Brigitte Kalai, Dr. Charlene Flash, and Alicia Smith.

For Avenue 360, it was time to get back in the gala game with Voices for Hope — its first big fundraising celebration since the pandemic. This year’s event marked a lively return to in-person gatherings, joining the ranks of busy, bustling parties that have defined 2024.

The evening celebrated the legacy of Omega House, Texas’s residential hospice for AIDS patients.

Co-chaired by Alicia Smith and Brigitte Kalai, Voices for Hope revived an important tradition of honoring Omega House’s legacy of compassionate end-of-life care. The night opened with a cocktail reception emceed by Great Day Houston host Deborah Duncan, during which guests entered raffles for luxurious prizes, including jewelry from Nini Jewels and Wayne Smith Jewels, a shopping spree at Tootsie’s, and a staycation at The Post Oak Hotel with a Porsche weekend rental.

About those voices: the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts choir’s charming performance of “Seasons of Love” set the evening’s emotional tone. Blues artist Luke Whitney continued with soulful melodies before America’s Got Talent semi-finalist Christina Wells brought down the house with dynamic interpretations of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “We Are Family.”

Houston’s social scribe Shelby Hodge gifted Wells her raffle prize, honoring the performer for her roles as a singer, nurse, and mother. The gala also celebrated the 25th anniversary of Bering Omega Community Services, with board member Ken Bohan receiving the Harmony of the Heart Award. Omega House medical director Dr. Gus Krucke, director of dental services Dr. Mark Nichols, and director Sandy Stacy were honored with the Symphony of Service Award, with Stacy’s 30 years of service encouraging standing applause.

Spotted were Lance Smith, Bashar Kalai, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, Leisa Holland Nelson, Farida Abjani, Shafik Rifaat, Maria and Omar Moncada Alaoui, Jody Merritt, Christine Johnson, Michele Till, Anna Reger, Mandy Kao, Mark Folkes and Christopher Johnston, Brandon Weinbrenner and Mitchell Greco, Fady Armanious, and Tony Bradfield.