Les Femmes du Monde Summertime Tea hosted by Terrell and James Falk
Venise Stuart, President, Les Femmes du Monde
Mari Epperson and Melissa Lewis, Woman of the Year Gala Dinner Chairs
Honoring Dr. Sandra “Sandi” Chapman as Woman of the Year
Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at the Dallas Country Club
(Featured photo: Jim and Terrell Falk, hosts. Venise Stuart, President, Les Femmes du Monde; Melissa A. Lewis, Co-Chair, Woman of the Year Gala Dinner)*
The Les Femmes du Monde Summertime Tea was graciously hosted by Terrell and Jim Falk in their Park Cities home and featured Jim’s specialty and a crowd favorite, homemade crepes, both savory and sweet, a tradition that has been going on for years.
President Venise Stuart welcomed everyone and recognized Melissa A. Lewis, one of the Woman of the Year gala dinner chairs with Mari Epperson. Jim, who in addition to being our host, is also the president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. He introduced Terrell as the featured speaker. Her history includes being the COO of the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science, on the executive board of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the board of the Old Red Museum of Dallas County. She gave a very interesting presentation on the history of the Old Red Museum and Sarah Horton Cockrell, a Texas pioneer woman and business woman, known for her contributions to the economic and infrastructural development of the town of Dallas from 1858 until her death in 1892.
Jim then introduced Josh Meaders, an intern with the World Affairs Council and one of the Council’s Twenty Under 20, a Junior division of the Council. Josh spoke about his involvement with the Council and the incredible educational opportunities which have resulted from his hard work through their programs.
The Global Young Leaders Program at the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is a beneficiary of Les Femmes du Monde. The program seeks to educate students and teachers on how international events affect their lives, their communities, and their country. The goal is to empower students to become effective, active global citizens and leaders in the community. Celebrating its 14th anniversary in 2018, this program has impacted more than 1 million students and trained more than 8,000 teachers since its inception in 2004.
Les Femmes du Monde was founded in 1961 as a fundraising committee on behalf of the Dallas Council on World Affairs, now the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. In 1987, Les Femmes became its own nonprofit organization. In 1998, The Child Life Program at Children’s HealthSM Children’s Medical Center was added as a second beneficiary. Since its inception in 1961, Les Femmes du Monde has given over $850,000 to Children’s Health and $2 million to the World Affairs Council.
At Children’s Health, Les Femmes makes an incredible impact on the psychosocial needs of the patients and families through the Child Life program. Some of those services include keeping the playrooms open (where the patients get to be kids), providing medical play to help the patients/siblings better understand the procedure they are going to undergo, providing diagnosis specific weekend and weeklong summer camps so that the patients don’t miss out on this critical experience, providing tools like ipads to help explain procedures; wii’s for entertainment, prize closet items and music therapists help the children express their feelings through music. And a big favorite, the therapy dogs.
Venise reminded all to be sure to get their underwriting and sponsorships now for the Woman of the Year gala dinner honoring Dr. Sandra “Sandi” Chapman as the Woman of the Year. The gala dinner is slated for Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at the Dallas Country Club. The Woman of the Year event has been celebrated for the past 27 years honoring 32 individual women and one Couple of the Year. A featured speaker will be announced soon! Venise also thanked the Falks for their kind hospitality and former LFDM president Alyce Heinrich and Connie Rhoades, for their help in organizing the event.
Membership in Les Femmes du Monde is open to the public and includes benefits such as exclusive events in private homes, the Woman of the Year gala dinner, private parties like this brunch and more. For details and updates, visit the website at www.lesfemmesdumonde.org
* Photos by Dana Driensky.
(Sharon Adams, Adams Communications Public Relations, is honored to represent Les Femmes du Monde.)
