Les Femmes du Monde Spring Tea hosted by Lisa Cooley

Featured photo: Anne Sutherland, Chair, Woman of the Year Gala; Martha C. Cox, President, Les Femmes du Monde; Lisa Cooley, Hostess; Rhonda Sargent Chambers, Board Secretary.

Lisa Cooley generously hosted the Les Femmes du Monde (LFDM) Spring Tea celebrating the upcoming spring season by filling her Preston Hollow home with glorious flower arrangements in tones of pinks, reds and blue.
         

Greeting guests as they arrived were Rhonda Sargent Chambers, Board Secretary and Anne Sutherland, chair of the 2019 Woman of the Year gala dinner and Director of Finance on the LFDM board.  

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Martha C. Cox, Les Femmes du Monde president ushered members to Sharon Knowles, Membership chair as she checked in guests and reminded them this is the beginning of the new year for the organization, which means renewing memberships!  Brenda Truitt is Treasurer and Jan Ward is Advisor-At-Large. Venise Stuart is Parliamentarian.        

Welcoming everyone to the meeting and during the program, Martha presented Lisa with a lovely hostess gift, thanking her for her gracious hospitality. Quoting an article in D magazine in January 2018, Martha read Lisa’s response to the subject of “The importance of giving back.” Lisa said, “Sometimes the main thing someone needs, is to know someone cares and is on their side. You never know how an act or deed you do for someone else will impact the course of their life. Everyone can do something – and serving others is the greatest gift we can give of ourselves. We can all give back in some way, whether time or resources. It is our responsibility, not obligation, to serve others.”  

She also introduced Kyra Barnett from The Child Life Program at Children’s Health^SM Children’s Medical Center and Kate Daniels representing the Global Young Leaders Program of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, the two beneficiaries of LFDM events throughout the year.

Some exciting news from Kate: Plano Independent School District maintained its grip on the World Affairs Council’s regional PwC Academic WorldQuest crown, with Jasper High School defeating 81 other North Texas high school teams on Tuesday, February 12.  The Jasper High School team of Adithya Karthik, Pranav Pattatathunaduvil, Michelle Ma, and Renee Li is coached by Khadeeja Miandara. The team’s next step will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Carlos and Malu Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition on April 27, at the United States Institute of Peace. A Plano team has won the national title six out of the past eight years. Finishing in second and third place at the regional competition were Allen High School and Plano West Senior High.

And an overview from Kyra: 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.

Les Femmes du Monde is a group of women helping youth in health and education. Membership in Les Femmes du Monde is open to the public and includes many benefits, such as invitations to events in private homes, the Woman of the Year gala dinner, New Member reception, Annual Meeting and Luncheon, and the opportunity to meet new friends and learn more about the world we live in. Visit the website for more information at LesFemmesduMonde.org 

2019 Beneficiaries: 

The Child Life Program’s primary goal is to minimize the impact of illness on a child’s normal growth and emotional and cognitive development.  This involves establishing supportive relationships with patients and families and providing them with developmentally-appropriate information that helps them prepare for, understand and cope with their healthcare experiences. 

The Global Young Leaders and Education Programs at the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth 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.”

Mission Statement:  Since its beginning in 1961, Les Femmes du Monde is celebrating its 59^th year of service. The mission is to provide funds for the support of the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas Child Life Program and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth International Education Program.

Les Femmes Du Monde: Dedicated To Serving Dallas
Les Femmes du Monde has donated more than $2 million to the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth, and more than $700,000 to Children’s Medical Center.

Past Woman of the Year Honorees (in chronological order): 1986 Doris S. Dixon; 1987 Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler; 1988 Caroline Rose Hunt; 1989 Annette Strauss, Mayor of Dallas; 1990 Vivian Castleberry; 1991 Mary Kay Ash; 1995 Ebby Halliday; 1996 Catherine Crier; 1997 Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator; 1998 Laura Bush, First Lady of Texas; 1999 Juanita Miller; 2000 Nancy Brinker; 2001 Gloria Campos; 2002 Florence Shapiro, Texas State Senator; 2003 Liz Minyard and Gretchen Minyard Williams; 2005 Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs; 2006 Billie Leigh Rippey; 2007 Dee Wyly; 2008 Anita Perry, First Lady of Texas; 2009 Yvonne Crum; 2011 Geraldine “Tincy” Miller; 2012 Dr. Gail Thomas, President and CEO, The Trinity Trust Foundation; 2013 Mary Lee Cox; 2014 Virginia Chandler Dykes, Gina Ginsburg, Lynn McBee, Margaret McDermott, Pat Smith, Nina Vaca; 2015 Virginia Cook; 2016 Couple of the Year Nancy and W. Herbert Hunt; 2017 Carmaleta Whiteley Felton; 2018 Dr. Sandra “Sandi” Chapman.

Photos by Dana Driensky

(Sharon Adams, Adams Communications Public Relations, is honored to represent Les Femmes du Monde.)