The San Diego Sparkles Foundation, a newly formed nonprofit that helps children displaced by war and at risk of human trafficking, will host a Children’s Benefit Fashion Show and Luncheon on September 17 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The goal is to raise $250,000. Children from San Diego and all over Southern California will be participating in the event, at Wardrobe at Macy’s Fashion Valley and Santori Designer Fashions in Solana Beach.
“When I saw the news and everything about the traffickers and orphans left behind after the war, I started thinking about what we should do,” said Kathy Kasardjian, a resident of Rancho Bernardo.
Proceeds from the event will be distributed between the AMAA Orphan Fund, ECF Children Fund, Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition and the Donbas Orphanage in Ukraine, and the event’s co-sponsor Trek 2 Share Foundation.
Kasardjian’s involvement with Sparkles stems from her fleeing Lebanon during the civil war with her infant son. After moving first to Uruguay and then to Canada, her family settled in the United States. She lived in San Diego for 42 years.
“God gave us the opportunity to go to this country and work hard, make a living, and I think now is the time to work hard and give other kids food to put on their table,” Kasardjian said. “Some countries need $1 a day to put food on their table for a child to eat.”
One of the highlights of the event was San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, who has made the fight against human trafficking one of the hallmarks of her career.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, there are as many as 8,000 victims of human trafficking in San Diego each year. Human trafficking is typically associated with women and girls, but males are at particularly high risk, accounting for 50% of LGBTQ youth in the United States who are victims of human trafficking. Stefan also offers tips for keeping kids safe. “I passed. [Stephan’s tips] For a lot of people, we live in a bubble a lot of the time because I think that kind of distorts reality,” said Hillsrest resident Vonnie Madigan, a Sparkles volunteer. “We don’t want to hover, but we want to make sure the kids are safe. And I think, between our local and global situation, all of us who have been blessed enough to live in San Diego have a duty to give.
Tickets start at $50 each for children 12 and under and $5,000 for a “Runway Elite Table for 10.” Email kathykass55@gmail.com for more information. The Sparkles Foundation can be reached at PO Box 676067, Rancho Santa Fe, 92067.
