NYSD in New Orleans, D.C., L.A., and Houston

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NYSD in New Orleans, D.C., L.A., and Houston

Walking at The Krewe of Barkus 2007 parade in New Orleans.

It’s a Dog’s Life: Frances Hayward and her rescued Shepherd, Amigo led the The Krewe of Barkus 2007 parade at this year’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Amigo, who is the inspiration for Frances’ BeKind Foundation (www.bekind.org) just lost his leg to cancer, but the scrappy canine still managed to take on the role of Grand Marshall of the only parade in the city for the animal population.

Last year, Amigo wore the crown as the King of the Barkus and Frances was his Queen, leading the way in full royal regalia on the 15-block route through the French Quarter. This year Amigo and his lovely lady wore festive feathered costumes in aqua blue and yellow and kicked off the "Pawty" at Armstrong Park on Sunday (February 11th). The happy crowd, which included hundreds of locals and many of their dogs dressed to impress, enjoyed the procession of floats on a beautiful Louisiana afternoon.

No strangers to giving back, Amigo and Frances returned to the 15th annual parade working diligently for animals in need. In the last year and a half, Amigo and Frances created "The Amigo Express," a "bus-lift" rescue expedition to Tylertown, Mississippi to save animal victims of Hurricane Katrina. They have also funded and starred in a PSA for the Humane Society of the US to stop inhumane trapping which aired nationally. Their next big event will be the Humane Society of New York’s third annual Fine Art Photography Auction in New York on April 16 where Amigo will act as Animal Chair.

The Krewe of Barkus is a chartered, non-profit organization with the sole purpose of providing an entertaining parade for the canine and canine-loving citizens of New Orleans while simultaneously promoting adoption/rescue of homeless animals through their donations to animal welfare organizations.

Grand Marshall Amigo with King of Barukus

Frances Hawyward and Amigo

Washington, D.C.: The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is pressing for the United States and world community to invest more in adolescent girls. Their objective is to achieve community- based interventions that can reduce child marriage and protect girls from poverty and serious health risks.

Meryl Streep and other dignitaries joined this call to action at ICRW’s 2007 gala, “Champions for Change,” at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

ICRW President Geeta Rao Gupta said that more community-based programs are needed to address the specific challenges faced by adolescent girls, particularly child marriage which has been mainly ignored by both the developing world and donor countries. 51 million girls worldwide are currently married, perpetuating an endless cycle of gender inequality, sickness and poverty.

New research by ICRW finds that some of the countries with the highest child marriage rates have no programs or interventions to prevent this practice or support girls who do marry young.

G.V.S. Ramesh, Mekhala Krishnamurthy, and Meryl Streep

Jessye Norman and Meryl Streep

“In too many parts of the world, adolescent girls are robbed of their potential by early marriage, by limited schooling, and poor health care,” Streep says. “And when girls fail to thrive, societies fail to thrive. While more and more countries are waking up to the possibilities and working to build programs to empower girls, much more needs to be done. Adolescent girls are our future and deserve our help.”

Rao Gupta urges the international community to support proven efforts to delay marriage, including keeping girls in school beyond primary education. “Our research reveals that primary education is simply not enough to prevent early marriage and help women escape poverty,” Rao Gupta says. “We must keep girls enrolled through secondary school. Only then do we see real results in girls’ earning power, their ability to insist on their rights, their empowerment."

At the March 7 gala event, ICRW honored two of its partners for their exemplary work to improve the lives of women and girls in Africa and India with the “Investing in Women” awards. ANERELA+, African Network of Religious Leaders with or personally affected by HIV/AIDS, was recognized for its vision in mobilizing the faith community to help end stigma and discrimination against people living with AIDS. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, was honored for its innovative activities to lift poor women and their communities from poverty. Learn more about ICRW and its work at www.icrw.org.

Ann Gupta, Sylvia Lin, and Kandy Ferree

Geeta Rao Gupta and Meryl Streep

Deborah Calmeyer, Meryl Streep, and Geoff Calmeyer

Leslie Calman, Rev. Johannes Heath, and Jacki and Steve Hofman

Frank Islam, Esther Coopersmith, Meryl Streep, and Carol Lascaris

Jeanne Warner and Michael Curran

Meryl Streep, Carol Lascaris, and Dr. Mahinder Tak

Justice Stephen Breyer, Joseph Patuleia, and Kathryn Williams

Caroline Atkinson, Matthew Mallow, Jeffrey and Nancy Goldstein, and Carole Dickert-Scherr

Meryl Streep and Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Meryl Streep and Rev. Johannes Heath

Craig Cichy, Mat Gulick, Karen Buglisi, and Frank Abdale

Ambassador Tim Worth and Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep and Geeta Rao Gupta

Ann Terry Pincus and Alan Novak

Mercedes Fitchett, Geraldine Sealey, and Olivia Leland

Christine Wallich, Mayra Buvinic, Brooke Shearer, and Leo Hakim

Meryl Streep, Rev. Johannes Heath, and George Vradenburg

Ugandan Ambassador Perezi Kamunanwire and Mrs. Carolyn Hu Kamunanwire

In Los Angeles, interior and lifestyle designer Barclay Butera hosted a book party for Panache Publishing’s “Spectacular Homes Of California” featuring fifteen designers with homes in Southern California. Mr. Butera has a multi-page spread in the book with his signature blue & white, ocean-inspired look, among other examples. New Yorkers saw his over-the-top, blue-and-white beach look in the grand entryway of last summer’s Hampton’s Design Showhouse. He also has a showroom at the D&D Building in NYC.

The cocktail party was for all the designers and the publisher. That day was also the birthday of Anne Volokh, publisher of Hollywood Life magazine. A friend of Butera’s, she was presented with a giant birthday cake from her favorite Old-World European bakery in L.A., B&L Bakery. Hollywood’s favorite chanteuse, Morganne sang “Happy Birthday” to Ms. Volokh, and these two absolutely “fabulous” women connected immediately, with Ms. V also breaking into a ditty.

Anthony Lepre, Libra Weltsch, and Michael Martinez

Atch, Kristen Gunnette, and Lisa Holchin

Michelle Hanson, Barclay, Julie Du Brow, and Whitney Sisler

Richard Gladstein and Barclay Butera

Soriya Dancsecs, Lisa Holchina, Kristina Gunnette, and Birte Bant

Donald Baker, Caroline Baker, Rozalynn Woods, and Robert Hyman

Morganne

Rozalyn Woods and Barclay

Sue Potter, Heather Rosas, and Shannon Aras

Rick Scott, Russ Shafer, and Ross Landess

Valerie Landon and Kimberly Fischer

Maria LoBosco, Nicole Cadena, and Jennifer Perry

Candice Weiner, Jennifer Pecor, Julia Brill, and Mary Campion

Ron Woodson, Libra Weltsch, Jaime Rummersfield, and Michael Martinez

Susan Rosen and Gay Parrish

Anne Volokh, Barclay, and Jennifer Perry

Barclay and Jennifer Perry

Anne Volokh and Morganne

Thomas Mitchell, Linda Allen, and Caroline Baker

Carolina Oliver and Peter Valli

Donna Estes Antebi and Jennifer Perry

Jorg Widmann, Barclay, and Harry Weinberg

The Salvation Army annual luncheon held at River Oaks Country Club was a sellout with over 500 supporters in attendance. Chair for this year’s luncheon was Linda D. McReynolds. Guest speaker for the popular luncheon was Rob Pace, a managing partner of Goldman Sachs New York. Notables included: Dr. Walter McReynolds, Dorothy Nicholson, chairman of the Houston Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, Robert A. Mosbacher, Pat and Dan Breen, Ginger and Jack Blanton, Major Marshall Gesner, area commander of the Salvation Army Houston Metropolitan area and Major Carolyn Gesner, coordinator of women’s ministries; Lilly Andress and Merritt McReynolds Marinelli. The event raised more than $825,000 for programs and services in the Houston area.