by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com
On Saturday night, August 18th I was invited to The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) annual Beach Ball, with this years theme the ‘Jewels of Summer’ appropriately so for who the evening honored. A lovely event held at the Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club, you can’t go wrong when you are literally over looking the beach, surrounded by pets up for adoption and of course some Hamptons and NYC celebrities.
Everyone there had the same mindset, that it’s about rescuing and caring for the animals. The affair was emceed by NBC’s Chuck Scarborough – who you may not know that he and his wife Ellen are ardent supporters of various rescue organizations, including ARF, but they are also proud parents of their own adopted pets. Chuck did a great job and he was also pretty funny when describing his pets and how he and Ellen recently just adopted another dog. (Way to go!)
There was a cocktail hour with a lot of hors d’oeurves being passed around a raw bar and a lot of picture taking and laughter happening – everywhere you went people were talking about their own pets or a pet they were thinking of adopting. So while to the rest of LI – it might seem like just another ‘Hamptons’ event with celebrities, it wasn’t just about that, it’s all about the animals, and ok and maybe a little about what some of the guests were wearing.
This year’s Beach Ball honored Candy Udell the President of London Jewelers and Founder of Rescue Paw Foundation. ARF recognized Candy with the ARF Champion of Animals Award for her tireless efforts, generosity and dedication to animal welfare. Candy has a jewelry line called, ‘Our Cause For Paws‘ and the sale of the jewelry helps provide grants to qualified Not-for-Profit organizations that operate facilities to provide care and shelter for animals who have been rescued; seek qualified adoptive owners for saved animals; promote, foster and advance the adoption of rescued animals; stimulate interest and concern in the prevention of abuse and neglect of animals; and promote the prevention of animal overpopulation through spay and neuter programs.
Candy was introduced and given the award by Nassau County District Attorney, Kathleen Rice. Who is also an animal lover and has her own adopted dog too. Kathleen has also recently really started taking big initiative with the Nassau County SPCA, and proposing bills that strengthen the laws of people who are animal abusers.
“All of us at ARF were delighted with the success of the 2012 Beach Ball—Jewels of Summer. You can’t have a better honoree than Candy Udell, President of London Jewelers and Kathleen Rice and Chuck Scarborough as presenter and Emcee were top notch. $250,000 was raised to help cats and dogs in need at ARF,” said Sara Davison, Executive Director of ARF.
There was also a silent auction at the event and adorable dogs, puppies, cats and kittens on hand for adoption in the new ARF adoption van.
For more information on how you can get involved with ARF go to www.ARFHamptons.org. See the slide show of pictures below!
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