Haute with Heart Fashion Show Aug. 2 Benefits St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center 3
Total Views: 65 By Heidi Hope July 4, 2025 (El Cajon) – You’re welcome to join in the spirit of London at the 47th annual Haute with Heart Fashion Show benefiting the nonprofit St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center in El Cajon. The event will celebrate British fashion and culture. This fashion show on Saturday, August 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will display a vivacious showcase of flowing champagne, live music, silent auction, fashion, indulgent shopping and a delicious luncheon. The event will be held at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront Hotel’s Indigo Ballroom, 1 Park Blvd., San Diego. General Admissions ticket is $225 and VIP Admission is $525. Reservations are required. To reserve tickets, please view this link: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/stmadeleinesophiescenter/event/hautewithheartfashionshow2025/ St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center aims to teach and inspire people with intellectual disabilities to recognize and accomplish their full potential. This fashion show will benefit the nonprofit’s life-changing programs. Guests will enjoy the spirit of merry old England, all while supporting a great cause. Learn more about the 501c3 nonprofit at https://stmsc.org/ Printer-friendly version
3 viewsST. MADELEINE SOPHIE’S CENTER 37TH HAUTE WITH HEART FASHION SHOW AND LUNCHEON “FASHION ON POINTE” 0
Total Views: 21 Proceeds raised will benefit more than 400 adults with developmental disabilities August 14, 2014 (San Diego)– St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center will host its 37th Haute with Heart Fashion Show on Saturday, August 16 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront (1 Park Boulevard San Diego, CA 92101). This year’s event, titled “Fashion on Pointe,” is a ballet-themed fashion show inspired by SMSC student John Agostini’s painting Ballerina, available for viewing at the event. “We are excited to present the Haute with Heart Fashion Show again this year, with the help of our sponsors making it our 37th,” said Debra Emerson, CEO of St. Madeline Sophie’s Center in El Camjon. “This year’s event is unique in that the theme was drawn from SMSC student John’s Ballerina painting and will include our students’ performing arts production of Grease.” Sponsors of the 37th Haute with Heart Fashion Show include: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians as the Presenting Sponsor; Barona Resort and Casino and St. Madeleine Sophie’s Auxiliary as Fashion Icon Sponsors; Giving Back Magazine, Marcoa Publishing Inc., SDG&E and Sycuan Casino, San Diego Home/Garden, as Fashionista Sponsors; KPBS, Lundy Insurance Services Inc., and Chris and Karen Hinman as Vogue Sponsors. Sally B. Thornton, writer and philanthropist, will be returning as this year’s Honorary Chair. Distinguished honorees include Barbara J. Menard and The Menard Family Foundation. Additionally, Leonard G. Simpson, TV personality and creator of the internationally known company Fashion Forward™, will be producing the fashion show. Professional models will walk the runway showcasing the latest trends in fashion to benefit the unique programs offered at SMSC. Proceeds raised at this event directly benefit more than 400 adults with developmental disabilities, such as autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, attending SMSC. The event will include boutique shopping, a duo of live and silent auctions as well as a performance from the Center’s Performing Arts Group’s production of Grease and modeling from the SMSC Triton Swim Team. Ticket pricing options for the event are $100 a ticket for preferred seating and $200 a ticket for premier seating. To reserve tickets or for more information, please contact Neil Fullerton at nfullerton@stmsc.org or via phone at (619)-442-5129 ext. 115. For more information about the 37th Haute with Heart Fashion Show, visit: www.stmsc.org. About St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center: St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center serves 400+ adults with developmental disabilities, through nationally recognized, innovative programs. Its mission is to educate and empower individuals with developmental disabilities to realize their full potential. Developmental disabilities include autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other cognitive disorders for which there are no cures. St. Madeleine’s combines its culture of care and creativity within quality programs to provide liberal arts education, practical skills development, employment and dignity for a lifetime. Programs are offered on a staff-to-student ratio of 1:3 to 1:6, depending upon the level of each student’s disability. These programs include: Activity Center; Adult Development Center; Seniors (for adults age 50+); Behavior Modification; Supported Employment; and Work Activity Program. Sites: St. Madeleine’s has three sites: its main campus on the outskirts of El Cajon; Sophie’s Gallery and Gift Shop in Downtown El Cajon; and a satellite gallery, Sophie’s Kensington Gallery, a collaborative gallery with Kensington Gallery, a venture of the Autism Research Institute. Printer-friendly version
0 viewsTRAILBLAZER AWARDS PRESENTED TO LEADERS IN LOCAL WINE INDUSTRY AT EVENT BENEFITTING ST. MADELEINE SOPHIE’S CENTER 0
Total Views: 32 By Miriam Raftery Photos by Sue Brenner and Miriam Raftery June 19, 2014 (El Cajon) – They pioneered East County’s now-flourishing wine industry. So on May 31st, Maness Vineyards presented the 2014 Trail Blazer Awards during a celebration held at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center in El Cajon—which also is home to a new vineyard of its own. More than 200 wine enthusiasts flocked to the event, savoring local vintages amid beautiful gardens. Herman and Rose Salerno, founders of the Salerno Winery in Ramona, received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. Other award winners were the William Clark family, founders of the Campo Creek Winery, along with Mike and Linda McWilliams, owners of the San Pasqual Winery in La Mesa. Greg and Paula Maness of Maness Vineyards in Jamul started the Trail Blazer Awards tradition last year, when three recipients were honored for promoting or spreading the word about East County vintners. Last year’s winners were Supervisor Dianne Jacob, East County Magazine Editor Miriam Raftery, and Ramona Vintners Manager co-owner Teri Kerns, who also co-owns the Ramona Ranch Vineyard. This year, Kerns led off the awards presentation with recollections of how far the wine industry has come in a very brief time. She noted, “Just a few short years ago, our sleepy little town of Ramona had just begun its journey in search of establishing high quality wineries and an independent AVA…Amazingly, as we stand here today there are now over 35 bonded wineries and wine tasting rooms for all of you to come up and enjoy this summer and for generations to come. This wine expansion zoning opportunity is now spreading across the County to new areas like the historical Corridor 94 through Jamul, Potrero, and all the way down to historical Campo where families are working on their dreams just like we did a few short years ago.” In honoring the Salernos with the lifetime achievement award, a crystal statue, Greg Maness recalled their career changes from an entertainer and opera singer, bakery owner and real estate brokers to growing vines and making hand-crafted wines the Old World Italian way. Today, their winery in Ramona is also known for serving up wood-fired pizzas and fresh-baked breads along with wine-tasting on a patio adjacent to a fascinating sculpture garden. Herman Salerno, a former opera singer, even treated the crowd to an operatic performance. “They dreamed together of establishing a world class winery someday,” Maness said, noting that the couple “fell in love with the vino long before the usage of modern age satellite linked computers, the Internet and cell phones.” Nearly four decades ago, the Salernos also inspired creation of the 1989 Primitivo Tawny Port wine made at the site now occupied by Maness Vineyards, also pressed and fortified in French oak barrels by Herman Salerno and Paul Vesco as their friendship grew. “Some of those old vines planted decades ago by them are still growing around our adobe house like theirs,” Maness said, giving thanks to the Salernos . “They inspire all of us to persevere, laugh, enjoy life and appreciate life’s pleasurable and fleeting moments.” The Clark family has also helped other families along Highway 94 achieve their vineyard dreams, in addition to converting a portion of their family cattle ranch into a vineyard and winery. Bill Clark and other family members serve on the board of directions of the East County Vintners Association and he has also previously served on St. Madeleine’s board of directors in the past. “The spirit of living a vineyard lifestyle and giving back is still alive in us all, if we are willing to follow our hearts,” Maness added. Mike and Linda McWilliams, both alumni of San Diego State University, bought the San Pasqual Winery when it was operating out of a small industrial space in Pacific Beach. Both hold second jobs—Linda as a speech pathologist with local school districts and Mike as an industrial psychologist who most recently has been working with returning Navy veterans. In 2010, they worked with La Mesa’s mayor to change zoning laws and allow both small wineries and micro-breweries to open up shop in the city. They moved their winery to La Mesa and now produce over 2500 cases a year—also picking up man y gold medals at the San Diego County and California State Fairs as well as the San Diego International Wine Competition. Linda is also the president of San Diego County Vintners Association and the couple helped protect vintners’ interests during updates to the County’s boutique winery ordinance. “This inspirational couple has opened the door for all of us to follow on our vines to wine journey,” Maness said. He also praised the vision of Deborah Emerson, director of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center and co-host of the Trail Blazer Awards event, along with John and Lissy Keily, also with Maness vineyards. “St Madeleine Sophie’s Center continues for nearly fifty years as an amazing organization that retrains adults with intellectual disabilities to learn new skills,” he said, adding that 100 percent of proceeds from the Trail Blazers event were donated to benefit the organization. Maness also recently helped create “Sophie’s Vineyard” at the Center, where developmentally disabled adults will now have vineyards to tend and nurture along with Sophie’s Garden. “This yearly event continues to expand awareness about the existing Ramona Wine Region as well as upcoming wine regions across San Diego County including the new Historical Corridor 94 zone,” Maness said of the County’s emerging wine lovers’ route traveling through Potrero, Dulzura, Campo and other small towns in rural East County. Printer-friendly version
0 viewsWINGS & SNOW SHOWCASES WORKS BY DISABLED ARTISTS 0
Total Views: 32 December 5, 2010 (El Cajon) – Wings and Snow, an annual holiday celebration featuring holiday art, seasonal gifts and angelic dolls by artists with developmental disabilities, will be on display throughout December and January at Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop. Sophie’s is located at 109 Rea Avenue in El Cajon. “Our unique artwork, clothing and craft items make perfect gifts that touch the hearts of both the giver and the receiver,” states a press release issued by St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, which operates the gallery and gift shop in El Cajon as well as a second outlet in NTC at 2960 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego. For more information, visit www.stmsc.org or call 619-593-2205. Printer-friendly version
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