The Crowd:

It was a highly emotional fall afternoon as author and speaker Betty Mahmoody Betty Mahmoody addressed an overflow crowd for the Human Options luncheon fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort.

Chaired by Beth Bidna and Artyn Gardner, the luncheon attracted more than 500 guests who came to hear Mahmoody and her daughter Mahtob share their experience of escaping an abusive relationship in her husband’s homeland of Iran and fleeing to another foreign country for safety.

Betty Mahmoody wrote the best-selling book “Not Without My Daughter.” The American-born author married an Iranian man and they had a daughter, Mahtob, while living in the United States. Mahmoody’s husband took his wife and daughter to visit family in Iran, and, on the last day of their travels, informed them that they were not returning to America. From there the horrors began, and Betty Mahmoody found a way to flee Iran with her child, eventually making her way back to the U.S.

Organizers billed the luncheon as “A Mother’s Courage: Making A Journey From Fear To Victory.” By the end of the afternoon $140,000 was raised, which will support the domestic violence programs offered by Human Options in this community.

Another aspect of the event involved patrons bringing gently used clothing and accessories, which will be sold at Human Option’s Classy Seconds Thrift Shop.

Major sponsorship for the afternoon came from Susan and Bruce Edwards, Jean and Tim Weiss, and publisher Steve Churm of Churm Media.

Guests in the crowd included Ginger Allen, Eve Barker, Megan Schockro, Tracy Friedmann, Denise Schuler, Patricia Marshall, Kimberly Davis, Julie Demlow, Madaline Gordon, and David Hendryx. Also supporting Human Options were Emily Horowitz, LaShauna Hale-Johnson, Michele Khoury, Barbara Roberts, Sherri Bovino, Kerri, Allyson and Danny Sonenshine, Eva Weinberg, Elaine Weinberg, Tina Cook, Jeri McKenna, and Kelly Wells.

For more than 28 years Human Options has been dedicated to stopping the cycle of domestic violence. Their purpose is to create a community in which “Every woman and every child is safe in their own home every single day.” In 2008 Human Options served more than 20,000 women in Orange County. An astonishing number for a small organization to handle. Human Options provides services, including abuse prevention and intervention programs, emergency shelters, long-term traditional housing and follow-up support. To find out more, go to www.humanoptions.org.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.