• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Advertising

My Sweet Charity

An Ongoing Conversation For the Good Of Dallas

  • Home
  • Photo Gallery
  • Event Calendar
  • Fundraisers
  • Health
  • Heroes
  • Contact

JUST IN: “Freedom Writers” Teacher Erin Gruwell To Be Onstage For 5th Annual North Star Luncheon

Jan 17, 2023 6:40 PM by Jeanne Prejean Leave a Comment

Just minutes ago, with a crowd filling the fragrant walls of NorthPark’s diptyque, 2023 North Star Luncheon Co-Chairs Brooke Bailey and Elizabeth Dacus revealed the speaker for the Family Compass fundraiser presented by ExxonMobil.

Elizabeth Dacus, Ona Foster and Brooke Bailey

But before the reveal was made, store manager Layanne Da Silva and her staff were passing glasses of champagne, and guests like ExxonMobil’s First Lady Kathy Woods and North Star Honorary Chair Candace Winslow were checking out the diffusers, sprays, candles and soaps. Needless to say, noses were in overdrive sniffing all the scents.

Kathy Woods, Layanne Da Silva and Candace Winslow

Then just as the room was in an overflow status, the program began.

Erin Gruwell*

In addition to the 2023 North Star Award to be presented to the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, other plans for the luncheon were afoot as well. It was 31 years ago that more than 400 members of local Exchange Clubs came together to prevent child abuse in the area. During that time period, the “efforts of the Lake Highlands Exchange Club have made a tremendous impact on Family Compass and over 55,000 parents and children.”

It also was during that time period in 1998 that North Star guest speaker Erin Gruwell rose to national fame “when she and her 150 high school students were featured on ABC’s “Primetime Live.” Known as Freedom Writers, the youngsters were the victims of “broken home lives affected by poverty and violence.” Thanks to Erin’s guidance, “the students overcame adversity to pursue higher education.” Just recently the PBS documentary “Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart” earned an Emmy.

Erin has continued her efforts transforming her social justice activism into a movement, creating the Freedom Writers Foundation, writing books, adapting one into a major motion picture with Hilary Swank and being recognized with numerous awards including the Spirit of Anne Frank Award.

North Star Luncheon*

The girls revealed that on Monday, April 24, Erin will be on stage for the 5th Annual North Star Luncheon at the Dallas Country Club for a conversation with former TV reporter Calvert Collins-Bratton.

According to Family Compass CEO Ona Foster, “This year’s luncheon promises to be a truly inspiring day as we honor founding partner Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, as well as recognize the unwavering support of our dear friend Candace Winslow, who has graciously agreed to serve as our honorary chair. In addition, I know our luncheon audience will thoroughly enjoy the powerful message of hope and possibility from speaker Erin Gruwell as she sits down for a conversation with Calvert Collins-Bratton.”

Thanks to funds raised through the luncheon, Family Compass will be able to “build healthy families and a strong North Texas community by preventing child abuse and neglect.”

Tickets and sponsorships are available here. BTW, if you have a friend who happens to be a teacher, why not bring them as your guest?

* Graphic/photo provided by Family Compass

Filed Under: Abuse, Announcement, Author, By invitation only, Childhood, Children, Conversation, lecture, panel discussion, Educators, Events, Family, FYI, Heroes, In-person, JUST IN, Luncheon, Reveal Tagged With: Brooke Bailey, Candace Winslow, Diptyque, Elizabeth Dacus, Erin Gruwell, Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, ExxonMobil, Family Compass, Freedom Writers, Kathy Woods, Layanne Da Silva, North Star Launch, Ona Foster

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

We cover the people, organizations and activities that make the North Texas area unique thanks to philanthropic and nonprofit endeavors. We limit our coverage to only news that directly impacts and benefits the area, but we do it with an "honest but friendly" hand.

MySweetCharity does not cover activities or news of a controversial nature.

Materials on this site are © copyrighted. Images contained on this website are not within the public domain. To republish, please send request to [email protected] for permission.

Disclaimer: We are provided gratis invitations from organizations without any expectations on their part of any coverage.

Subscribe for Email Updates

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Search

Follow MyTweetCharity on Twitter
Follow MySweetCharity on Facebook

MySweetCharity

Resources

  • After-School All-Stars North Texas
  • Baylor Scott & White Health
  • Callier Center
  • Children's Health
  • Community Partners of Dallas
  • Dallas CASA
  • Dallas Film Society
  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra
  • Equest
  • Family Gateway
  • Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
  • Goodwill Industries of Dallas
  • Housing Crisis Center
  • Leukemia Texas
  • North Texas Giving Day
  • Southwest Transplant Alliance
  • Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas
  • Texas Women's Foundation
  • The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture
  • The Dallas Opera
  • The Family Place
  • The Magdalen House
  • Trinity Park Conservancy

Categories

Archives

MySweetCharity sponsorships

  • Callier Cares Luncheon
  • Cattle Baron's Ball
  • Celebrating Women
  • Community Partners of Dallas
  • Crystal Charity Ball
  • Day At The Races
  • Equest
  • Healing Hands Luncheon
  • KidneyTexas
  • Mad Hatter's Tea
  • North Texas Giving Day
  • Texas Women's Foundation Annual Luncheon
  • Women's Auxiliary of The Salvation Army Dallas Fashion Show And Luncheon
Copyright © 2010-2021 My Sweet Charity · Website Design by Shauna Callaghan