Women's Club event helps charities with lunch, shopping

SHOPPERS WITH STYLE AND BIG HEARTS NEEDED—Money spent holiday shopping at the Westlake Women's Club Holiday Fantasy Tea Luncheon will help charities, including camps for ill children, literacy programs and scholarships for local students. Raffles, a silent auction and buffet lunch are also part of the 10 a.m. event at North Ranch Country Club on Fri., Nov. 7. Community members can get in some early holiday shopping, enjoy a buffet lunch and possibly win a money wreath, all while helping the Westlake Women's Club raise money for their many charities.

The group will present their annual Holiday Fantasy Tea Luncheon, beginning at 10 a.m. Fri., Nov. 7 at North Ranch Country Club, 4761 Valley Spring Drive, Thousand Oaks. The cost of a ticket is $65.

"We'll have a buffet luncheon in a spectacular, peaceful setting," said Karen Bradley, Women's Club president.

Champagne will be served. A silent auction will offer great deals on restaurants, golf, spa packages and other lovely and luxurious items. Vendors will display a variety of accessories, designer eyewear and other fashionable items. Retailers will bring their wares to the philanthropic event for holiday shoppers to buy gifts for themselves or loved ones.

"The silent auction is geared toward gifts for the holidays," said Karen Bradley, president.

Last year the club donated almost $75,000 to area charities and causes. Recipients included Conejo Valley Neighborhood for Learning, Many MansionsStoll House, Court Appointed Special Advocates for childrenVentura County, Painted Turtle Camp in Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes, Veterans Administration, Hospice of the Conejo, Ventura County Search and Rescue, and National Disaster Search Dogs Foundation.

"We help 43 nonprofits," Bradley said.

Money was also allocated for nine scholarships to local high school students and for library and literacy programs.

Westlake Women's Club is a nonprofit organization open to women of the greater Conejo Valley area. Its theme for this year is "making a difference," but the community's help is needed. The 89 members work hard organizing events such as this one, hoping hundreds from the area will come, enjoy and help them help others.

The event's history goes back more than 40 years. The Holiday Fantasy Tea Luncheon began in 1968 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Thousand Oaks, with club members catering the food themselves. Tickets cost $10 each, Bradley recalled.

The purpose was the same— women coming together to help others while having a good time. Friendships are made and traditions created. Sometimes generations of the same family are represented, with grandmothers, daughters and granddaughters attending together.