Friends of the Shade Tree Shelter lives up to its name

Friends of the Shade Tree Shelter has about 50 members, which some organizations would consider large. But the members are intent on doing even more to help the shelter and its residents -- and having some fun at the same time -- so growth is very much on their minds.

Friends of the Shade Tree Shelter recently sponsored its largest annual fundraiser, Girls Night Out, which last year brought in $100,000 for the shelter.

The event took place at Jet at The Mirage and involved "four hours of a lot of fun," said Colleen McKenna, who handles publicity for the group. Themed "In Search of the Perfect Purse," it included an appearance by members of Thunder from Down Under, food and drinks, plus an auction of purses loaded with booty.

"It's female camaraderie, having fun, shopping and really coming out to support Shade Tree," McKenna said.

But when they're not getting ready for Girls Night Out, which is in its fifth year, members work on other projects during what McKenna refers to as the "off-season."

Members have taken children from Shade Tree to the Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage to give the mothers a break or enable them to go to job interviews. They've had drives to fill a particular need identified by shelter representatives. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, they worked with Shade Tree to find out what sorts of things were needed in the affected area and then went there on behalf of the shelter.

"Once we're past this event, we're really going to focus in the next 12 months on things we can do, such as lending a hand to the residents there or working with the children or gathering things that they need -- whatever it could be," McKenna said.

"The reason I was attracted to the group was really to do that type of work," she added. "We have day jobs, we're moms. We're just looking for something to do where we can actually give back to the community. As fun as it is to create an event that provides a lot of substantial dollars to an organization, it's also nice to provide hands-on experience."

Friends of the Shade Tree Shelter was founded six years ago by Karen Sporin and Debbie Arnau. Sporin remains active with the group, as was Arnau until she moved out of the area last year.

"It was founded because they were looking for something they could do to give back to the community," McKenna said. "They were struck by the needs that Shade Tree had then. It was much smaller than it is now, and really in need of help."

The members primarily lived in the Summerlin area, she said, and most of them still do. Most of the members are women, although the group is open to men. Members -- who are "women who work to grandmothers to younger mothers" -- meet monthly, usually at noon but occasionally in the evening, usually at the home of a member.

"It's still primarily in Summerlin, but we're certainly open," she said. "Hey, Henderson, join us. We'll go over there for a meeting."

For more information on the Friends of the Shade Tree Shelter, visit the group's Web site at www.friendsoftheshadetree.org or call 391-3742.