IWSE raises its hat to kids

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Isabel Young and Sumner Silver, both from Highland Park, show off their fairy wings

Updated: August 26, 2011 8:31AM

The Infant Welfare Society of Evanston held its sixth annual Hat Tea fundraising event May 1 at the Hilton Orrington Hotel. More than 230 guests of all ages attended the high tea, which raised more than $19,000 for the nonprofit organization. This year’s tea celebrated all things Princess. Children attending the Hat Tea were invited to decorate and keep a crown or tiara of their very own.

Donning hats, tiaras and festive dresses, the children participated in a variety of crafts and play stations. Starfish Learning Center clowns fashioned fairy wings and animals from balloons. Cookie decorating and the story corner, performed by local actress Cat Dean, were popular activities. Stylists from the Paul Mitchell School, Chicago, set up an on-site salon at the event where the girls could get makeovers, including hair and nails.

The adults at the party browsed the silent auction and enjoyed an elegant high tea while chatting with friends and family. Fiercely contested items at the auction included round-trip airfare provided by Orbitz, a five-course chef menu at Oceanique and a getaway at the Hilton Garden Inn North Shore.

The Hat Tea concluded with the traditional parade of children around the ballroom displaying their crowns and tiaras.

All proceeds from the event will benefit IWSE’s programs providing early childhood education and family support services for teen parents and low-income families with young children in Evanston and surrounding communities.

For more information, call (847) 491-9650 or visit infantwelfaresocietyofevanston.com.