Page 21 - Southern Exposure - April '25

Southern Exposure, Page 21

Section B

NoNprofit News

Back By Popular Demand …

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess Of York, Captivated The Sold-Out Crowd

Of Cancer Alliance Of Help & Hope’s Shop The Day Away Luncheon™

Cancer Alliance of Help & Hope (CAHH) hosted one of
the season’s most sought-after and exciting luncheons on
February 12 at The Breakers Palm Beach. The nonprofit’s
2025 Shop The Day Away Luncheon™ featured celebrity
speaker Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, who returned by
popular demand.
The Duchess of York captivated the sold-out crowd as
she first joined Stanton Collemer, CEO of Cancer Alliance
of Help & Hope, on stage to honor Chris Evert with the
Lifetime Achievement Award. As a tennis icon, ovarian
cancer survivor, and enduring inspiration, Evert has been a

Stanton Collemer, Chrissy Evert and Sarah Ferguson, Arlette Gordon and Gail Donna Mulholland and
Duchess of York Worth Gloria Herman

trailblazing champion and a role model both in sports and luncheon. Her encouraging sense of humor and positive
beyond. “Her strength, resilience, and dedication inspire perspective on life motivated everyone in the room to
generations, and we were thrilled to present this award to “Dream Big” and to embrace the motto of “Let’s Live.” She
her during the event,” said Collemer. The Duchess shared also expressed her deepest gratitude to those who work in
with guests that it was truly an honor to present the award to assisting local children, adults and families affected by cancer
Chrissy – her hero on and off the tennis court! “Her grace, and helping with subsequent bills they acquire during the
courage, and dedication to advocacy are nothing short of treatment and recovery process. She added, “Together, we
extraordinary,” said the Duchess. Chris and the Duchess also continue to champion hope.”
advocate early cancer detection, knowing your family history “We were thrilled to have back the Duchess of York at our
and being your best health advocate. largest fundraising event, which raised $1.2 million for local
The Duchess shared with guests a rare glimpse into her
Nancy Stone, Kristina Gustafson and Jacqui Michel recent adventures, projects and passions since last year’s Nonprofit News on page 22

NortherN Notes

Raccoons – Misunderstood Masked Marauders

By Katie Roundtree, Director of Finance and Administration, Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District

Trash pandas, bandits, Raccoons also have flat feet, with their hind legs longer and handle food. Both a raccoon’s front and rear paws
thieves—these are all than their front legs, giving them a hunched appearance. resemble a human hand, featuring five slender, finger-
nicknames for northern Their feet have five moveable toes, allowing them to grab like toes that enable them to easily manipulate food and
raccoons . Raccoons, objects. Raccoons have extremely sensitive front paws
common throughout Florida, with specialized hairs, allowing them to easily locate
are a testament to the and identify objects by touching them. This sensitivity
adaptability of wildlife. They increases when their paws are wet. While it appears that
can thrive in both urban and raccoons “wash” their food by dunking it in water, they
rural environments, even as are actually using this behavior to enhance their sense
their natural habitats shrink. of touch. In fact, their scientific name, Procyon lotor,
A large part of their success literally means “washing dog.” When raccoons dunk their
is due to their adaptability to food in the water and, seemingly, wash it, they are really
new challenges and opportunities, whether that’s nesting in just making their paws more sensitive. Water increases the
cozy chimneys, invading chicken coops, or breaking into tactile nerve responsiveness of their paws, allowing them
trash bins, their reputation as sneaky thieves who prefer to learn more about what they are holding and eating. The
to steal trash to survive is a testament to their intelligence highly developed nerves in their forepaw pads and their
and resourcefulness. manipulative abilities help them to identify items. Their
Raccoons are about the size of a small dog and weigh forepaws are almost like a second set of eyes. They will
around 1 to 25 pounds when fully grown. They are
most notable for their black eye masks and ringed tails. Northern Notes on page 23