Ernesto Paredes, left, host and emcee for The Cecilia Fund’s 127th Annual Tea and Membership Meeting, with guest speaker and 2018 Dos Pueblos High School graduate Zane Stull and his mother, Cecilia Stull. 
Sallie Coughlin, left, and Mary Ellen McCammon, two of the three event co-chairwomen. 
The Cecilia Fund co-presidents Susan Johnson, left, and Marion Schoneberger. 
Sharon Kennedy, left, sponsor and Cecilia Fund treasurer, with board secretary La Shon Kelley. 
From left, supporters Kay Lemke, Nina De Beccora, board member Evie Vesper and Marilee Zdenek. 
Attorney Brian Gough, left, with sponsors Diane Dodds and David Reichert. 
Board member Victoria Bessinger helps sell drawing tickets. 
Pink floral arrangements set the tone.
The Cecilia Fund, founded in 1892 and Santa Barbara’s oldest philanthropic charity, hosted its 127th Annual Tea and Membership Meeting on Thursday at the historic Santa Barbara Club.
The Cecilia Fund helps fund critical health care for Santa Barbara County’s most vulnerable residents.
This year, the 12-women volunteer board decided to add wine to the traditional high tea menu, so the event was dubbed “Earl Grey & Chardonnay.” Along with the traditional teas and sparkling waters, chardonnay, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon, plus hors d’oeuvres, were enjoyed by the 100 guests.
The event co-chairwomen were Sallie Coughlin, Barbara Howell and Mary Ellen McCammon.
The afternoon’s host and emcee was Ernesto Paredes, executive director of Easy Lift Transportation.
“I grew up in Santa Barbara and am very familiar with the nonprofits here,” he said. “I think The Cecilia Fund and the Women’s Fund are the standards of the community. You know that your financial support is going for a great cause here.”
As part of the annual membership event, nominating committee members Julie Capritto and Mary Maxwell nominated the new board and returning board members, including Victoria Bessinger, Sallie Coughlin, Barbara Howell, Susan Johnson, La Shon Kelley, Sharon Kennedy, Stefanie Lopez, Mary Ellen McCammon, Nikki Rickard, Rochelle Rose, Betty Saks, Marion Schoneberger, Sigrid Toye, Evie Vesper and Allison Viramontes.
Co-presidents Susan Johnson and Marion Schoneberger gave an update on 2018 accomplishments.
“The number of clients served by The Cecilia Fund was over 100, and $150,000 was awarded for unmet medical and dental needs of low-income residents of Santa Barbara County,” Johnson said.
Mary Solis, a social worker at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and longtime partner with The Cecilia Fund, was honored for her decades of service to cancer patients and the community. Solis started at the center in 1984 as a licensed clinical social worker.
The group also heard from 2018 Dos Pueblos High School graduate Zane Stull, who shared his story and how The Cecilia Fund helped him. Stull has a rare hereditary disease causing blindness, and The Cecilia Fund helped him acquire two expensive communication tools that dramatically changed his life.
“The Cecilia Fund really helped me because I needed an iPhone because it has programs that can help me do things with my limited vision,” he said. “I want to thank everyone here, including my parents, who have helped me in this journey.”
Paredes noted that Stull remains active by participating in the Dos Pueblos Jazz Band, for which he plays tenor saxophone, and track and field. He also completed four years as a Quasar science intern at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
“The only track and field event that I had to quit was the high jump because I needed to see where I was landing,” Stull said.
Major event sponsors included Clear Concepts, Diane Dodds and David Reichert, Easy Lift Transportation, the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Home Instead Senior Care, Cottage Health Foundation, Tracie and John Doordan, The Gracie Foundation, the Miller Family Wine Co., Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Sharon Kennedy Estate Management, Christopher Toomey, Kathleen Weber, Judy and George Writer, and others.
The Cecilia Fund's purpose is to help low-income county residents pay for the medical and dental care they require. It pays the provider directly, and because of its strong relationships with health-care providers, is often able to negotiate significant discounts. It is an all-volunteer organization made up of a board of 12 women, with no paid staff or permanent office.
Click here for more information about The Cecilia Fund. Click here to make an online donation.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.