There was an outpouring of emotion and support at the HOH Gala dinner held on Saturday, November 12th at the San Jose Scottish Rite Center. People wiped away tears as they heard testimonies of lives that have been touched and changed by the work of Home of Hope. The pledges poured in and a record setting $100,000 has been collected so far with more continuing to trickle in. Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, President of HOH spoke with passionate tears about children who have born into poverty, disease and been made into victims of society and their environment. Nivisha Mehta, project coordinator, spoke of blind orphans who have so little in their lives, but are filled with gratitude when she enters their world and "they recognize her scent" as one who has given a part of her time and life to help make theirs better. A video presentation captured the innocence and the plight of children who have been robbed by their circumstances of a carefree childhood, and instead have to cope with a world filled with harshness and struggles. Anju Bhatia stressed that pity was not the answer, but "each one of us had the power to reduce the suffering" by making a commitment to help change a child's life forever. Many were moved to make generous pledges and sought to become involved with the life changing work of the 1,200 children of HOH and the 12 projects it supports. Harinder Kohli, a guest, asked if "there was some way, just any way that I could get involved with this great work". Ashu, who has attended the dinners in previous years, felt particularly moved by the presentations and said, "This evening I have gained a new respect for the work that is being done by HOH". Harjodh Gill confessed "I could not contain my tears by what I saw and heard tonight". The evening was about more than tears though. The women and men came glamorously attired to a tastefully and beautifully decorated hall. The evening program flowed smoothly under the light hearted direction of Anil Lal, Treasurer and emcee for the night. The songs were sung to perfection, by Vikas Singh and supported by Minnie Shukla. The fashion show captured everyone's attention as the eyes moved from the cutting edge designs by Satya Paul and local designer, Anu Mahal to the gorgeous beauty queens provided by Renu Dhillon, who modelled the clothes with grace and attitude! Dances performed by HriThyms were truly entertaining and had many people tapping their feet at their tables. Of course, last but far from least, what would an evening be without good food. Owner and chef , Mahal of Chutneys in San Francisco actually put his heart and toil into preparing some scrumptious food which was served with style and elegance to be enjoyed by all. No doubt, the 700 guests who attended this wonderful event would heartily agree that the hard work put in by countless volunteers, board and committee members of HOH truly helped further it's goal of Making a difference . . . One Child at a Time For more information on Home of Hope and our current projects and how you can help, please visit us at www.hohinc.org. Your support is very important to the success of our mission. You can also write to us at info@hohinc.org