West Palm Beach - November 2025

N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 | W E S T PA L M B E A C H 11 formula, I felt that the Lady in Red should be more of a big, wonderful party. I had confidence that people would still buy tables, become sponsors, and make donations because of the important causes we support. But having a party atmosphere with A-list performers in music and comedy would entice the attendees to want to dress up for a great night out. And it’s worked. We’ve raised many millions of dollars and helped hundreds of thousands of underserved people of all ages, all while having one heck of a time!” That “heck of a time” has started with the gala entertainment. Over the three decades, a veritable “Who’s Who” of headliners from the worlds of music and comedy has graced the Lady in Red stage, from the Beach Boys, Diana Ross, Paul Anka, Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight to Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, Dana Carvey, and Martin Short, as well as The Temptations and Rita Rudner, who are back by popular demand. And those are just the dinner headliners. Amid all this fun and frivolity, though, the dinner does have its serious side. It annually raises more than $1 million for its selected beneficiary charities. LIFE’s 32nd Lady in Red Gala will benefit: • Pups4Patriots program at American Humane Society, which provides free Certified Service Dogs to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These dogs have been proven to save lives – at both ends of the leash. The dogs are generally rescued from shelters, where they might have been euthanized, and then trained over a nine- to twelve-month timeframe to become Certified Service Dogs before being given to the veterans. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by the University of Arizona last year proved that the dogs lessen the depression, stress, anxiety, and suicide ideation associated with PTSD in veterans while increasing positive feelings. • Lois’ Food4Kids at Palm Beach County Food Bank, which gives hungry children backpacks filled with healthy, nutritious meals when they are not in school – on weekends, holidays, school vacations, extreme weather events, and other times. Since its inception, more than 75,000 backpacks have been distributed to children to help alleviate the problem of child hunger in the county. It is estimated that more than 50,000 children in the county are experiencing food insecurity. “Children can’t learn if their stomachs are empty,” Mrs. Pope says. “No children should ever go hungry!” • Lois’ Vision4Kids at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, through which children ages 2 to 18 receive free vision screenings and, if deemed necessary, two free pairs of prescription glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses. More than 11,000 pre-school children have vision impairments in Florida. Mrs. Pope declares that, “if they can’t see or read because of these problems, they can’t learn properly. And that just exacerbates the significant achievement gap in the state and around the country. So, these eye exams and glasses truly make a profound difference in their lives.” • Lois Pope Pet Clinic at Tri County Animal Rescue, which offers a full complement of medical and health services at little or no cost to dogs, cats, and other pets from economically challenged families. Thousands of animals are displaced, lost, and even abandoned every year in Florida by hurricanes, floods, and other extreme weather events. When they are rescued, they often need significant medical attention. Then, there are the thousands of families who love their pets, but the cost of medical and health care can be overwhelming for them. The Clinic is the only one of its kind in the entire region that provides such services for free. When Mrs. Pope established LIFE more than three decades ago, she set forth its mission of giving voice to the voiceless, strength to the weakest, a hand-up to the most vulnerable. She says that this mission is rooted in the lessons her parents taught her. Even during the Great Depression, her mother, a schoolteacher in Philadelphia, PA, would always put aside change to give to charity. Then, when Mrs. Pope was eking out a living as an actress on Broadway, she was asked to perform at a benefit concert at