Tea party will have a tropical theme

By THERESA KATALINAS
Bucks County Courier Times

Move over margarita, mai tai and pina colada.

Tea is the newest drink made for sipping in a tiki hut.

And, with any luck, 600 of the brew-faithful will don Hawaiian shirts and leis for the luau-themed Three Arches Ladies Tea, set for May 10.

The fifth annual gala still features male servers, but for this go-round, Three Arches caretaker Liz Reese promises a more casual serving style.

“We were tired of getting the guys dressed in tuxedos,” Reese said of the volunteer servers, mostly local businessmen and elected officials. “We need young men who can carry heavy bottles of water.”

The fruits of their labor — as in proceeds raised through ticket and auction sales — will benefit The ALS Association Greater Philadelphia chapter.

Commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neuromuscular disease that typically strikes men and women between ages 35 and 70. Each year, more than 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS, which is characterized by a degeneration of motor cells in the brain and spinal cord. It leads to muscle weakness and eventually impairment of mobility, speech, swallowing and respiratory function.

There is no cure for ALS. The average patient dies within two to five years after being diagnosed.

“It would be really nice to make people aware of something that could hit with no rhyme or reason,” Reese said, noting that she knows several people who have ALS. “It really opened our eyes.”


Spokeswoman Jenny Ruth of ALS Greater Philadelphia said fundraising events, such as the Three Arches tea party, are the chapter's sole funding source.

The chapter uses its $5.7 million operating budget to provide 850 patients in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware with various services, including borrowed medical equipment, in-home care and van transportation.

“The legend of the [30-year-old] chapter is that it started with people's names in a shoebox and it just kind of spread by word of mouth,” Ruth said. “More patients are finding us.”

Reese hopes to raise $10,000 at this year's tea. In 2007, about $5,000 was raised for area high school scholarships. Funds from previous years benefited A Woman's Place, The Twilight Wish Foundation and the Louis T. Savino Foundation.

Ticket sale volunteer Sandy Gray urges women to come with their pocketbooks in hand and wallets open for the cause.

“It is a fundraiser,” Gray said. “The whole point is to make money.”

Theresa Katalinas can be reached at 215-269-5081 or tkatalinas@phillyBurbs.com.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...8-1479589.html