HOPE BALL RAISES MORE THAN $300,000 NET TO BENEFIT FOSTER CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Palm Beach Gardens - February 1, 2008 - Place of Hope and Villages of Hope's Second Annual Hope Ball on January 18 raised more than $300,000 net to benefit children in foster care and young adults throughout Palm Beach County. This year's event, themed "Wish Upon a Star," hosted 350 guests at Admiral's Cove in Jupiter.

Proceeds from the Hope Ball allow Place of Hope to provide a quality life experience, including family vacations and summer camps, for the children in its residence daily and to impact the lives of hundreds of children in Palm Beach County. Villages of Hope provide a nurturing environment for young adults, including housing, transitional and support services.

The children at Place of Hope live with their foster parents in "Family Cottages" on a 10-acre neighborhood campus, making it one of the largest family-style, welfare organizations in Florida. Once the child turns 18 and ages out of foster care, he or she has the opportunity to move to Villages of Hope, located on Burma Circle in Palm Beach Gardens, to gain the necessary support and life skills training to transition into independent living.

The Hope Ball's benefactors were Gordon and Cheri Martin and Stuart, Stacy and Maggie Par, in memory of Joann Sirrine, as " Star of Peace" sponsors for $50,000; Lawrence and Florence DeGeorge of the DeGeorge Charitable Trust and Albert E. and Birdie W. Einstein Fund as " Star of Life" sponsors for $25,000; The White Family Foundation as a "Star of Love" sponsor for $15,000; and Kathleen Speh as a "Star of Hope" sponsor for $10,000.

Co-chairwomen Joy Miltenberger, Kimberly Specce, and Speh organized the event, which featured an extensive silent auction, a three-course menu, a special opportunity to bless the children, and an evening of dancing to the Powerhouse Group.

Miltenberger, who voluntarily originated the Stars of Hope (Place of Hope's Women's Auxiliary) in 2001, has chaired many of the group's annual fundraising events since that time. A PGA National resident, she has mentored a 10-year-old girl from Place of Hope for several years. An 11-year North Palm Beach resident, Speh has also chaired many of the organizations' events for the past six years. Originally from Chicago, she also mentors a 17-year-old girl from Place of Hope.

This is the second year Specce has chaired the Hope Ball. She moved to Jupiter three years ago from Westhampton, New York and became involved with the charities in April 2006, when her husband, Bill, and Place of Hope's Executive Director Charles Bender started Villages of Hope. She and her husband have started a Christmas tradition for the kids of Place of Hope by taking two trips, 12 kids each trip, to the Gardens Mall to buy gifts for others for the holidays.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the great team at Place of Hope. The passion for the welfare of these children and young adults is contagious. The younger children who come to Place of Hope from homes of abuse and neglect find a loving and safe environment, surrounded by people who nurture them and have their best interests at heart. Older teens that 'age out' of foster care have a place to call 'home' while they transition into young adulthood. Each one can look forward to a brighter future filled with opportunities to see their dreams come true," said Specce.

Place of Hope provides emergency and long-term family-style foster care, family outreach and intervention, transitional housing and support services, adoption and foster care recruitment and support, and hope and healing opportunities for children and families who have been traumatized by abuse and neglect throughout South Florida.

Villages of Hope provide independent living residential support and life-skills development for emancipated foster and other homeless youth. More than just a place to live, it also provides a supportive and proactive transitional environment. Both organizations are located in Palm Beach Gardens.

For more information about Place of Hope or Villages of Hope please call 561.775.7195 or visit www.placeofhope.com and www.villagesofhope.net .