Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander II, Crown Princess Katherine and Prince Alexander hosted a fundraising event with Autism Speaks and Lifeline New York Humanitarian Organization at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, California, on Saturday evening in aid of autistic children in Serbia. Members of the Honorary Committee who were present were His Royal Highness Prince Alexander, Lord Frederick Windsor (son of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Michael and Princess Marie-Christine of Kent) and Lady Sophie of Windsor and Ms. Catherine Oxenberg (daughter of Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth) and her husband Mr Casper Van Dien.
Guests had the chance to enjoy a lovely show by the Folk dancing group “Kalemegdan” which performed Serbian national dances as well as a video about children with autism in Serbia performing the Song of Hope. The lyrics of the song were written by Luka, who appears in the video with his friends, it was filmed last year. Luka did not speak, but his parents got him a laptop and it was only then they discovered that he has this extraordinary gift for poetry and music. Since then, writing has become his way of communicating with the world.
Speeches were given by Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine and Prince Alexander. The Master of Ceremony was a famous actress and television personality of Serbian origin Mrs. Adrienne Janic.
An auction took place, where people had the opportunity to bid for an Exclusive Opportunity to Dine with Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine at the Royal Palace in Belgrade as well as a wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley California with Andrew and Ivana Firestone.
Besides Their Royal Highnesses, the event was attended by: His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, The Very Reverend Nicholas Ceko, the Very Reverend Father Petar Jovanovic, Jelena Jovanovic, Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff, Milan Panic, Rosemary Tomich, Lynn Dennehy, Henrietta Tifenthaler, Samira Kawar, Natasha Trenev, Yordan Trenev, Roberta Hromas, George Bozic and Mrs. Andja Bozic, Dawn Al-Sayyad, Alexandra Novak, Alexandar Novakovic, Nina Monte Karpa, Jelica Budmir, Thomas Stankovich, Anette Stankovich, Jennifer Elmas, Selina Ringel, Mariora Filipovich, Elizabeth Theriot, Adrienne Janic, Bud Brutsman, Matt Asner, Gary D. Jaworski, Susan Marshall, Michael Blum, Katherine Stevens and many more.
Lifeline New York Humanitarian Organization is working under auspices of Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine for the benefit of children and most vulnerable categories of population in Serbia. www.lifelineaid.org
Autism Speaks is an autism advocacy organization in the United States that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. It was founded in February 2005 by Bob Wright, Vice Chairman of General Electric and former President and CEO of NBC Universal, and by his wife Suzanne, a year after their grandson Christian was diagnosed with autism. www.autismspeaks.org