For the last decade or so, a group of Point Loma residents has been helping to bring smiles to children dealing the effects of head and facial trauma or birth defects. Opening their hearts and homes, members of the Dana Unit of Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliaries will host the 10th annual Point Loma Garden Walk on Saturday, April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Point Loma Heights community. The event also includes a self-guided tour of 10 homes, six of which are also home tours. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Craniofacial Services Department of Rady Children’s Hospital. “The Craniofacial Services Department is an amazing department and we choose to donate to them every year,” said Cordelia Mendoza, event organizer and one of the head gardeners. “They don’t get a lot of attention but they do tremendous things.” Last year, the garden walk helped raise about $40,000, according to Mendoza. To help reach their goals, the group of about 45 Point Loma women will again team up with local gardeners and artisans to make dazzling plant holders and “whimsical garden creations” made from salvaged materials like old wheelbarrrows that function as planters and other decorative artwork, Mendoza said. The artisan creations will be featured in a boutique-style sale during the event. The garden walk itself entails self-guided tours through some of Point Loma’s most bountiful home gardens. Maps for the self-guided tour will be handed out at the beginning of the event at Osprey Street and Sorrento Drive at 10 a.m., Mendoza said. Homes and gardens featured in the tour belong to local business owners and volunteers. The all-volunteer group that makes up the nonprofit Dana Unit Auxiliary of the Rady Children’s Hospital was established in 1953. The members hold true to an almost singular mission: “We are all women with just one focus — and that’s working together to raise money for children,” Mendoza said. Advance tickets can be purchased online at pointlomagardenwalk.com for $20 or in person at Armstrong Garden Center on Morena Boulevard, Green Gardens Nursery on Cass Street in Pacific Beach, Mission Hills Nursery on Ft. Stockton and Walter Andersen Nursery in Point Loma. Ticket prices the day of event are $25. The Craniofacial Services Department of Rady Children’s Hospital is made up of internationally recognized surgeons and doctors who treat debilitating conditions like cleft lip and other facial deformities resulting from trauma or birth defects. The hospital has a 442-bed capacity and provides one of the largest pediatric-care facilities for San Diego and Riverside counties, according to Rady Children’s Hospital literature. For tickets or information, call (619) 518-8663, or visit www.pointlomagar-denwalk.com.
