{"id":336604,"date":"2025-10-27T18:30:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T18:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336604\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T18:30:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T18:30:21","slug":"lavish-brunch-party-raises-nearly-1m-for-houstons-homeless-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336604\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavish brunch party raises nearly $1M for Houston\u2019s homeless animals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brunch with a purpose? Count Houston <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonpetset.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PetSet<\/a> in.<\/p>\n<p>The beloved nonprofit swapped its traditional evening gala for a sunshine-filled f\u00eate, and the crowd clearly approved. Held September 28 at chic social hub <a href=\"https:\/\/letesseraeevents.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Le Tesserae<\/a>, \u201cLe Brunch\u201d shimmered with mimosas, music, and energy, all to support Houston\u2019s fight against animal homelessness.<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural daytime event, co-chaired by <strong>Kirby Matocha Edmund<\/strong> alongside PetSet co-presidents <strong>Tama Lundquist<\/strong> and <strong>Tena Lundquist Faust<\/strong>, drew a who\u2019s who of Houston\u2019s philanthropic set. Special guest <strong>Billy Bob Thornton<\/strong> and his band <a href=\"https:\/\/theboxmasters.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Boxmasters<\/a> delivered a rollicking set that had guests trading polite applause for full-on toe-tapping. Emcee <strong>Deborah Duncan<\/strong>, host of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/greatday\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Great Day Houston<\/a>, kept spirits bright and the program flowing with her signature warmth and wit.<\/p>\n<p>From classic brunch couture to photo-ready smiles, the scene blended laid-back glam with serious fundraising muscle.<\/p>\n<p>And that muscle made an impact. Nearly $1 million was raised to fund PetSet\u2019s critical grant program, which supports rescue groups and shelters across Texas. Last year, the nonprofit distributed more than $400,000 to nearly 100 local partners.<\/p>\n<p>With its lively new format and near seven-figure success, \u201cLe Brunch\u201d might just become Houston\u2019s next great giving tradition, with a side of croissants and good company.<\/p>\n<p>Among the crowd of animal advocates were Mayor<strong> John Whitmire<\/strong> and Senator<strong> Joan Huffman<\/strong>, joined by <strong>Jan Duncan<\/strong>, <strong>Courtney Hopson<\/strong>, <strong>Mario Castillo, Alicia Smith<\/strong>, <strong>Brigitte Kalai<\/strong>, <strong>Devinder <\/strong>and<strong> Gina Bhatia<\/strong>, <strong>Rachelle <\/strong>and<strong> Jeff Ball<\/strong>, Honorable<strong> Lyndon <\/strong>and<strong> Marilyn Rose<\/strong>, <strong>Baily Dalton-Binion<\/strong>, <strong>Nancy Mathe<\/strong>, <strong>Ellen Weitz<\/strong>, <strong>Brittany Shattuck<\/strong>, <strong>Mary Doughtie<\/strong>, <strong>Kirk Kveton<\/strong> and <strong>Daniel Irion<\/strong>, <strong>Marge Lundquist<\/strong>, <strong>Sandra Smith<\/strong>, <strong>Shima Zangeneh<\/strong>, and <strong>Sue Smith<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brunch with a purpose? Count Houston PetSet in. The beloved nonprofit swapped its traditional evening gala for a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":336605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[15045,4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-336604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-fundraisers","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115447557402710398","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}