'Small World' Delivers Big Charitable Results At '13 Children's Ball; $2 Million Raised

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Never let it be said that Dr. Bear, the furry face of Children's National Medical Center, has stingy friends.

Indeed, Saturday's 2013 Children's Ball, benefiting the District's premier provider of pediatric care, netted a record $2 million -- up some $700,000 from last year's $1.3 million haul.

Co-chaired by Susanna and Jack Quinn, the black tie fundraiser drew hundreds of the city's media, philanthropic, and political leaders to the National Building Museum for the "It's A Small World After All"-themed event.

Returning for another year as the night's emcee, Fox News anchor Bret Baier entertained guests with his acting chops during a well-produced video bit revolving around the alleged disappearance of the hospital's 'Maltese crystal bear' mascot.

The "blaming Baier about the bear" comedy sketch easily rivaled a similarly well executed segment during this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, with an equally famous cast of characters including Ed Henry, French Ambassador François Delattre, Donald Trump, Bill O'Reilly, Bob Schieffer, Senator Lindsey Graham, and a shirtless Rob Lowe, among others.

Ultimately, the bear turned-up with Baier and served as a beloved prop for the evening's speakers, which included Children's National President and CEO Kurt Newman, M.D. and Representative Steny Hoyer.

The Maryland Congressman was presented with the 2013 Children's Advocacy Award for his hands-on role in securing support for the hospital's ICU, pediatric decontamination unit, and East Patient Tower. Hoyer was joined on stage by Dr. Richard Hausmann, President & CEO of GE Healthcare's Magnetic Resonance division, who accepted the year's Children's Innovation Award on behalf of the company, for its work in making MRIs less intimidating for younger patients.

A princely $132,500 donation made by the Washington area's Lexus dealers went a long way in realizing Saturday's $2 million fundraising goal, but so too did the Ball's live auction which was jointly spearheaded by Baier and "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell.

Still, the spotlight was quickly stolen from the two familiar media faces by former Children's National patient Jaiwen Hsu. The adolescent spoke frankly with guests about his road to recovery from cancer and his experiences at the hospital, which earned him several tearful standing ovations.

Despite its very real beneficiaries, the Children's Ball nevertheless remains a celebration of health and life. To such an end, attendees were rewarded for their dinnertime live auction largess with a lively after party fueled primarily by the musical stylings of The Morrison Brothers Band (a triple ice luge literally overflowing with various libations probably didn't hurt either).

Consider such late night fun nothing but the "bear" necessities for an incredibly successful night of philanthropy. It was nevertheless literally all for the children.