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Get ready to paaaarty for a cause

The women of Knock Out Abuse geared up for their annual fundraiser Wednesday night at Cafe Milano as founders Cheryl Masri and Jill Sorensen welcomed a core of devoted loyalists who donated items to be auctioned off at their Thursday, November 10th big bash.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, on the West End, once again will be the hot-spot as hundreds upon hundreds of the young, cougars and other attractive women dressed in sexy and splendid attire, not to mention stilettoes, high-step it down the spiral stairway to the auction and dinner.

Super hostess Jaci Wilson Reid, who served on the White House staff and the administration in the Clinton years, is this year’s chair.

This year’s speaker will be Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, whose cousin, Cathy, was killed by an estranged boyfriend. He now champions the effort to stop domestic violence and to care for the victims. The Legacy Award will be presented to novelist Linda Fairstein, who led the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s office In Manhattan for 25 years.

The Knock Out Abuse Against Women charitable fundraiser was hatched at Café Milano in 1993. As the story goes, a tiny clan of wives and girlfriends were left to fend for themselves as powerful men attended the testosterone-infused Fight Night at the Washington Hilton.

So, what to do? Revenge? Somehow fight fire with fire? Start their own charitable event? Or combine the alternatives. That’s exactly what Masri and Sorensen did. They formed a new charity that benefits shelters and organizations that help spouses and children left destitute by domestic abuse.

The Knock Out Abuse Against Women party skyrocketed in popularity -- and is always sold out. Social writers view it as one of the city’s most fun, uninhibited charity events of the year. Tickets are $500 each.

In a spirit of unity, some men attending Joseph E. Robert Jr.’s Fight Night, which has gained a reputation for its cigars, beautiful babes, and flowing liquor, find their way across the town to hook up with the Knock Out Abuse women for dancing, dessert, and flirting. But before they do, many have depleted wallets. Earlier in the evening , they already gave to Fight Night’s causes: the education of children and improving the health care of youngsters.