Media Alert below. For more info visit www.waxmancancer.org

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation(SWCRF) celebrated the 21st Anniversary of the annual Collaborating for a Cure Benefit Dinner & Auction at Cipriani Wall Street, featuring an exclusive musical performance by Dawes. The annual gala raised approximately $2.5 million to support the SWCRF “Invest in Research” efforts that fund highly collaborative research projects focused on eradicating cancer. The Collaborating for a Cure gala was well-attended, undeterred by the snow storm and 14 other fundraising events taking place throughout New York City. Proudly, the 21st Anniversary’s gala seating encompassed 80% personal purchases and 20% purchases from corporations, whereas the other 14 fundraising events saw a turnout comprised of 20% personal purchases and 80% corporate purchases.

​After a lively cocktail reception and silent auction,SWCRF Collaborating for a Cure Gala host Michael Nierenberg greeted the foundation’s board, staff, and the evening’s guests with a warm welcome graciously outlining over 20 years of giving and continued support from the organization’s donors. From the CBS 2 News studio, co-anchor Chris Wragge emerged on screen to introduce SWCRF founder and CEO Dr. Samuel Waxman to the stage. Chris Wragge was the evening’s virtual host, appearing on screen to help the evening’s program run smoothly.


Greeting the room of distinguished guests, Dr. Waxman acknowledged their efforts trekking through New York City’s winter storm in true altruistic spirit. Detailing the Foundation’s major achievements, he highlights advancements in cancers involving the liver, breast, leukemia, pediatric and lung. The SWCRF has seen great momentum since officially launching the Partnerships for Aging and Cancer Researchprogram, a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging which is spearheading research to uncover the links between cancers. Research funded by the program studied the environmental and genetic factors that increase the risk of cancer as people age. With a formidable but truly feasible goal of building a $32 million fund, Dr. Waxman humbly invited donors continued support.

Taking the stage, SWCRF Executive Director William T. Sullivan instructed gala guests on how to Text to Pledge, using the mobile fundraising program which enables guests to text their donations. Each texted donation was accompanied by messages of encouragement and celebration that appeared, in real-time, on large screens throughout the evening, the first of them being a $5,000 gift, “In honor of Michael Nierenberg” from Thomas Shea.

Keeping up the momentum, the evening’s live auction, led by Hugh Hildesley, Executive Vice President of Sotheby’s, featured luxury items and experiences including: a Palm Bay Italy Winery experienceincluding a six-day stay for four guests which raised$20,000; two house seats to “Springsteen on Broadway” raised $14,000; also Restaurateur Donna Lennard of il Buco Vita welcomes 10-14 guests for an intimate six-course dinner at the home décor showroom, raising $11,000. Other auction items included a Cockapoo Puppy (winning bid of $7,000), a shopping spree at John Varvatos SoHo Boutique(winning bid of $4,000) and a meet-and-greet with the evening’s musical guests, Dawes, who also autographed a guitar for the lucky winner (winning bidof $3,500).

The money raised in support of cancer research at theSamuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation's Institute Without Walls and Aging and Cancer Programs have made significant breakthroughs, including identifying pathways to deliver novel therapies to treat cancer. The Collaborating for a Cure gala is among the top fundraising events in New York City, and this year featured an exclusive headline performance from the rock band, Dawes – the only NYC stop as part of their North American tour. With ‘An Evening With DAWES: Passwords Tour’ well on its way, Dawes made an exclusive stop at the gala in honor of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.

The 2018 Lung Cancer Research Foundation’s Strolling Supper took place on November 7, 2018 and was another fantastic evening of fundraising in New York City raising $1.3 million. LCRF  

The event took place at Gotham Hall, a converted bank in midtown and hosted about 300 people for an evening of entertainment by Sutton Foster, Tony Award winner and star of Younger, delicious food, a wonderful silent auction and learning about all of the good work that the Lung Cancer Research Foundation does to fund cures and treatments for the number one cancer killer in the world. Although this disese is the number one cancer killer in the world, it's the most under funded, only recieving 

Guests were shows an inspiring video highlighting the impact of Lung Cancer Research Foundations studies and in celebration of the Strolling Supper, several New York City skyline spires, One Bryant Park, One World Trade Center and One Five One West 42, were illuminated in signature LCRF blue.

As a greeter at the event, I welcomed the guests and instructed them about how to participate in the silent auction. Out of the many events I have been to, this event had some of the most attentitive attendees who were silent during the video presentation and who really took the mesage to heart. The mission of the LCRF was apparent in all aspects of the event, reminding the guests the important reason they were there. 

Learn more about LCRF and how you can help on their website here: www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/ 
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I was lucky enough to volunteer once again at the annual Voices of Courage Benefit hosted by the Physicians for Reproductive Health at The NY Historical Society. For the past 25 years, this inspiring organization takes an evening to celebrate all of the hard-working physicians in the reproductive health field. 

This year, the event was hosted by actor Elizabeth Marvel and honored Dr. Sacheen Nathan, Dr. Roslyn Kade, and Cecile Richards for the extraordinary steps they’ve taken to ensure patients have access to reproductive health care.


From the Organization:
With an anti-abortion administration and Congress in office, attacks to access on abortion care and contraceptive services are escalating beyond anything we’ve ever experienced during our 25-year history. Our doctors and supporters like you continue to be the Voices who are standing up to the administration and driving change, continuing to fight for all people to have access to the reproductive health care that they want, need, and deserve.

LEARN MORE: https://prh.org/courage/

As a Junior Board member of Statement Arts, one of my responsibilities is to assist with fundraising for the fantastic arts education organization. I discovered WineO Club on instagram and immediately knew it would be a perfect fit for Statement Arts donors, plus who doesn’t want to learn a bit more about while getting drunk on a Wednesday!

WineO Club was beyond accommodating and friendly throughout the entire planning process - which was quite simple & short! They charge a non-profit price of $30 per person for an evening of their WineO 101 class, 2 and a half hours of full glass tastings accompanied by a cheese and cracker platter (pictured above). We were able to present a short program to our donors in the middle of the evening, place printed informational programs (designed by yours truly) at every seat and even show our organization’s video on a projector!

For such a small organization, Wine0 Club was the perfect venue for hosting an event to cultivate new donors, educate them about Statement Arts’ impact and have a great time! We charged $70 a ticket and held a small 4-item raffle. Overall the event netted just about $3,200 after $1,380 in expenses (the WineO charge per ticket). This was the most successful Junior Board hosted event to date and we definitely plan on doing it again next year (or sooner!).

About Statement Arts: Statement Arts is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing the creative visual & performing arts to underserved and/or low-income individuals. We channel creativity to educate, to enhance intellectual performance, to empower and guide, and to build self-esteem. Statement Arts is committed to giving our students an intercultural and interdisciplinary arts experience to which they do not have access. Statement Arts believes in the power of art to inspire social, cultural, and environmental education to further a legacy of responsible global citizenship.

Donate to their annual crowd funding campaign to help fund their programs: https://www.gofundme.com/statement-arts-college-prep-2018

Eat. play. grow.

Bubble Foundation hosted its annual Taste of Spring fundraiser on May 8, 2018 at The Refinery Rooftop in Midtown NYC. The crisp spring weather made it a perfect night for a rooftop event raising funds for wellness & fitness education programs in underserved schools across New York City.

The Bubble Foundation brings nutrition and wellness education to the schools and communities that need it most. They partner with schools free of charge to empower the whole school community - from parents to kids - to build the healthy habits that last a lifetime. Since its establishment in 2010, Bubble provides 17 underserved schools and over 7,200 children in NYC.

Taste of Spring hosted five chef stations including Chef Artist of SpaHa Soul, Chef Whitney Aycock if Whit’s End and Chef Felipe Donnelly of La Colonia Verde. Each chef offered something healthy & nutritious, in line with the mission and values of The Bubble Foundation. Attendees enjoyed the chic outdoor rooftop patio and comfortably enjoyed a short program including testimonials by principals of two Bubble Schools - Brighter Choice Comminity School & Mott Haven Academy Charter School.

For more information or to make a donation visit: welcometobubble.org.

The Blanton Peale Institute hosted its 2nd annual Gala in April 24, 2018 at the Yale Club in NYC. The Norman Vincent Peale Awards for Positive Thinking honored Dr. Michael B. Brown from Marvle Collegiate Church, Aiyoung Choi a human rights advocate, and Ron Powers a NY Times Best-Selling author of No One Cares About Crazy People.

As a volunteer, I checked in the attendees and assisted with their programming and making sure all three honorees were where they were supposed to be.

Blanton-Peale Institute & Counseling Center provides affordable holistic mental health care in Midtown Manhattan. It amplifies this impact by training mental health professionals, leaders, and other caring people with the tools of psychology, mental health and spirituality. Learn more & donate here.

Crawl for Cancer is a national organization that hosts bar crawls all over the country. Teams of 10 pay around $35 a person to receive 4 pitchers at each of the 5 bars on the crawl.

They hosted their 2018 NYC Crawl in April 7 starting at Irish Exit, then Jameson, Niall’s on 52nd, Cornerstone Tavern and Murphy’s and finishing with an open bar after party at Irish Exit. The funds went to Allyson Whitney Foundation to give “Life Altering Grants” to young adults fighting rare diseases, such as cancer, so they can concentrate on healing and not the financial burdens of treatments.

As as a volunteer, I had the most fun I’ve ever had working at event! Every participant was kind-hearted and respectful to the bars and every employee. My job was to gently encourage participants to continue on to each bar and ensure they had their pitcher tickets at each location.

​This is is an amazing organization that has raised funds for 17 years through bar crawls. What started as a group of recent college grads in 2001 as a way to fundraise for American Cancer Society, can grown into the Guinness record holder of the world’s largest bar crawl. They have representatives hosting crawls in 25 cities including New York City, Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, and more! I can’t wait to get a team together for the 2019 crawl.

This Fourth Annual cocktail party was held at 1 Oak NYC and hosted by two best friends , Danyelle & Ashley who each tragically lost a parent to cancer, one to Lung Cancer & one to Pancreatic Cancer, respectively.

I was was able to volunteer at check in and was so surprised when every donor who walked through the door was under 35 years old. This room of young just over 200 professionals raised more than $60,000 in one evening to benefit both The Lung Cancer Research Foundation & the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Tickets cost $150 for a two hour open bar, with the third hour of the event a cash bar, a 50/50 raffle, silent auction run by Grandstand Sports & pick-a-prize raffle.

After two heart-warming & tear-filled speeches made by the two event hosts, 1 Oak provided delicious pass-around bites to a room of philanthropic twenty-somethings sipping cocktails for Cancer Research. Overall, the event was a beautiful success and I can’t wait to help out next year!

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) of Western New York hosted its 18th Annual Journey to a Cure Gala on Saturday to raise money to Cure type one diabetes. The event raised more than $400,000.

The gala was hosted at the Seneca Niagara Resort Casino and boasted more than 500 attendees dedicated to turning type one into type none. The evening had a silent auction, a live auction and a “Fund a Cure” auction to encourage gala-goers to give more to the cause. Out of the dozen live auction items, the most popular was a package of 4 autographed Wayne Gretzky jerseys that sold for $5,000 and a 9-week old shih tzu puppy that sold for the same amount.

JDRF Western New York is the leading charity in the Buffalo area and it showed with the amount of energy and passion the guests had for the cause. There were multiile bidding wars and complete silence as the crowd listened to a research update about Type One Diabetes, a rarity at most fundraising events.

To support JDRF, visit its website here.

On November 29th, around 50 people gathered at Juke Bar in downtown NYC to raise money for Statement Arts, a non-profit dedicated to assisting students continue their arts education. Statement Arts hosts free summer programs for students grades 3 through 11 in Washington Heights to help them improve their artistic abilities including writing workshops, voice lessons and acting classes. At the end of the program, the students put on a free performance for friends & family. But the program doesn't end in the summer. For the high schoolers, Statement Arts offers a mentoring program with Morgan Stanley Bank and SAT prep classes. The organization also pays the college application fees of all of their students. So far, they have a 100% graduation & acceptance rate.

As a member of the Statement Arts Event Planning Committee, it was so rewarding to plan their first annual fundraiser to benefit their students college application process. This college-themed fundraiser raised enough money to pay for more than 20 college applications. Attendees rocked t-shirts from their alma matters and the university with the largest presence was rewarded with a holida-themed prize. The college theme was additionally represented with classic drinking games scattered around the bar.

To support Statement Arts, go to StatementArts.org/donate and make a donation to help these kids' futures.