“CHAMPIONS OF EDUCATION BENEFIT”
ON JULY 24, 2010
BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY
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MCF founder,
MacDella
Cooper &
Countess
LuAnn de
Lesseps
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New York,
July 2010—On
Saturday,
July 24,
2010, the
MacDella
Cooper
Foundation
(MCF),
a 501(c)3
international
charitable
organization
devoted to
educating
Liberian
youth,
hosted the
annual
Champions of
Education
benefit. The
event kicked
off with an
exclusive
reception at
the Opening
Day of the
Mercedes
Benz Polo
Challenge,
and was
followed by
a private
dinner and
red carpet
reception
for VIP
guests.
MCF founder,
MacDella
Cooper
co-hosted
the event
with
Jill Zarin
and
Countess
LuAnn de
Lesseps
(The Real
Housewives
of New
York),
Caroline
Manzo,
Dina
Manzo,
Teresa
Giudice
and
Jacqueline
Laurita
(The
Real
Housewives
of New
Jersey) as
well as the
2010 Host
Committee,
which
included a
wide range
of
celebrities,
business
owners and
philanthropists.
The event
started at
3pm with a
private
reception at
the Opening
Day of
Bridgehampton
Polo, one of
the Hamptons
most
exclusive
summer
events.
Guests
celebrated
the MCF
while they
watched the
first match
of the
Bridgehampton
Polo season
at the
Mercedes
Benz Polo
Challenge.
Following
the
reception,
VIP guests
joined
MacDella
Cooper and
the Host
Committee
for a red
carpet
reception,
silent
auction and
private
dinner at
the home of
Erika &
Kelley
Millet in
Bridgehampton.
The
Champions of
Education
benefit was
sponsored by
The Segal
Family
Foundation
and
Argentine
Estate
Winery
Doña Paula.
All
proceeds
from the
event will
benefit the
MCF
Academy
for orphans
and
abandoned
children in
Monrovia,
Liberia. The
MCF Academy
will be the
first school
dedicated to
orphan and
abandoned
children in
post-war
Liberia to
be founded
by a female
refugee of
the civil
war. The
Academy is
scheduled to
open in the
fall of 2010
and will
ultimately
house and
educate 200
children.
Acclaimed
architect
Winka
Dubbeldam,
principal of
the
world-renowned
firm Archi-Tectonics
in New York,
designed the
sustainable
MCF Academy.
MacDella
Cooper is
one of
thousands of
refugees of
the Liberian
civil war.
At the age
of 12,
Cooper’s
home was
raided by
rebels and
her
stepfather
was
captured.
MacDella and
her two
teenage
brothers
escaped
their town,
dodging
bullets and
passing dead
bodies on
the
roadside. It
took them
six months
to get to a
refugee camp
on the Ivory
Coast, and
another
three years
for their
immigration
papers to
come through
before
MacDella and
her brothers
could be
reunited
with their
mother in
the US.
Cooper
embraced her
new life in
the United
States and
went on to
get a degree
from The
College of
New Jersey.
She moved to
New York
City to work
in fashion
and
modeling,
with her
pictures
appearing in
Glamour
magazine.
Today,
Cooper has
become known
as Liberia’s
Angel,
attracting
international
investors to
Liberian
markets and
creating
awareness of
the plight
of Liberian
children
through her
humanitarian
initiatives.
The Segal
Family
Foundation
The
mission of
the Segal
Family
Foundation
is to help
deserving
people in
Sub-Saharan
Africa,
improve the
quality of
their lives,
perpetually.
SFF focuses
on parts of
the
continent
that have
not
benefited
from the
modernization
that has
happened
throughout
the world.
For more
information
about SFF
visit
www.segalfamilyfoundation.org
Argentine
Estate
Winery Doña
Paula
Argentine
Estate
Winery Doña
Paula is an
estate
winery
located in
Mendoza, the
most
prestigious
wine-producing
region of
Argentina.
Due to its
ideal and
unique
terroir, and
the
meticulous
dedication
of its
winemakers,
Doña Paula
produces
wines of
unmistakable
quality and
varietal
purity. For
more
information
about Doña
Paula visit
www.donapaula.com
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