Warm-hearted
Houstonians gathered to celebrate our city’s commitment to
children around the world. New Yorker Caryl Stern,
President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF visited for a
second time in as many months while working with Sonya
Renner, Director for the Southwest Region to raise awareness
for the “I Believe in Zero” celebrity-led campaign for child
survival. The goal is to bring the daily preventable
childhood deaths around the world from 25,000
to “Zero”.
The evening, hosted
and underwritten by Pershant and Nidhika Mehta in their
beautiful home provided the perfect backdrop. Among the
guests were Omana and Sam Abraham, Sushila and Durga Agrawal,
Susan and Dan Boggio, Katie and A.J. Brass, Adel Chaouch,
Drs. Ulupi and Asit Choksi, Meena and Prakash Datt, Conrad
Goerl, Liz and Tom Glanville, Marie and Vijay Goradia, Tama
and John Klosek, Leela and Nat Krishnamurthy, Eileen Lawal,
Amy and Jim Lee, Manmeet and Paul Likhari, Jugal and Raj
Malani, Nalini Mathur and Dr. Virendra Mathur, Dr. Alex
Lechin and Carmen Maria Montiel, Christine and Louis
Messina, Wendy and Meir O’Hanna, Ruchi Roy, Yamile Said and
Arturo Salomon, and Pily Simon.
Caryl Stern’s first
visit was during a year-end cold snap, where inside
fireplaces were burning and many hearts were warmed by the
intimate gathering for some special friends of UNICEF,
hosted and underwritten by Dan and Susan Boggio at their
holiday-adorned Memorial area home. U.S. Fund for UNICEF
National Board Chair, Anthony (Tony) Pantaleoni, senior
partner with Fulbright & Jaworski, father of renowned
actress Tea Leoni, and son of U.S. Fund for UNICEF founder
Helenka Pantaleoni came to Houston to support the “I Believe
in Zero” campaign. Special guests in the crowd included
Margaret Alkek Williams and David Robertson, Charles and
Robin Reimer, Dr. Alex Lechin and Carmen Maria Montiel,
Laura Codman and John Terwilliger, Coco Blaffer Royal and
Robert Maurice, Louis and Christine Messina, Jerry and
Cynthia Pyle, Thomas and Anna Au, Tony and Freda Bass, Nat
and Leela Krishnamurthy, Brede Klefos, Sharon Lederer and
Ellis Mills, and Todd and Ann Holmes. The fabulous holiday
menu was prepared by Catering by George.
www.unicefusa.org