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Black Tie International: Celebrity Philanthropy News-
Meryl Streep
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Will Reeve, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and Matthew
Reeve
Photo by: Marion Curtis of StarPix.
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THE STARS CAME OUT
TO RAISE
$2.5 MILLION AT
CHRISTOPHER & DANA REEVE FOUNDATION’S 18th ANNUAL
CHARITY GALA ON MONDAY, NOV. 10TH
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NEW YORK, NY -
The stars came out for the
Christopher & Dana Reeve
Foundation’s 18th Annual
A Magical Evening gala
event on Monday, November
10th at the Marriott Marquis
in New York City. This
year’s star-studded charity
event honored longtime
Foundation supporter and
Broadway veteran James L.
Nederlander with the
Visionary Leadership Award
presented by event chair,
friend and board member
Francine LeFrak. Also
honored during the evening’s
program was renowned
contemporary artist Chuck
Close with the
Christopher Reeve Spirit of
Courage Award by
Alexandra Reeve Givens
and the New York Rangers
organization legends
Mike Richter and
Brian Leetch were
presented with the Dana
Reeve HOPE Award by big fans
Matthew and Will
Reeve.
Academy Award winning
actress Meryl Streep
kicked off the evening with
a champagne toast, followed
by a moving speech from
another famed actress and
dedicated Reeve Foundation
supporter Glenn Close.
The highlight of the
evening was Foundation
Chairman Peter Kiernan’s
recognition of 1st
Lieutenant Reinaldo Gonzalez,
25, who during a training
exercise at US Army Ranger
School fell 35 feet and
sustained a C4 spinal cord
injury, resulting in
complete paralysis of his
legs. However, with the help
of the Christopher & Dana
Reeve Foundation’s Military
Outreach Program, Lt.
Gonzalez was rehabilitated
through one of their
NeuroRecovery Network (NRN)
centers and because of their
combined efforts is able to
walk again. Lt. Gonzalez
took the stage to thank the
Foundation and announce that
since leaving the
Foundation’s NRN center he
has gone on to graduate Army
Ranger School and now is
hoping to fulfill his
lifelong dream of serving
his country as an army
ranger.
Over 700 guests dressed in
their best evening attire
danced to the music by the
famed Starlight Orchestra
and were treated to a
special performance from the
upcoming Broadway musical -
Irving Berlin’s
White Christmas -
before it begins previews at
the Marquis Theatre on
Friday, November 14th.
Performing a medley of
Irving Berlin songs from the
new musical including “Love
in the Weather,” “How Deep
Is The Ocean?” and “White
Christmas” were Tony Award
Nominee Stephen Bogardus
(Love! Valour!
Compassion!) and
Broadway favorite Kerry
O'Malley (Into the
Woods).
The evening closed with
a live performance by the
Grace Tabernacle Christian
Center Church Concert Choir
in honor of their beloved
Brooklyn pastor Reverend
Timothy Wright, who was
able to attend the gala and
is currently being
rehabilitated at one of the
Foundation’s partner medical
centers The Kessler
Institute in New Jersey.
The evening’s co-chairs
Francine LeFrak & Rick
Friedberg, Eaddo & Peter
Kiernan, and Paul & Barbara
Daversa were joined by
notable guests including the
cast of Lipstick Jungle:
Lindsay Price, Kim
Raver, and Robert
Buckley, Gossip Girl’s
Jessica Szohr, Molly
Simms, Beth Ostrovsky
Stern, Mary Alice
Stephenson, designer
Gilles Mendel, magician
David Blaine,
supermodel Kim Alexis
and her husband Ron
Duguay, Buzz Aldrin,
Kathleen Turner, Francis
Fisher, Marty Richards,
Police Commissioner Ray
Kelly, Francesco
Clark, Maggie Rizer,
Miss Teen USA Stevi
Perry, and Rita Cosby,
among others were on hand to
support this incredible
Foundation in raising $2.5
million, which will be used
to accomplish their mission
of curing spinal cord injury
by funding innovative
research, and improving the
quality of life for people
living with paralysis
through grants, information
and advocacy.
For more information about
the
Christopher & Dana Reeve
Foundation,
please visit:
www.ChristopherReeve.org
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To list an
upcoming event please contact
joyce@blacktiemagazine.com |
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