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2017 Lupus Handbag Luncheon Supports Science With
Style
NEW
YORK, NY – April 4, 2017. Nearly 300 prominent women and men
from New York’s fashion, society, entertainment, publishing,
philanthropic and lupus communities came together today to raise
funds for lupus research. The 8th annual Lupus
Handbag Luncheon & Silent Auction was the first hosted by the
Lupus Research Alliance, formed by the recent merger of the
Alliance for Lupus Research, Lupus Research Institute and S.L.E.
Lupus Foundation.
Women
of Achievement Saluted
The 2017
Women of Achievement were: Claudia Cividino, Chief
Executive Officer, Bally Americas and Alison Lee,
Lupus Warrior, Cancer Survivor and long-time Lupus Advocate and
Volunteer. Both honorees have worked with the organization for
years in the fight against lupus.
“I knew that
accepting the Woman of Achievement award meant that today, April
4, 2017, would become a red-letter day in my life as the moment
I shared that I am not an empathetic bystander, but an active
participant in this cause as a woman living with lupus myself,”
commented Ms. Cividino. “The disease has never defined me but
rather, has informed how I lead my life.”
“I also hid
my lupus as if it was a shameful secret,” Ms. Lee shared. “I
never wanted to be known as ‘the sick girl’. But when I found
this organization, I met other young women with lupus and
realized I wasn’t alone, and have no reason to hide. The Lupus
Research Alliance is a beacon of hope amid the health battles I
face.”
Founder of the fashion and retail services consultancy firm
Abrams Global, Andrea Abrams chaired the luncheon,
enlisting industry colleagues to donate numerous luxury
handbags. Honorary luncheon co-chairs include: Matilda Raffa
Cuomo, Former First Lady of New York State, Founder and
Chair of Mentoring USA; Jessye Norman, international
opera legend and long-time voice for lupus worldwide; and
Brett Heyman 2015 luncheon honoree and founder of the
fashion company Edie Parker.
NY’s Leaders Turn Out for Lupus
Many
members of the Lupus Research Alliance leadership were actively
involved in planning the luncheon including Jennie and
Richard DeScherer, Fern Kaye Tessler, Carol
Weisman and Teri Wilford Wood. Noted philanthropists
and socialites in attendance included Felice Axelrod,
Arlyn Gardner
and Joan Sarnoff.
Fashion Luminaries Put Lupus Cure in the Bag
The fashion industry was out in
full force with leaders from design, retail and editorial
including: Nancy Berger,
Publisher, Marie Claire; Carole Hochman, Chief
Creative Officer, Carole Hochman Design Group; David Chines,
Founder + CEO at COPIOUS ROW; Elizabeth Schweitzer Miller,
Director, Merchandise Planning
& Allocation at Bloomingdale's; Laura Pomerantz,
Vice Chairman And Head Of Strategic Accounts, Cushman &
Wakefield; Velvor Rhone, Chief of Staff, Bloomingdale's;
Claudia Silver, Executive Fashion Director, Town &
Country Magazine; and Craig Tharkur, Chief of
Staff, Bally.
Lupus Research Alliance
volunteer and fashion industry leader Mary Belle was an
active participant in the Luncheon Committee.
A silent
auction featured close to 90 handbags donated by top designers
to fund lupus research. In addition, exclusive “experiences”
were a first this year!
“A hallmark
of the New York spring season, this year’s luncheon is the first
hosted by our new organization,” bringing new perspective, new
energy and new enthusiasm,” said Co-CEO Margaret G. Dowd.
“We welcome this increased support as we unify the lupus
community behind one mission – to free the world from lupus
through the power of science.”
Thanks go to Modern Luxury for providing guests with the latest
issue of Manhattan Magazine.
About
Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex
autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide.
More than 90% of lupus sufferers are women, mostly young women
between the ages of 15 to 44. Women of color are especially at
risk. In lupus, the immune system, which is designed to protect
against infection, creates antibodies that attack the body’s
own tissues and
organs -- the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and
joints.
About
the Lupus Research Alliance
The Lupus
Research Alliance is the largest private funder of lupus
research, united to free the world from lupus by harnessing the
power of innovative science to make a difference for people
living with the prototypical autoimmune disease. Through the
power of collaboration, we are relentlessly focused on seizing
every opportunity to transform the lives of all affected –
patients, families, loved ones and the entire lupus community.
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