NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN/WEILL CORNELL
KOMANSKY CENTER

***

NEW YORK (January 27, 2012) – The Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children’s Health at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s Second Annual Plates for Pediatrics dinner raised over $460,000 to support the center’s children’s programs.  The sold-out event on January 26, 2012 drew nearly 300 attendees to the St. Regis Hotel New York.  CNN Anchor and Special Correspondent Soledad O’Brien served as honorary chair.

The event, hosted by Gerald M. Loughlin, M.D., Chair and Chief at the Komansky Center for Children’s Health at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, along with the Pediatric Support Committee and the Children’s Advisory Council, raised funds for several children’s programs: Child Life Services, a program that helps alleviate children’s fears surrounding the hospital experience; The Pediatric Simulation Center, a medical education resource for patient safety and patient care; and The Perinatal Center, which provides a multidisciplinary approach to fetal diagnoses, counseling and care.

In addition to enjoying dinner and cocktails, guests also participated in a silent auction of a series of unique dinner plates curated by Art & Advisory, LLC. The plates were designed and painted by artists Molly Smith, James Nares, Ellen Berkenblit, Christopher Chiappa and Katherine Bernhardt. A special plate radiating “Love, Strength, & Kindness” was also designed by 15-year-old Tanith O’Brien. Tanith, who has aspirations of becoming a nurse, was born with a birth defect that led to a life-saving transplant with a kidney donated from her mother when she was 6. Tanith has been in and out of the hospital her entire life and is known for immersing herself in dynamic art projects to cope with her treatments and diagnoses.   


Guests included event sponsor Ammara Yaqub, designer of New York-based fashion line AMMARA, Dr. Robert Kelly, President of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Marcie Pantzer, Allison Aston, Sari & Haro Keledjian, Bara & Alex Tisch, Kathleen Burns and Event Co-Chairs Angela & Michael Clofine, Kathleen & Reha Kocatas, Jennifer & Erik Oken, Jennifer & Steve Pinkos, Dara & Mark Quinlan, Andrea & Amar Ranawat, M.D., and Erica & Joseph Samuels

AMMARA

AMMARA ready-to-wear is a collection comprised of modern, sophisticated clothes for real women: Poised, confident, and ageless.

AMMARA is the brainchild of Ammara Yaqub. Raised in South Asia, Yaqub was steeped in a tradition of bespoke clothing. As a child, she spent count- less hours helping her mother pick out fabrics for made-to-order dresses, an experience she’s translated into the luxe materials and uncompromising attention to detail and fit that define AMMARA. A worldly sensibility pervades AMMARA in other ways as well. A lifelong devotee of European fashion and a veteran of the buying teams at Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue, Yaqub has imbued her brand with a European flair and finesse.

AMMARA is refined contemporary. A young mother, busy professional, and graduate of Harvard Business School, Yaqub identified a void in the fashion marketplace. Whereas contemporary departments were crowded with trendy clothes, there was nothing at that price point for women who, like Yaqub, possessed both a love of fashion and the desire to build a stylish wardrobe. AMMARA fills that void. Conceived as a lifestyle brand, AMMARA launched in Fall 2011 with a wardrobe of polished, well-priced separates, dresses and outerwear. Flattering silhouettes get a streetwise update, and are executed in Italian fabrics with an unrelenting focus on cut and quality. Designed by Yaqub to feel effortless, these clothes are fashionable and will endure in your wardrobe for years to come. 

The Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children’s Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

The Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children’s Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center provides the best available care in every area of pediatrics in a family-friendly and technologically advanced setting. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.