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JERRY &
JESSICA SEINFELD HOST NEW YORK FATHERHOOD
LUNCH
TO BENEFIT GOOD+ FOUNDATION
Returning to New York, the GOOD+ Fatherhood Lunch Raises
$275,000
NEW YORK, NY (October
18, 2016) – Jerry
and Jessica Seinfeld hosted GOOD+ Foundation’s 2016
Fatherhood Lunch this afternoon at The Palm Restaurant in
Tribeca, celebrating the continued expansion and success of
the program which launched six years ago. The lunch raised
nearly $275,000 towards the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to
empower dads so they can fully embrace fatherhood and the
responsibilities that accompany this role through support in
positive parenting and discipline strategies, improving the
relationship with the child’s mother, and helping a father
establish his role within the family. Since its inception,
GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative has supported over
20,000 families.
During the lunch Jerry Seinfeld described how many fathers
who seek help from a fatherhood program don’t have the
resources or materials to create the best environment for
their families. With the services and products donated by
the GOOD+ Foundation, fathers are able to provide for their
families and get the long term support needed to help lift
the family out of poverty.
“We realized we
needed to address the missing component – the fathers. Your
father is half of who you are. They are an important piece
of the puzzle. We knew if we could get fathers back into the
lives of their kids, we could really stabilize this
environment,” said host Jerry Seinfeld. “Men are terrible at
talking about being a husband and being a father. A gigantic
hurdle is encouraging these men talk to each other, share
their stories and realize they are not alone. I feel great
that I’m able to help other men get into this experience of
being a father.”
One of the fathers, who has personally
benefited from the program, addressed the room to share his
life-changing experience and the successes he has achieved
since he started working with Children’s Institute Inc.’s
Project Fatherhood in Los Angeles and receiving donations
from GOOD+ Foundation.
The organization recently completed an
independent program evaluation by LeSar Development
Consultants revealing the impact of GOOD+ Foundation
donations on both fathers and the programs served. The study
revealed that the impact of GOOD+ Foundation donations on
fathers and their children is undeniable. 82
percent of fathers reported that GOOD+ donations improved
their relationship with their child’s mother or relatives,
and 82 percent reported the donations made them feel more
like a dad to their child.
Also present was GOOD+ Foundation’s new
Fatherhood Program Manager Jomael Young who saw the GOOD+
Fatherhood Initiative develop from its inception, having
served as the Program Leader for the Fathers First
Initiative in the Rockaways – a GOOD+ Foundation partner –
for more than 10 years.
The Fatherhood Initiative focuses on helping
fathers be the dads they would like to be for their children
by supporting them with comprehensive services such as
counseling, job training, healthy relationship workshops,
and actively engaging in their children’s lives. They also
provide families with special opportunities for parent-child
bonding and memory-making experiences, in addition to
amplifying the fatherhood movement by promoting meaningful
fatherhood research and advocating for father engagement.
GOOD+ Foundation has distributed nearly 500,000 items to
over 20,000 families through 19 father engagement programs.
Guests at the luncheon included Alex
Gorsky, David
Lauren, GOOD+
Foundation Board Member Stacey
Bendet Eisner, GOOD+ Fatherhood Leadership Council
members Neil
Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Michael
Strahan, Jeff Gordon, Will Kopelman, Harry Kargman, Jason
Weinberg, along
with Sam
Champion, Jim Cramer and Nicky
Rothschild. Fatherhood Leadership Council members and
lunch guests promoted the initiative by posting photos with
#GoodPlusFatherhood and @GoodPlusFdn. Jerry and Jessica
Seinfeld, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were dressed
in Ralph Lauren.
The event is presented by Johnson & Johnson and Ralph
Lauren, with additional support by Crackle. The event was generously
underwritten for the fourth time by Bruce Bozzi and Palm
Restaurant.
The GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership
Council is comprised of fathers who are deeply passionate
about their own role as dads, and hope to raise funds and
awareness for the initiative. Council members include Jerry
Seinfeld (Chair), Jason Alexander, Anthony Anderson, Judd
Apatow, Jason Bateman, Neil Blumenthal, Bruce Bozzi, Dan
Bucantinsky, Rob Buccini, Ty Burrell, David Burtka,
Christian Carino, Matt Cherwin, Camille Chidiac, Common,
Shawn “Pecas” Costner, Victor Cruz, Matt Damon, Eric Ray
Davidson, Robert Downey Jr., Darren Edwards, Eric Eisner,
Nacho Figueras, David Fredston, Jeff Gordon, Alex Gorsky,
Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Hart, Alan F. Horn, Hugh Jackman,
Mitch Jacobs, Woody Johnson, Harry Kargman, Pierre Kim,
Boris Kodjoe, Will Kopelman, Jay Leno, Greg Lipmann, Blaine
Lourd, Bryan Lourd, Bill Maher, Gabriel Miller, Francois
Mobasser, Nas, David Neville, Rob Prinz, Michael Richards,
Dan Roos, Bob Saget, Matt Schneider, George Shapiro, Dax
Shepard, Lance Somerfeld, George Stephanopoulos, Steve
Stoute, Michael Strahan, Michael Tiedemann, James Van Der
Beek, Dwyane Wade, Marcus Wainwright, Charlie Walk, George
Wallace, Jason Weinberg, Mel Woods and Jeffrey Wright.
# # #
About
GOOD+ Foundation
Founded by Jessica Seinfeld, GOOD+ Foundation
(formerly Baby Buggy) is a nonprofit organization that
partners with a national network of leading programs to
break the cycle of family poverty through the power of
donated children’s products and life-changing family
services. GOOD+ Foundation makes grants to programs that
have demonstrated a capacity to improve family economic
security. Our three focus areas are: supporting new
mothers, investing in early childhood and engaging fathers.
Through the generous support of donors and nearly 45,000
volunteers, GOOD+ Foundation has donated more than 20
million items through its partner network across the United
States. The organization has received a 4-star rating from
Charity Navigator and national accreditation from the Better
Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. For more information,
visit www.goodplusfoundation.org,
or Like us on Facebook at GOOD+ Foundation and on Twitter
and Instagram @GOODPlusFdn.
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