It was a frigid night last Thursday, but when 150 supporters of the New York City Mission Society stepped into the Park Avenue apartment of Board Member Jean Shafiroff and her husband, Martin, they were warmly greeted by her rescued pitbulls Bella and Daisy.
The canine couple kept a close watch on the tasty appetizers being circulated by stunning male model servers, weaving through the glitzy crowd. Spotted were Valentino Carlotti, Stan and Leah Rumbough, Rita Cosby, and former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson and his wife, Elsie, President of the Mission Society.
“I believe deeply in the work of Mission Society and how it changes the lives of our most underserved children in New York City,” said Mission Society Board Member Jean Shafiroff. “What I love most about the Mission Society is that all of us involved work together as a family with one strong common mission. We all truly care about the future of the children.”
The event served as the New York City launch of the Mission Society’s annual Champions for Children Gala, which Jean Shafiroff is chairing on April 1 at the Mandarin Hotel in Columbus Circle. The Mission Society will be honoring Colbert Narcisse, Managing Director and Global Head of Alternative Investments, Morgan Stanley, and, Hollis Russell, Partner, Ackerman, Levine, Cullen, Brickman & Limmer, LLP.
This year’s Gala committee co-chairs are Peggy and John Bader, Carolyn and Lloyd W. Brown, II, and John U. Moorhead, and Honorary Gala chairs are Stanley H. Rumbough and Fiona and Stan Druckenmiller.
The Mission Society, which has been on the frontlines of the war on poverty for more than 200 years, provides educational, restorative justice, cultural enrichment, and workforce development programs to make a positive, long-term impact on youth in the City’s most underserved communities. Each year, the nonprofit serve more than 13,000 children and families throughout New York City.
Last week’s event was generously underwritten by Chase, and went on well into the evening as guests sipped an every flowing stream of champagne and dipped into trays of macarons.
In attendance were Gala honoree Hollis Russell, Mission Society Board Members Stanley H. Rumbough, Jean Shafiroff, Derek E. Steinhiser, Laura Flavin, John U. Moorhead, James B. Peterson, Jr., and Patrick Vatel, Members of the Mission Society’s Junior Society, and other notables such as Tomaczek Bednarek, Christine Biddle, Geoffrey Bradfield, Valentino Carlotti, Lilliana Cavendish, Chele Chiavacci, Victor de Souza, Lucia Hwong Gordon, R. Couri Hay, and Chiu-Ti Jansen.
All photos courtesy of: Shaun M/AnnieWatt.com.
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