AJWS, CPC, Zero Tolerance, NYers for Children

Glen Mabuza

Bill Clinton

Over a thousand people gathered in New York City on Wednesday, June 13, to honor American Jewish World Service and President Bill Clinton.

“More than anything else I came here to thank AJWS for the work you do,” President Clinton - who was introduced by James Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank - told the audience. “For the work you do around the world in 36 countries, and for doing it in partnership with local organizations, many of which would not be able to do their work were it not for you.”

President Clinton was honored by AJWS for his dedication to pursuing justice around the globe, particularly his work on HIV/AIDS in the developing world and on behalf of the victims of the December 2004 tsunami.


Bill Clinton and Ruth Messinger

Guests who attended the event included playwright Tony Kushner and novelist and political activist Elie Wiesel.

The inspiring event, “Partners in Global Justice: An Evening with Former President William Jefferson Clinton,” was an opportunity to celebrate AJWS’ commitment to pursuing global justice through grassroots change. Held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, the evening also honored the work of Ann Curry, television broadcaster, and Glen Mabuza, better known as Mama G, director of AJWS grantee HIV South Africa (HIVSA).

Ann Curry, co-anchor of “Dateline NBC” and news anchor for “Today,” was honored after President Clinton cited her for her work advocating an ending to the genocide in Darfur. Accepting her award, Curry noted that being present at “Partners in Global Justice” was a way of “coming full circle.” She learned about the Holocaust at a young age, and her awareness of that genocide has informed and motivated her work on Darfur, which subsequently brought her to the attention of AJWS.

The evening concluded with the inspiring words of Mama G, who had flown in from South Africa especially for the event. Mama G’s unbelievable energy and power was a wonderful conclusion to the evening, where guests joined her in singing a South African song of pride and hope.

For AJWS President Ruth Messinger, it was appropriate that the event occurred at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“Jazz takes old standards and reinterprets them for the modern age, and at AJWS we are committed to taking some really old standards – about 4,000 years old, to be exact,” Ruth told the audience, referring to the Jewish texts and traditions that underpin the work of AJWS.

“We all need to rise to that ancient and ever new challenge of making our world a safer, more just, more humane place for everyone shaped in the divine image.”

Ellen Kiam and Larry Phillips

Ruth Messinger and Ann Curry

Ruth Messinger and Jim Wolfensohn

Mark Harris and Tony Kushner

Nancy Schwartz Sternoff and Beth Browde

Richard Meier and Janet Dreisen

Richard Meier, Ruth Messinger, and Jim Meier

Liz Jaffe, Alan Jaffe, and Barbara Dobkin

Andrew Lachman and Ruth Messinger

Jacqueline Schwarz, Gabriel Erem, and Natalie Wilensky

Ruth Messinger, Al and Gail Engelberg, and Marsha Solt

Sally Gottesman, Nigel Savage, and Tracie Elliot

Janine Gover and Alan Gover

Lou Ringe and Deborah Weinberg

Liz and Alan Jaffe

Ruth Messinger, Michael Tarnow, and Merle Tarnow

Cheryl Cook, Diane Troderman, and Carolyn Bess

Sanctuary for Families held its12th Annual Zero Tolerance Benefit on Tuesday, June 5th at Pier Sixty. They raised over $1.47 million in support of their work with domestic violence victims.

The event honored Carole Hochman with the Zero Tolerance Award, presented to her by her daughter and Sara Allard. CB Richard Ellis was honored with the Corporate Vision Award and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, the Law Firm Leadership Award. Co-Chairs for the evening were Sara Allard, Creative Director, Carole Hochman Design Group; Cherrie Nanninga, Chief Operating Officer, CB Richard Ellis, New York Tri-State Region; and Robert C. Sheehan, Executive Partner, Skadden Arps.Over 970 guests attended the dinner and awards presentation.

Following dinner, more than 1000 guests attended the dance party, hosted by Moby and Charles Rockefeller and sponsored by Grey Goose and Lucky Magazine. 2007 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee DJ Grandmaster Flash kept the huge crowd on the dance floor. A raffle and silent auction was held throughout the evening, with a special limited–ticket raffle for a Vespa Scooter.

Lisa Mueller, Charles Rockefeller, Loretta McCarthy, Anna Harrington, and Laurel W. Eisner

The evenings guests included Laurel W. Eisner, Sanctuary for Families’ Executive Director; Loretta McCarthy, President of the Board of Directors of Sanctuary for Families; Stephanie Schwartz Ferdman, Chair of Sanctuary’s President’s Council; Paul Carlucci (Publisher The New York Post), (Creative Director, Calvin Klein),Carole Hochman (President, Carole Hochman Design), Betsey Johnson, Chantal Bacon, Susan and Alex Casdin, Holly Speyer Lipton and Jonathan Lipton, Kelly Kennedy Mack and Stephen Mack, Sheryl and Barry K. Schwartz (Mr. Schwartz is former Chairman & CEO of Calvin Klein), Kimberly Kravis Schulhof and Joanthan Schulhof, Stanley Shopkorn, Susan Sokol (President, Vera Wang), Brendan Shanahan of the New York Rangers, Curtis Sliwa (ABC Radio talk show host and founder of the Guardian Angels), Darren Walker (Vice President, Rockefeller Foundation) and City Council Members Vincent J. Gentile, Darren Walker (Vice President, Rockefeller Foundation, and David Yassky.

Sanctuary for Families is the largest nonprofit in New York State dedicated exclusively to serving domestic violence victims and their children. Each year, they help thousands of victims and their children build safe lives by offering a range of high-quality services to meet their complex needs. www.sanctuaryforfamilies.org [4]

Lisa Mueller, Loretta McCarthy, Stephanie Schwartz Ferdman, and Sarah H. Hsiao HuYoung

Sheryl Schwartz, Carole Hochman, and Judy Swartz

Sara Allard, Carole Hochman, and Sheryl and Barry K. Schwartz

Laurel W. Eisner and Jodie Freeman

Dan and Melissa Berger

Chantal Bacon and Betsey Johnson

Marcia Needleman, Mary Ann Mailman, and Diane Bennett Eidman

Lauren Cohen Starr and Holly Lipton

Carole Hochman receiving the Zero Tolerance Award from her daughter, Sara Allard

Michael Sokol, Stephanie Ferdman Schwartz, Francisco Costa, and Michael Ferdman

Susan Puder, Carole Hochman, and Melissa Berger

Anna Harrington, Moby, Betsey Johnson, and Charles Rockefeller

The Central Park Conservancy held its annual Taste of Summer party three weeks ago on a beautiful June evening in a tent at the Naumburg Bandshell. The evening features chef tastings from over 40 of the city’s top restaurants as well as dancing under the stars.

Alexis Clark, James LaForce, and Gillian Miniter

Gillian Miniter and Douglas Blonsky

Kat Cohen, Olivia Palermo, and Susan Shin

Byrdie Bell

Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond

Richard Williams and Clare Landymore

Kipton Cronkite, Annabel Vartanian, and Edward Barsamian

Purnendu Chatterjee, Amita Chatterjee, and Rohit D'Souza

Steve Sans and Liz Finkle

VIP Cafe host Jean-Georges

Since its inception in 2004, New Yorkers For Children’s Network to Success events have provided young people in foster care who are high school and college students with exposure to a variety of industries and potential career paths as they begin to formulate plans for their futures. Students are invited to come and meet professionals from diverse industries, learn about potential careers that they have expressed interest in, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

The 2007 event was no exception. This is a great opportunity for each of the young people who attend the event and the interaction with the professionals impacts their lives greatly. Each of the students leaves with their eyes open to opportunities that they never before believed existed for them.