Last Thursday night at Doubles, the private club in the Sherry-Netherland, they celebrated its 30th anniversary. Doubles is run by Wendy Carduner whose father businessman and real estate developer Joe Norban, created it as a private club inspired by the great nightclubs of the 1930s, 40s and 50s in New York, like El Morocco and the Stork where people could go to dine and dance and entertain friends in small groups or large parties. It is a tribute to Wendy that she has not only sustained her father’s vision but has grown and transformed and prospered with the times.

More than 500 attended On Your Mind: The Fountain House Symposium & Luncheon held last Monday, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City and they raised over $700,000 for Fountain House – the highest grossing event in the organization’s 58 year history.

Event Founder and Co-Chair Lorna Hyde Graev said “This annual event succeeded in raising awareness of the devastating impact of mental illness on our society, while educating our guests about the great work of Fountain House – a venerable New York City mental health organization with a unique rehabilitation model – one that really works."

The symposium entitled “Stressed Out: What You Need to Know About Anxiety Disorders” featured a panel discussion by three leading experts in the field of mental health research and treatment:

Eric Hollander, M.D.: Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Director of the compulsive, Impulsive, and Anxiety Disorders Program at Mount Sinai. He recently edited Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and The American Psychiatric Textbook on Anxiety Disorders.

Una McCann, M.D.: Associate Professor, Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins; formerly the Chief, Section on Anxiety and Affective Disorders, Biological Psychiatry Branch at NIMH.

Daniel Pine, M.D.: Chief, Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience; Chief, Child and Adolescent Research Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

The 2006 Fountain House Humanitarian Award recipient was Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, son of Senator Ted Kennedy, who has fought for health insurance parity for mental health disorders, and who has publicly shared his personal struggle with depression.

The event was Co-Chaired by Lorna Hyde Graev, Alexandra Herzan and Anne Mai. The symposium program was chaired by Lynn Nicholas, Psy.D.

Eli Lilly was a Golden Benefactor of the event. Organon USA is sponsored the symposium panel.

Fountain House is an award-winning, 60-year old non-profit organization that provides housing, employment, wellness and educational services to men, women and young adults with major mental illness. Through its holistic model of support, Fountain House helps some 1,300 people each year regain their dignity, independence and health. Fountain House is the model on which some 400 organizations worldwide is based, serving over 55,000 people. For more information or to make a donation: www.fountainhouse.org.

The American Museum of Natural History held its 16th annual Environmental Lecture and Luncheon at the museum Wednesday, April 26. This is one of the great daytime events of the year in New York and I regret that I missed it for the first time in several years.

Lynn Sherr, correspondent for ABC-TV’s 20/20 was moderator. This year the program explored how environmental exposures affect our health at every age and stage of life from childhood to maturity, as well as the wider biological implications of those exposures – from the food we eat, to the aire we breathe, to the products that we use to clean our homes. 

Environmentally friendly desserts

A friend of mine attended and reported the following (which appeared first on Thursday, April 27 on the NYSD:

I went today for the first time, I had never been. Very interesting. Scary too. They took some kind of test on one of the doctor’s daughters, on her trip to school, all day, and then her trip home. They found that there were more toxins in the school bus than in the closed up school. Apparently, we spend 85% of our time indoors. There are more harmful pathogens indoors than out, particularly harmful to children, (children, which includes embryos and fetuses, are the most at risk of environmental toxins.) Environmental problems account for asthma, which is on the rise, as well as heart disease.

Obesity is a problem as well: 30% of three year olds are obese, or at risk of being so. The panel doctors told us it was possibly due to low birth weight, and then the child has to play "catch up" and becomes overweight. I wanted to ask more about that, but there were so many questions, they never got to me.

Someone asked about the relationship to autism and mercury. The doctors are very careful here, as they made sure to tell us that all the mercury is currently out of the vaccines, and we, as parents, should not worry. But doctors do not like discussing autism it seems. I have a good friend with an autistic son. She is of the school, and even has a research center in Austin Texas that is dedicated to the research and treatment of autism and ADHD. She, as well as the doctors at her center Thoughtful House  are of the opinion that autism is not only caused genetically, but that environmental factors are to blame, as well as to many of these multiple vaccines. Most mainstream doctors do not want to get into that because of the controversy. They did tell us that people are living 26 years longer. We should eat fruits and vegetables in season (less pesticides) , eat low on the food chain (veg, fruits, avoid animal fats, and saturated fats, eat small fish like shrimp and scallops, as larger fish have higher toxin levels), eat less calories. Things look bleak, yet we are living 26 years longer, I wonder why?

The We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating individuals of all ages about diversity, understanding and multiculturalism, held its fourth annual gala celebration two weeks ago at Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom.

Sir Elton John

Founded in 2002 by songwriter/producer Nile Rodgers, WAFF strives to educate and promote the vision of a global family. The gala event was hosted by television personality and member of the We Are Family Foundation Board of Directors, Montel Williams, and included a star-studded VIP reception, dinner, awards ceremony and a monumental concert featuring Sir Elton John (who also received the Foundation’s Humanitarian Award), the 70s supergroup CHIC, Taylor Dane, and Martha Wash.

Sir Elton dazzled the audience with rousing performances of “Philadelphia Freedom” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”; Dane sang “Tell It to My Heart” and “Prove Your Love”; Wash performed her legendary hits “Everybody Dance Now” and “It’s Raining Men”; and CHIC played into the night with a string of their most popular songs, including “Le Freak”, “Good Times”, and “I Want Your Love”. The finale, fittingly enough, was “We Are Family,” which Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards originally wrote for Sister Sledge in 1979.

In addition to the award presented to Sir Elton John, who was recognized for the extraordinary accomplishments of his Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Mattie J. T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award was presented to legendary producer and music impresario Quincy Jones, in honor of his lifetime of philanthropic achievements. The Foundation’s 2006 Visionary Award was presented to designer and fashion innovator Tommy Hilfiger, in recognition of his work to promote educational opportunities for diverse populations in the U.S.A. through the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, and, the Corporate Visionary Award was presented to The Comcast Family of Companies, recognizing its strong commitment to diversity. A special recognition award was also given to the band Creation, made up of six 12 and 13 year-old students, for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of WAFF by donating all proceeds from their debut album, World Without Windows to WAFF.

The 65th annual Bal des Berceaux was given by French-American Aid for Children at Cipriani 42nd Street, under the High Patronage of H.E. The Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Mr. Jean-Marc de La Sablière, and of H.E. The Ambassador of France to the United States, Mr. Jean-David Levitteand Mrs. Levitte, and The Consul-General of France, Mr. François Delattre and Mrs. Sophie L'Hélias-Delattre. Co-Chaired by Elizabeth Stribling and Odile de Schietère-Longchampt, the Ball honored Dr. John Sexton, President of NYU, with Felicia Taylor as MC.

Ambassador Jean-David Levitte spoke about the current regeneration of the long-standing ties between France and the United States, and Dr. Sexton mentioned new exchange programs with French universities for students at NYU.

Nine débutantes were presented, including Emilie Jackson, Amanda Wachtel, Emma Allen, Caroline Solomon, Kristin Herrold, Alexandra Somnolet, Caroline Ross, Claire Karoubi, and Amanda Williams from New Orleans, whose plans for coming out at the Original Illinois Club Ball had been cancelled as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

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