The New York Stem Cell Foundation held its inaugural gala last Monday at Rockefeller University.

New York Stem Cell Foundation Co-Founder Susan Solomon and her husband Paul Goldberger were joined by dinner chairs Dick and Noelle Wolf. Joel Marcus serves as a sponsoring benefactor along with the Wolfs.

More than 200 atttended including: Chevy and Jayne Chase, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Peter and Mary Kalikow, Lewis and Dorothy Cullman, Barbara Fleischman, Jodie and John Eastman, Lynn Revsin, John Whitehead, Marlene Hess, Joanne Berwind, Elinor Bunin and George Munroe, James Zirin, Julia Merck, Victoria Hagan and Michael Berman, Eve Chilton Weinstein and Dr. Harold Varmus, along with many other NYSCF supporters.

The evening raised more than $350,000 to support the New York Stem Cell Foundation, which provides scientists with private funding for stem cell research and seeks to increase awareness about the potential of this area of scientific endeavor.

Michael J. Fox, who is afflicted with Parkinson’s, highlighted all of this for the world last week. Assisted by the bizarre tyrade of Rush Limbaugh commenting on Mr. Fox’s physical behavior during a television pitch he was making for a candidate who is behind stem cell research. If you haven’t ever known or seen the suffering of any Parkinson’s patient, you can be excused for not knowing quite how horrifying and horrendous the disease is. If you have  known or witnessed it, you understand the profound need to find some cure or control for the disease. What Michael J. Fox was demonstrating by his television appearance, besides the encumbering ravages of his physical condition, was Courage, Self-Respect and Compassion for his fellow man. Anyone he would believe he was faking, or even question it is a fool and a cynic of the lowest order.

Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furnes were the guests of honor at the opening of the MOVE For AIDS project at Milk Gallery which honored photographer James Houston’s unprecedented work. 

For six years James has produced monumental nude photographs of nude dancers.  His book, MOVE, and this exhibition, as well as openings in London and Sydney, are on track to raise a million dollars for AIDS research.

About 500 people gathered at the Milk Gallery for the Houston show. There was a live performance by the Complexions dance company. James Houston delivered a heartfelt speech (even Mickey Rourke teared up a bit). The evening closed with much champagne and celebration, as partygoers flocked to the back to purchase Houston’s prints and book.

It can be done. This is what I mean.  Last week Lisa Pevaroff-Cohn and her husband Gary Cohn held a cocktail party at their Park Avenue apartment a “kicking off” the 9th annual Child Advocacy Dinner on December 4th where Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller will be honored.  The dinner benefits the New York University Child Study Center.

The Study Center was started several years ago by Dr. Harold Koplewicz and some responsible, concerned and far-thinking parents. Their response shows in the numbers. This is what I mean when I say “anything’s possible” (in helping, protecting, caring for children).  Before a single piece of David Ziff’s luscious caramelized bacon had been served, they’d raised $3 million for the Child Study center.  There were almost 100 Study Center supporters listening attentively to their hostess as she stood on an ottoman to speak to the enthusiastic crowd.

“When you think about the well-being of children in our society, it’s hard to think of a more committed couple than Stan and Fiona,” she said of the honorees.  “Over the years, they have been important supporters of children and education, and we welcome them to the Child Study Center Family.”

Mr. Druckenmiller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Duquesne Capital Management, L.L.C., is widely regarded as one of the preeminent money managers in the world.  Fiona is a spiritual counselor at Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center and a former portfolio manager for The Dreyfus Corporation. They have resources and they are putting them to work.

Also attending were Brooke Garber Neidich, Chair of the Board of Directors of the NYU Child Study Center, and Daniel Neidich; Laura and Lloyd Blankfein; Dr. Linda and Arthur Carter; the Druckenmillers; Michael Fascitelli; George and Lori Hall; Dr. Harold Koplewicz and Linda Sirow; Kenneth and Elaine Langone; Cathy and Mark Lasry; Marcia and Richard Mishaan; Joel and Jean Smilow; Nancy and Mitchell Steir.

The NYU Child Study Center is dedicated to developing and applying scientifically-sound practices that can be utilized on a national scale to significantly improve prevention, identification, and treatment of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. The Center’s work helps kids of all backgrounds find a path to success in school, at home, and with their peers, whether they are treated at the Center, supported by our community and school programs, served by professionals trained at the CSC, or helped by the scientific advances developed at the Center. The CSC is also the proud recipient of a $30 million grant from New York State establishing the Child Study Center the only New York State Center of Excellence in Mental Health.

For more information about the 9th Annual Child Advocacy Award Dinner, please call 212-263-8698 or visit www.AboutOurKids.org.

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