The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) celebrated their honorees Cathy Bissell and Dave Portnoy, with his rescue pup Miss Peaches at the foundation’s 15th Annual Unconditional Love Gala.
The Gala delivered an evening of glamour and giving, featuring live entertainment, a gourmet dinner, and a silent auction. Funds raised directly support the shelter’s efforts to provide medical care, food, shelter, and love to animals in need.
The gala is the premiere fundraising event for the Foundation. It plays a vital role in raising essential funds to support SASF’s mission to nurture the bond between humans and companion animals through education, advocacy and adoption. Good for everyone involved with these beautiful creatures.
They honored Cathy Bissell for her lifelong commitment to animal welfare. Jordan Lippner, Chair of the Board of Directors at the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, pointed out that Cathy created BISSELL Pet Foundation in 2011. Since founding it has impacted the lives of nearly 750,000 pets and directed over $30 million to shelters and programs to support animal welfare and provide resources to underserved communities.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation,” said Bissell. “This recognition reaffirms the importance of our collective efforts in advocating for animal welfare and is a testament to the lives we have saved. Together, we can continue our critical work to find every pet a loving home.”
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Dave Portnoy (hello Barstool Pizza Review lovers!), along with his beloved rescue pup Miss Peaches, were honored with the prestigious Animal Welfare Award and SASF Paws of Purpose Award, respectively. “Miss Peaches and I are excited to be a part of this awesome event. Our goal is to find as many loving homes for dogs as sweet as Miss Peaches,” said Dave Portnoy, recipient of the Animal Welfare Award.
Notable attendees included: Brooke Shields, Grier Henchy, Jill Rappaport, Alan Brown, Luisa Diaz, Ramona Singer, Bo Dietl, Bradford Rand, Jean Shafiroff, Ann Liguori, and Scott Vallary.
The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on the generosity of our donors and volunteers to care for the homeless animals in our community and place them in loving forever homes. The number of animals in need of our help is growing every day.
The overpopulation of pets on Long Island is a major issue and sadly more amazing animals are ending up homeless. Whether caring for strays found wandering the streets, rescuing neglected and abandoned animals, or saving dogs from the horrors of the puppy mill industry, the shelter is a haven for all animals and for some, the last resort.
Without SASF, these animals would not be able to survive. The shelter provides a steppingstone for animals to find loving homes. It offers them housing, food, medical treatment, training, and rehabilitation when necessary.
Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum-selling global singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani headlined the 19th annual Feinstein Summer Concert, which raised $3.6 million to advance scientific discovery at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
For more than two decades, researchers at the Feinstein Institutes have made important discoveries that have transformed the treatment of conditions such as lupus, arthritis, sepsis, cancer, psychiatric illnesses and Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 5,000 researchers and staff at the Feinstein Institutes are dedicated to producing knowledge to cure disease, directly impacting the care of over 2 million Northwell patients each year.
“The remarkable work at the Feinstein Institutes sets it apart as a global leader that is truly changing the future of how we treat disease,” said Northwell President and CEO Michael J. Dowling.
Since its inception, the Feinstein Summer Concert has raised more than $40 million to accelerate research and fuel the development of innovative therapies to treat illness and cure disease.
“For 19 years, the Feinstein Summer Concert has fostered an extraordinary community of supporters who champion our mission to discover and invent groundbreaking therapeutic innovations,” said Kevin Tracey, MD, president of the Feinstein Institutes and the Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research.
Chris Wragge, co-anchor of “CBS 2 News This Morning” and “CBS 2 News at Noon,” was emcee for the eighth year. Catering and event design were coordinated by Larry Scott of Lawrence Scott Events. This year’s generous donors included leadership sponsors, the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation and Donald Zucker and Barbara Hrbek Zucker.
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health — the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State – encompassing 50 research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff. the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, and molecular medicine.
They’ve made breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine — a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine.
For more information about supporting the Feinstein Institutes and Northwell Health, click here.
