Bpeace Gala raises funds for Rwanda beauty vocational school and US apprenticeships for Afghan businesswomen

May 14, 2008 –Bpeace’s annual gala in New York raised 30% more than the prior year and included an impromptu performance by honoree Lidia Bastianich who auctioned off dinner for 10 at her restaurant Felida. “I’m going to cook you the same meal I made for the Pope when he was here,” enticed Lidia. The bidding for the meal was so spirited, Lidia offered to do it twice, and netted $11,000 for the Bpeace coffers on her twinkle alone.

About 250 guests of firms like long-time Bpeace supporters Coach, PR Newswire, United Business Media and Kirk Palmer & Associates were moved by the work Bpeace is doing to strengthen the businesses of women in Rwanda and Afghanistan. During the “fund-a-cause” live auction, Swann Auction Galleries president Nicholas Lowery had barely opened the bidding when Sylvia Golbin and her husband David Goodman raised their paddles to immediately bid $10,000 to help launch a beauty vocational school in Rwanda and bring 12 Afghan women to the US to apprentice on the job at American firms. Following Sylvia and David’s pioneering, 53 more guests raised their paddles to contribute to the cause.

“We are pleased by this generous support and humbled by the financial goals still ahead of us,” said Toni Maloney, Bpeace co-founder and Chair of its Governing Board. “The fact that we were able to generate a 30% increase in donations in a year when Wall Street and financial companies are cutting jobs, is a testament to the steadfastness of our supporters who know us and bring in new friends as well. Even the amount of donations from people unable to attend the Gala increased by 50% over last year. We make a compelling case for female entrepreneurship in war-torn countries: We believe more jobs mean less violence.”

Cookbook author, public television host, chef and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich accepted Bpeace’s first-ever Economic Impact Award for her achievements as an entrepreneur and role model. Lidia came to the US after living as a displaced refugee in Trieste, Italy. As the Village Voice said, “her subsequent success makes her a living example of what Bpeace is trying to achieve.”

Bold Faced Names

The festivities at the Capitale event space attracted actor Vincent D’Onofrio and his wife Carin van der Donk. Carin owns the children’s boutique Sons + Daughters and imports knitted hats and dresses from Bpeace’s Afghan Associate, Suria.  This year Carin and Vincent hosted a table at the Gala, bringing actor Ethan Hawke and film director Peter Himmelstein into the Bpeace family.

Financial journalism mixed with spoken word poetry as Margaret Brennan of CNBC hosted the evening and Queen Godis, who has appeared at The Kennedy Center and the Apollo, performed an original composition “you have to be peace to have peace.”

Other celebrities in attendance included CNN’s Ali Velshi, entrepreneur and WOR Radio talk show host Liz Hamburg, Fabien Cousteau (grandson of the famous underwater cinematographer Jacques Cousteau), Claudia and Diane Franey (daughters of the legendary New York Times 60-minute chef Pierre Franey), Sheila Lukins (who founded Silver Palette) and Sean Mellyn (artist, who has works at the Whitney and MoMA).

In only three years, the Bpeace Gala has become one of New York's consistently fun, festive and relevant events with its focus on the Afghan and Rwandan businesswomen Bpeace assists and the mix of great venues, food and auction items. This year’s event opened with a video edited by Cass Greener with significant photography by Paula Lerner and Peter Lien.

Follow the Money

The proceeds of Bpeace Gala ticket sales, the live and silent auctions, and Gala contributions, go to Bpeace programs to help women in conflict and post-conflict regions build sustainable businesses.

Funds raised at previous year’s Gala’s have built a pre-school in Kabul, and equipped Rwandan and Afghan women with laptop computers.

For information on participating in the 2009 Bpeace Gala, click here.

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