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Events | Past Worldwide Events
Dress for Success Worldwide hosts or participates in numerous fundraisers and
other events each year. More detailed information about our previous events can
be found below.
Something To Share Dress for Success
Worldwide Gala 2008
On April 9th, 2008, more than 1,300
guests attended the Something To Share Worldwide Gala—the most successful event
in Dress for Success history, raising over $1.4 million! Held at the Marriott
Marquis in New York City, the gala was a night of celebration for Dress for
Success past achievements and future endeavors. The focus was certainly on the
heart and soul of the organization—the clients and their success stories.
From the fifteen women seated in the center of the ballroom to the heartfelt
testimonial by client Olga White, the women's spirits truly shone through.
The event was chaired by Debra
Kelly-Ennis, Chief Marketing Officer, Diageo North America, and honored several
top corporate executives for their contributions to both the Something To Share
campaign and Dress for Success initiatives. This year's honorees included Doug
Checkeris, CEO of MediaCom USA; Rosemarie Ryan, President of JWT
New York; and Mary Wong, President of the Office Depot Foundation.
The overwhelming financial achievement was gained through
sponsorships, ticket sales, journal ads, and both the Pledge for Support—which
raised close to $100,000—and
the silent auction that took place that evening. In addition to Ms. Kelly-Ennis
and the honorees, other very special guests in attendance were Tommy Hilfiger,
Sean Combs, Ivan Menezes of Diageo North America, Star Jones, LisaRay McCoy-Misick,
Food Networks Sandra Lee and WNBA's Barbara Turner. As a part of the
celebration, very special guests Janice Combs (mother of Sean Combs), Joyce
Scott (mother of Jill Scott) and Regina Turner (mother of Barbara Turner) were
honored as a part of a special Toast to Our Mothers.
Presenting Sponsors
Reception Underwriter
Platinum Sponsors
Ann Taylor
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
Citi
dressbarn
Festive Productions
JetBlue
Just Marketing International
JWT
MediaCom
Ogilvy
Props for Today
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
YSC
Women Helping Women Breakfast
The 7th annual Women Helping Women breakfast had its most successful year
ever, raising more than $90,000 and selling out more than a month in advance.
The event was held on December 12, 2007, and was presented by the motion picture
P.S. I Love You, based on the novel of the same name. Actress Lisa Kudrow
delivered the keynote address. Also in attendance were Cecelia Ahern, author of
the book, and Richard LaGravenese and Wendy Finerman, the films director and
producer, respectively.
The morning opened with remarks from Elena and Joan, a mentor pair in the
Women2Women mentoring program, who reflected on what women helping women
means to them. Elena, a Dress for Success client, then presented the Model of
Excellence award to JPMorgan Chase Administrative Professionals Network for its
support of the Professional Women's Group (PWG) program.
In conjunction with the P.S. I Love You theme, attendees were invited to
write their own inspiring P.S. message to a new 2008 member of the PWG. Everyone
in the room took this task to heart including the following guest who wrote,
This is a new beginning. Everyone has to take their first step. You have our
support and you will succeed. Guests were also encouraged to make donations in
honor of the PWG member who would receive their message. It was a wonderful way
to connect each person in the room to a woman who will be helped by our
organization in 2008.
A true highlight of the morning was the testimonial given by Dress for Success
client Beverly. A member of the 2007 PWG, she moved many in the room to tears
with her candid account of her struggles with domestic violence, substance abuse
and being incarcerated. Beverly then described her experience with Dress for
Success and how the organization has helped her regain her self-esteem,
confidence and spirit. Keynote speaker Lisa Kudrow followed Beverly with a
funny, poignant address about the strength of women and the power of we. It was
a fitting way to end a morning focused on lending a hand to one another in order
to help each of us succeed and achieve our goals.
A 5-night trip to Ireland was generously donated by Tourism Ireland during the
breakfasts live auction. In addition, our friends at Warner Bros. surprised one
guest at each table with tickets for two to a sneak preview of the movie. Thanks
to Hyperion, guests were able to buy a copy of P.S. I Love You, with 100%
of proceeds benefiting Dress for Success. The morning came to a close as Cecelia
Ahern signed copies of the book for those who purchased them.
Special thanks to the following companies for their corporate support of the
event:
Presented by P.S. I Love You
Benefactors
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
FedEx Corporation
Lord & Taylor
Sponsors
Ann Taylor
Denihan Hospitality Group
Diageo
dressbarn
Kraft Foods
Office Depot
Ogilvy
Women in Finance: Making Change Breakfast
Guest Host: Jean Chatzky
Keynote Speaker: Sallie Krawcheck, CEO, Citi Global Wealth Management
Honoring Merrill Lynch
Special recognition to Microsoft
On October 25, 2007, we held the very successful Women in Finance: Making
Change breakfast. This event provided women in the financial sector with an
opportunity to come together in support of the Dress for Success mission of
promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women. We were honored to
have Citi Global Wealth Management CEO Sallie Krawcheck as our keynote speaker.
She spoke candidly about the difficulty faced by female executives in the
financial world and the sacrifices that must be made to reach the top. Her
insight into the current state of the market, as well as the opportunities
available for women to excel hit home for many attendees. She spent a portion of
her speech taking questions from the audience on topics ranging from how to ask
for a significant raise to what the impact a woman as President of the U.S.
would be.
Merrill Lynch was honored for their support of our organization and Subha Barry,
head of multi-cultural careers with the company, delivered an inspiring speech
about the necessity of corporations to give back to organizations like Dress for
Success. She delivered a mandate for all in the room to think about their own
successes and how they can contribute to women and organizations that need their
help. The award to Merrill Lynch was presented by Dress for Success client Anita
Darby who shared her own story of struggling with alcoholism, homelessness and
depression. Her valiant journey with Dress for Success began more than 8 years
ago, and she now not only has a wonderful career but is planning to return to
school for her MBA to potentially begin her own non-profit. She ended her
testimonial by touting the success of her own children, a major source of pride
for her. She brought the room together in laughter and tears and made everyone
realize the true reason they were in the room to support Dress for Success and
women like Anita!
The event was a huge success and raised more than $75,000 for Dress for Success.
This was in large part due to our event committee led by Maureen Kodweis of
Merrill Lynch. In addition, we must thank our presenting sponsors Citi, Merrill
Lynch and RBS Greenwich Capital, as well as our gold sponsor BlackRock. Their
generous support helped our inaugural event exceed all expectations. We look
forward to another great breakfast next fall.
Presenting Sponsors
Women & Wine - A Night at Palm Too
More than 120 women and men attended our inaugural
Women & Wine event in partnership with The Palm Restaurant Group on
September 24, 2007. The evening was about networking, enjoying wonderful food,
wine and cocktails provided by Palm Too and Diageo as well as supporting Dress
for Success. More than $17,000 was raised and many new friends and donors were
introduced to our organization through this event. Thanks to the support of the
American Sommelier Association, Megan Thomas, sommelier at Caf Gray, was on
hand to answer questions related to the wine served at the event and the art of
wine-tasting. In addition, we had a raffle with gifts from WineEnthusiast.com,
Women of the Vine, MAMMA MIA! and the CBS Early Show. Each guest
was then treated to a wonderful wine set courtesy of Red Envelope. It was a
wonderful evening for all!
Event Co-Host
The New York Network of the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring
Confederation (IWIRC)
National Association of Insurance Women - New York City (NAIW-NYC)
We thank IWIRC and NAIW-NYC for being a part of this event and welcome all
members to join us for a night of networking and philanthropy.
Special thanks to The Palm Restaurant Group and Diageo for their generosity in
supporting this event!
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