Under the soaring ceiling of Gotham Hall, Gift of Life’s One Huge Night NYC Gala transformed June 2, 2026, into an evening defined by hope, gratitude, and extraordinary human connection. Guests witnessed moving first-time meetings between blood cancer survivors and their lifesaving donors, while standout supporters including acclaimed Broadway legend Tovah Feldshuh and advertising giant TBWA\Chiat\Day were honored. The inaugural Howard A. Weiser Legacy Award added a poignant new tradition to an already remarkable night
Thirteen-year-old Mason Wang, a survivor of aplastic anemia, and his family were overjoyed to meet his marrow donor, Jin Stedge, 34, a mother as well as the co-founder and CEO of TrueNorth, a freight booking and shipping software company. Mason along with his mother Suzan, father Mike and sister Madison were introduced to Jin by philanthropist Lynn Schusterman, whose longstanding support for Gift of Life goes back more than 30 years.
During a routine wellness visit in 2022, Mason – then a 4th grader – received his diagnosis unexpectedly and learned that he would need to undergo a marrow transplant, which is the only known cure.
His parents worried at first because compatibility factors are population-specific, and fewer than 50% of Asian Americans can find a match in the registry. Mason’s sister Madison was also not a close enough match to do the transplant, but good news soon followed: his donor was found in Gift of Life’s registry, and she immediately said yes, it would be an honor to help him recover his health.
“I’m a new mom, and I’ve wondered what would happen if my son’s life was in danger, and imagining what it must have been like for Mason’s parents,” said Jin. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help and for this chance to meet sweet, brave Mason today. This has truly been the honor of my life.”
“There is a large population of Asian people that need donations, and there really is a lack of people in the registry from the Asian population,” added Mason’s father Mike. “My hope is that after hearing my son’s story, more people will better understand the importance of swabbing.”
Stem cell donor Eden Monk (above, left) was invited to speak at the gala, but little did she know that something much more was in store. After being introduced by Board Member Julie Rubinstein and her husband, Andrew, both Gala Vice Chairs, the 21-year-old Pitzer College student spoke about the rewards she felt from donating stem cells in April 2025.
“It’s really easy to say ‘no,’ there are always dozens of completely reasonable justifications,” said Eden. “All I was allowed to know was that my recipient was 39 years old and had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and her treatments were failing. That was enough information for me…no matter what, I was a ‘yes.’ How many of us are ever given the chance to save another human life? I am not a hero; I did a good thing, and all I am is someone that said yes. My message to you is very simple: say ‘yes.’”
After her remarks, Andrew stepped up to the microphone with a surprise announcement. “Eden,” he said, “now that it has been a year since your donation, we can finally tell you more about your recipient Rachael Cespedes-Noel.”
He explained that Rachael is now 41, a wife and mom, with a rewarding career as a pharmacy technician. When she nearly passed out while helping her grandparents one day, she went to a walk-in clinic to be checked. After testing Rachael’s blood, the clinic called an ambulance to take her directly to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Unfortunately, the initial treatments were not completely effective, and a stem cell transplant became her best option for recovery. Rachael was extremely lucky that the transplant team had taken swift action and proactively identified her match – Eden – in Gift of Life’s registry, and she was able to receive stem cells only four weeks later. Today, she is thriving.
Then Andrew said the magical words: “Rachael is here tonight! Eden, please welcome the woman whose life you saved!”
The two tearful women shared a long hug, then Rachael shared a few words.
“I just really want to thank everybody and this stranger, who was so selfless, helped save my life,” she said. “Also, thank you to Gift of Life, without this great organization, who knows how long I would be here. I’m just so, so grateful.”
Gift of Life Board Member and transplant survivor Wendy Siegel (above, left) presented an emotional tribute to supporter – and longtime friend – actress Tovah Feldshuh. Tovah is recognized for not only her personal humanitarian drive to improve the world, but also her advocacy for Gift of Life’s mission. For more than a decade, she has been a passionate supporter, inspired in part by her close friendship with Wendy, who is also a Gift of Life Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
“Ten years ago to the day, June 2, 2016, I had the honor of introducing Wendy to her anonymous donor, Mordechai Weiss,” said Tovah. “In Hollywood, we spend millions of dollars creating superheroes. Gift of Life found a much cheaper solution: ordinary people who are superheroes. Gift of Life has built its entire mission on connection – one human being saying to another, I don’t even know you, but you may live because I’m willing to give. This, to me, is holiness. This is the best of us, the best of the community, the best of the human race. When you save a life, you also save all the invisible tomorrows that are attached to that precious life. Thank you to Gift of Life for reminding us that the deepest human instinct is not destruction; it is rescue.”
Through her words, Feldshuh captured the essence of the evening: that a single act of kindness can create a lifetime of tomorrows.
Tova Weiser, who, with her late husband Howard Weiser, has been a staunch supporter of Gift of Life for many years, presented the inaugural Howard A. Weiser Legacy Award to two-time transplant recipient and Gift of Life advocate Ezra Fineman.
“Tonight, we honor my husband, Howard, and the legacy he created through compassion, generosity, and a devotion to saving lives,” said Tova. “There is something deeply powerful about honoring the past while actively shaping the future. And that is exactly what the Howard A. Weiser Legacy Award represents: continuity, purpose, and the enduring strength of family and community.”
“I am so unbelievably honored to be receiving this award,” said Ezra, a 17-year-old student at Fair Lawn High School. “I am going to try my absolute best to carry on the legacy that Howard started. He was an amazing person, and I miss him so much.”
“Ezra, I can’t think of anyone who reflects Howard’s spirit more fully than you,” added Gift of Life Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg. “Your compassion and leadership, and your unwavering commitment to this mission honors him every single day.”
Ezra was diagnosed with a rare primary immune deficiency, Hyper IgM Syndrome, when he was an infant. The only curative therapy for this condition is stem cell transplantation. With no matching donor at that time, Ezra’s family ran drives around the world to find him an unrelated donor. Thanks to their efforts, matches have been found for 625 patients to date, resulting in 91 transplants.
Although Ezra received his transplants as a young child, he has chosen to help raise awareness about Hyper IgM through hosting his own podcast, and he advocates for legislation that will help expand the registry, facilitate more transplants, and benefit patients and their caregivers. He also runs drives at his high school to help find new donors.
(L-R) Jeffrey Goldberg, Alan Perlman, Jason Ashlock, and Mussashi Shintaku.
Jeffrey Goldberg, CEO of Fairstead and, along with his wife Heller, serving as Gala Vice Chairs, presented the Corporate Partner Award to advertising firm TBWA\Chiat\Day for the creation of the innovative Hero Gum campaign. Alan Perlman, Executive Director, Mussashi Shintaku, Creative Director, and Jason Ashlock, Executive Creative Director, accepted the award on behalf of the agency.
“We greatly appreciate this recognition, though honestly it’s been our honor to be Gift of Life’s partner,” said Alan Perlman. “Our job allows us to think creatively, but we don’t always have partners who truly see the value of what creativity can do for their goals. We give our sincerest thanks to our incredible partners at Gift of Life, whose vision inspired us: Jay, Marti Freund, and Amy Glanzman. Thank you for seeing the potential in Hero Gum as a creative way to attract new donors to the registry to potentially save a life. You had a great vision over 20 years ago with the introduction of the cheek swab, and 20+ years later, here we are with the introduction of Hero Gum as the latest innovation from Gift of Life as a method of collection for DNA testing. To our partners at Mars-Wrigley and Labcorp, without you, this would not have been possible, so thank you. We greatly appreciate this recognition as your partners in this crucial mission.”
Gift of Life is always on the alert for ways to make joining the registry easier and less intimidating. Our partners at the advertising firm TBWA\Chiat\Day came to us two years ago with a fascinating concept: perhaps chewing gum could be used to capture HLA tissue types in place of cheek swabs.
In partnership with Labcorp, we tested whether this was possible. While this scientific effort was underway, the creative team proposed a high-energy campaign called Hero Gum, to be introduced during baseball season as a fun and tasty way to register new donors. Doublemint joined the effort, and once Labcorp confirmed that just two minutes of chewing gum collects the same information as a cheek swab, it was full speed ahead to launch Hero Gum.
The Hero Gum introduction was held on August 1, 2025 during a New York Mets game at Citi Field, and was a smash hit with baseball fans. The bright, fun campaign came complete with an animated short film, packaging designs, support materials, and a huge publicity effort.
The Hero Gum campaign has garnered international attention, not only from stem cell registries around the world, but also numerous awards from the advertising industry: it has now won 10 prestigious Clio Awards, including Gold, Silver and Bronze in multiple categories, plus two London International Awards, and is now shortlisted for multiple Cannes Lion awards.
This year’s gala was chaired by Gift of Life Chairman of the Board Stephen B. Siegel and his wife Wendy, with Heller and Jeffrey Goldberg, plus Julie and Andrew Rubinstein acting as Vice Chairs, and Edward Blumenfeld and his wife Susan serving as Honorary Gala Chairs.
Thank you to everyone who attended the One Huge Night New York City Gala. We deeply appreciate your support for our mission: to ensure that every person in need of a blood stem cell or marrow donor can find one at the time they are needed.
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