Gift of Life Celebrates Partners for Life Gala
May 29, 2013 by Gift of Life
News
On Tuesday, May 21st, Gift of Life hosted the 13th Annual Partners for Life Gala! Celebrating many years of working together to save lives; guests, volunteers and staff came together to mark Gift of Life’s heartwarming and unique event!
Over 400 guests attended this year’s event, which was held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City and chaired by Susan & Edward Blumenfeld, Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg and Kim & Jason Ostheimer. The evening’s master of ceremonies was Jessica Abo, an award-winning television journalist and philanthropist who recently hosted her own black-tie event to support Gift of Life, The Marrow Match Gala. Jessica said, “This organization means a great deal to me, and it gives me great joy to be here with you this evening.”
The evening began with a welcome from Gift of Life’s Founder and Executive Director, Jay Feinberg, who outlined all of the important behind the scenes work that goes into making life-saving transplants possible. He said, “You may assume we have hundreds of people on the job. In fact, the grand total of Gift of Life’s staff is only 40. 40 passionate, dedicated people who, with your support and inspiration, operate the 13th largest bone marrow registry out of 69 registries worldwide.” He continued, “Margaret Mead once said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.’ Thanks to you, our supporters, our incredible volunteers and our dedicated staff, together, we do just that.”
The culmination of the evening was the introduction of two bone marrow transplant recipients to their life-saving donors. Terry was the first to be introduced to his donor Nicole. Terry said, “No matter how hard I try, I can’t find adequate words to thank you for saving my life. You have given me the greatest gift one person can give another. You weren’t written up as a hero in the local newspaper, like the quick-thinking bystander might be, yet what you did was greater—a deep, pure and unselfish act of the highest goodness.” A joyful Nicole said, “Life gets busy, but you taught me to get busy with living life to the fullest. This lesson I will carry around for the rest of my life and for this, I thank you.”
A young mother, Rivka, also met her donor, Scott. She said, “It’s hard to find words to adequately thank you, when what you’ve selflessly given me is foundational to any of the joys and experiences I’ll have going forward.” Scott explained, “We live in a fast paced world and often do not stop to appreciate all that is good. Being part of this process reminds me every day of the power we as individuals can have on one another, and reaffirms my faith in humanity.”
The audience was pleased to learn the amazing family relationships between our donors and recipients this year. Not only are donor Nicole and recipient Rivka cousins, but Nicole met her fiancé after her donation while running a drive for Gift of Life.
Following dinner, the inaugural Founders Circle Award was presented to Steven and Debra Prince. This prestigious honor recognizes individuals or organizations who have demonstrated substantial and ongoing commitment to and passion for Gift of Life's mission. As Steven accepted the award he remarked, “While Debbie and I are deeply honored tonight, we are more than humbled by Gift of Life’s work that makes supporting this organization such an easy decision. We are hopeful that the day will come when the registry will have a match for everyone who needs a bone marrow transplant and look forward to having a very large Founders’ Circle, brimming with supporters who have helped make this happen.”
The Partners for Life Award was presented to Drs. Helen and Stephen Colen in recognition of their support and dedication to Gift of Life’s mission to save lives. After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, Steve was fortunate to receive a bone marrow transplant from a donor from Gift of Life’s registry. Determined to turn his adversity into hope and promise for others, he and Helen worked to raise funds to grow the registry through donor recruitment and processing wait listed test kits. Over 2,400 donors have been sponsored by the Colen’s Donor Circle.
