 |
 |
  |
 |
   |
 |
  |
 |
 |
  |
 |
  |
 |
   |
 |
   |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
Make-A-Wish In the News
March 24, 2005 - New York, New York – On March 16, 2005, the Charmer Sunbelt Group, Bear Stearns, and Sextant Search Partners LLP presented the Second Annual Wine Tasting & Auction at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York City to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York – raising over $330,000.
Gail Freebody, director of donor cultivation and major events for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York reported, “The event was a fabulous success. We can't thank our sponsors enough for hosting this wonderful evening. It enabled us to raise needed funds to continue to make children's wishes come true.” Over 400 guests bid on more than 100 lots of w ines from around the world, tours of some of the world's most distinguished wineries, and other wine-related products.
Charles Merinoff,, vice chairman and CEO of The Charmer Sunbelt Group, the nation's leading distributors of fine wines, spirits, beer and bottled water, was the visionary behind this event for the second year in a row. “We are so grateful to Charles and Leigh Merinoff – dear friends and outstanding supporters of the Foundation,” continued Gail. Charles is a member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York's Board of Directors. His wife Leigh, is the gracious force behind the organization's Wish Tile Program, a program that allows wish children and their families to create a memory of their wish experience and a permanent installation on the walls of the WishQuarters office.
The evening began with a VIP Horizontal Tasting of the 2002 Vintage of the Wines of the Domain de La Romanée-Conti: La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée-St. Vivant, Échézeaux, Grands Echézeaux and Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru. In addition, there was a special Benefactor Tasting of a 1994 Retrospective of California Cabernet Sauvignon: Silver Oak, The Hess Collection, Rombauer Vineyards, Groth Vineyards and Burgess Cellars.
The VIP and benefactor tasting was followed by a general tasting and silent auction. The general tasting offered food from some of New York's leading restaurants, accompanied by a selection of wines poured by over 50 vintners. The New York restaurants that provided delectable menu samples of favorite entrees were: Abigail Kirsch, Citron, The Culinary Institute of America, Butter, Poetessa, Milos,George O'Neill's Steakhouse, Hispaniola, Otto Enoteca, Guastavino's, Ruby Foo's, Tropica, and Tupelo Grill. The highlight of the evening was listening to the event's guest speaker, 22-year-old Robert Rivera, recount his experience when he was granted a wish from the Foundation at the age of ten. Robert said that receiving his wish to meet the cast of “Beverly Hills 90210,” gave him the hope that anything is possible – even when battling a life-threatening medical condition.
The live auction portion of the evening, animated with active bidding sparked by auctioneer, Catherine Elkies, featured exclusive items such as a hand-etched and painted magnum wine bottle of art created by a Make-A-Wish child, winery tours, world-class wine education courses, golf outings and more. The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. The Metro New York chapter, which serves the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau County, Long Island began in 1983 and is headquartered in Lake Success with a field office in Manhattan. Since its founding, the Metro New York chapter has granted more than 5,500 wishes. In fiscal year 2004, the chapter granted 489 wishes to local children and hosted another 186 children from Make-A-Wish chapters around the world whose wishes involved travel to New York City. This equates to one wish every 13 hours -- making Metro New York one of the most active chapters in the national network of 74 Make-A-Wish chapters across the country.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Make-A-Wish Foundation of AmericaPrivacy Policy
|