November 29, 2012

The Christmas Rose at Carnegie Hall: We celebrated the holiday season with American composer Tim Janis and his ensemble at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Honored that evening were Mr. Leonard A. Lauder and Mrs. Lisa Lori for their Open Heart stories and their charitable efforts.

Leonard A. Lauder (Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation) Leonard A. Lauder is Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). The mission of the ADDF is to accelerate the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias and cognitive aging. All of the ADDF’s administrative and overhead costs are covered by a private foundation, enabling 100% of all funds raised to go directly to Alzheimer’s drug research and related programs. The ADDF has granted more than $54 million to fund nearly 400 drug discovery programs in academic centers and at biotechnology companies in 18 countries.
Mr. Lauder is Chairman Emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, with annual sales of over $5 billion. He is also extremely active in the worlds of education, art, politics and philanthropy. He is a charter trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, former trustee and Chairman of the Board of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a trustee of The Aspen Institute and a member of the President’s Council of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. He was named an Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters in 1994 and was presented the National Order of Merit by the French Government in 1996. In 2002, Mr. Lauder was named an Officier de la Légion d'Honneur by France and was recognized by The United States Navy Supply Corps Foundation with its Distinguished Alumni Award. www.alzdiscovery.org

Lisa Lori (Operation Smile) Lisa Lori is president of Lisa Lori Communications, a Public Relations firm specializing in non-profit and lifestyle marketing. Lisa and her husband Mat have helped raise more than $300,000 since 2010 for Operation Smile through initiatives such as "The Three Little Bears" initiative, named after Lori's three sons. For just $240, a donor can give a child in the developing world a life changing "smile surgery" and a teddy bear to accompany them through their surgery and recovery. Donors also receive one of the three bears.
Lisa was inspired to create "The Three Little Bears" because of her three little boys, Zachary, Luke and Griffin. Dr. Ronald Zuker of Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto performed the life changing transplant surgeries that gave her boys the ability to smile and speak more clearly after they had been born with facial paralysis. After learning about Operation Smile from Dr. Zuker, who is a medical volunteer for them, Lisa and life-long friend, handbag designer Kathy Van Zeeland, created "The Three Little Bears" for Operation Smile.
Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity that is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children. They have provided more than 3.5 million healthcare evaluations and conducted over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.
Lori has been interviewed and has written about philanthropy, special needs parenting and public relations by numerous media outlets including: Babycenter.com, the Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox & Friends, NY1 and was named Role MOMdel of the Week by Moms in the City from The New York Daily News. She has also contributed a chapter to the critically acclaimed book Elephant in the Playroom by Denise Brodey and parents of special needs children. www.operationsmile.org/bears

April 21, 2012

2nd Annual Open Hearts Gala: Dinner and live entertainment to honor individuals who live their lives in accordance with the Open Heart Philosophy. Each honoree receives the Open Heart Award and proceeds from the evening are given to each honoree's charity of choice. This year's Honorees are:

• Glen and Kim Campbell: Legendary country singer and five-time Grammy winner Glen Campbell announced last year that he was living with Alzheimer’s disease (www.alz.org). Since his diagnosis, he and his wife have used their story as a platform to help raise awareness for the disease that affects an estimated 5.1 million people worldwide. Campbell is currently touring on his “Goodbye Tour,” and was recently honored at the 54th annual GRAMMY Awards, receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
• John and Roxanna Green: John and Roxanna Green established The Christina-Taylor Green Foundation (www.christina-taylorgreen.org) in memory of their daughter, who was tragically killed in the January 8, 2011 Tucson shooting associated with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The Christina-Taylor Green Foundation is dedicated to honoring the life and memory of Christina-Taylor through charitable and educational projects that reflect and embody her interests, values and dreams.
• Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete: Actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, established the HollyRod Foundation (www.HollyRod.org) in honor of Holly’s late father Matt Robinson, who lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease. The organization has since expanded its mission to raise awareness for autism, a developmental disorder their oldest son RJ was diagnosed with at the age of three. The HollyRod Foundation is dedicated to providing compassionate care to those living with Autism and Parkinson’s disease.
• Kristi Yamaguchi: Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion, Kristi Yamaguchi, is one of the most popular and successful figure skaters of our time. Along with her many awards and accomplishments, Kristi is a member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1996, she founded the Always Dream Foundation dedicated to fundraising and supporting children’s charities. In 2008 Kristi became a Dancing with the Stars Champion and since has become a New York Times best-selling author, her children’s book Dream Big, Little Pig soared onto the bestseller list and remained there for multiple weeks. She is married to Stanley Cup Champion, Bret Hedican and together, they have two young daughters.

February 19, 2011

1st Annual Open Hearts Gala: Watch the video below to experience the magical evening of the very first Open Hearts Gala, honoring Pat and Emmitt Smith, Jesse Billauer, Susan Rizzo Vincent and Robin Roberts.