Martin And Jean Shafiroff Host Thanksgiving Cocktails And Toy Drive For New York City Mission Society

Jean Shafiroff likes to connect people from all walks of life, in her home and through her charities. Her Thanksgiving week, devoted to the New York City Mission Society, started with a Toy Drive cocktail holiday party in her Park Avenue home and ended with her sponsoring and serving a Mission holiday meal in Harlem to those in need. “One out of three children living in New York City lives at or below the poverty level,” Jean said. “It’s very disturbing.”

Jean’s heart of gold breaks for every one of these kids. And the New York City Mission Society is the kind of giving connectivity between zip codes, generations and walks of life that makes Jean tick. She lends her name and formidable fundraising talents to many causes, very purposefully. “I try to choose ones that need a little boost,” she says. “Otherwise, why get involved?” Her zeal for Mission is giving them a well-deserved infusion of funds and a higher profile.

Tuesday night, Elsie McCabe Thompson, Mary McFadden, Elizabeth Stribling, Jackie Rogers, Geoffrey Bradfield, Roy Kean, Randi Shatz, Kenita Lloyd, Chele Farley, Susan Cushing, William Allen, Ken Poliwoda, Barbara Poliwoda, Edgar Batista, Lillianna Cavendish, Bruce and Carole Harting, Alex Donner, George Wayne, Dr. Judith Hellman, Scott Elkins, Elizabeth Shafiroff, designers Victor de Souza and Caroline Z, Gary Lawrance, Zita Davisson, Tracy Stern, Cassandra Seidenfeld, Nicole Noonan, and Consuelo Costin Vanderbilt were among the guests who donned fall colors, sipped champagne and were treated to delicious hors d’oeuvres. Jean Shafiroff thanked everyone for joining her family to toast the New York City Mission Society, which helps children, youth and families in New York City’s poorest neighborhoods transcend the ills of poverty and create a cycle of success for generations to come. Every guest brought an unwrapped toy for the New York City Mission Society Holiday Toy Drive.

Thanksgiving found her in Harlem, literally serving the underserved — a beautiful holiday meal. Watching families wrap up food to take home, Jean wished she could give more. Of course, she will.

For more information about New York City Mission Society, visit www.nycmissionsociety.org.