Southampton Philanthropist Moves Coast To Coast To Raise Awareness For Charities

No sitting on a beach in St. Barth’s or hitting the slopes of Aspen this winter for Southampton philanthropist Jean Shafiroff. Instead, the busy Mrs. Shafiroff has been zigzagging across the country to promote several organizations near and dear to her heart. In Palm Beach, she and husband investment banker Martin Shafiroff and Ambassador Mary Ourisman and her husband Mandell Ourisman along with Stanley Rumbough hosted a cocktail party at the Ourismans’ splendid mansion to honor the New York Mission Society and to raise awareness for the organization’s upcoming annual Champions for Children Gala in New York on Wednesday, April 1st. Mr. Rumbough is the son of Hamptons and Palm Beach socialite Dina Merrill Hartley, a longtime champion of the New York Mission Society, the 200 year old nonprofit and the oldest in New York providing programs and services that help break the cycle of poverty for New York’s children, youth and families. Those in attendance included such Hamptonites as Cole Rumbough, Christine Schott Ledes and George M. Ledes, Audrey and Martin Gruss, Tommy Quick, Anka Palitz, Sharon Bush, Mai Hallingby Harrison, Somers Farkas, Geoffrey Bradfield, Pamela O’Connor and Megan Tierney.

Designer Victor De Souza and Elizabeth Shafiroff. (Photo: Shaun M/AnnieWatt.com)

Then it was off to Beverly Hills to host a special screening and dinner in honor of Kate Barker Froyland’s film “Song One” and in celebration of The New York Women’s Foundation. Written and directed by Ms. Barker-Froyland, the film starring Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Ben Rosenfield and Mary Steenburgen, was followed by a celeb studded dinner at The Palm attended by the film’s stars. The “Song One” premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and opened in the United States on Friday, January 23rd. Among the glittering crowd were Lionel Richie, Derek Wayne Johnson, Sally Kirkland, Billy Zane, Norby Walters, George Wight, Nastassja Kinski, Gary Busey, Susan Blakely, Johnathan Rice, and Illeana Douglas.

The event raised awareness and support for The New York Women’s Foundation, a cross-cultural alliance of women serving as a voice for women and a force for change. Mrs. Shafiroff is a longtime member of the organization’s Board of Directors.

Back in New York on Thursday, February 19th, the Shafiroff’s opened their splendid Park Avenue apartment for their New York pals to learn more about The New York City Mission Society’s April Gala. The glittering crowd sipped Veuve Clicquot, nibbled on delectable hors d’oeuvres, and had an opportunity to hear first hand from Mrs. Shafiroff, Stanley Rumbough, and New York City’s Mission Society dynamic president Elsie McCabe Thompson about the organization’s many programs aimed at improving the lives of children, youth, and families in New York City’s most underserved communities.

Randi Schatz and Consuelo Vanderbilt-Costin. (Photo: Shaun M/AnnieWatt.com)

Listening attentively to the speakers were NYC Mission Society Chairman Derek Steinhiser and Treasurer Jay Moorhead, Elizabeth Shafiroff, designer Victor De Souza, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Joy and Alan Marks, artist Ike Ude, Copper Cunningham, Derek Steinhiser, Margo Langenberg, Christine Biddle, Brinkley Skye, Nicollette Ramirez, Montgomery Frazier and Ben Mindich, designer Malan Breton, Chiu-Ti Jansen, Amy D’Agostino, Sheila Rosenblum, Angela Trostle, Mike Noonan, Nicole Noonan, Yolanda Santiago, Hollis Russell, designer Zang Toi, Randi Schatz, Consuelo Vanderbilt-Costin, Sophia Bishop, Dawne Marie Grannum, Dr Penny Grant, Gayle Hawkins, Flo Anthony, Yolanda Santiago, Elsie McCabe Thompson, Andréa Kantor, Natasha Das, Taylor Burns, Allison Ecung, Lady Liliana Cavendish, Charles Bornstein, Shannon Hales and Goldman Sachs exec Valentino Carlotti.

In addition to her work for the New York Mission Society and the New York Women’s Foundation, Mrs. Shafiroff has been a trustee of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services since 1992, and served as a board member of the Youth Counseling League, a division of JBFCS, from 1998 to 2009. She has served as co-chair of the Southampton Bath & Tennis Club Charitable Foundation since 2005 and as a member of the board of directors from 2001 to 2004. Mrs. Shafiroff is also a board member of Lighthouse International; Couture Council, which supports the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT); French Heritage Society; and an honorary board member of the Southampton Animal Shelter, one of her family’s favorite organizations.

Mrs. Shafiroff is known for her leadership in raising money for the Southampton Hospital and chaired the hospital’s annual summer gala fundraiser in 2010, 2011, and 2013. She has chaired other galas and fundraisers, including the Bicentennial Gala of the NYC Mission Society, the Solar One Gala, and the New York City American Cancer Society Gala, three times. Mrs. Shafiroff has also organized and hosted high-profile luncheons for charitable organizations.

The Southampton philanthropist has been named by Gotham Magazine as one of the “100 Most Powerful New Yorkers.” In October 2014, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the NYC Mission Society.