Jean and Martin Shafiroff opened their Park Avenue floor-through in anticipation of New York City Mission Society’s annual Champions for Children Gala. Their gala on April 24 at the Mandarin Oriental – which the Shafiroff’s will co-chair with Katrina and Don Peebles, and Leah and Stanley H. Rumbough – promises to be as stellar as last year’s fete.
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Barbara Tober and Elsie McCabe Thompson. (Photo: Aurora Rose/PMC) |
It’s all about the next generations. “88 percent of the children that go through the Mission program end up going to college,” Jean told the room. “The regular New York City school children statistic is about 58 percent. And we all know that if we want our children to move forward, we must provide them with education and skills. And that’s what Mission does.” Looking to the future, there will also be a push to cement a robust Junior Committee, with competitively priced tickets.
For the kids in the program, there are plans to take NYC Mission Society’s education support to the next level, providing not just after school programs designed to keep kids in school, but addressing a failing school system with a charter school of their own. “We decided to take the plunge,” said Executive Director Elsie McCabe Thompson, “and start our own charter elementary school.” The focus on small classrooms to address attention issues will make it “a charter public school, in a private school model.”
Those listening in the room included: Francis Kairson, Jay Moorhead, Kim Bingham, Ava Roosevelt, Francine LeFrak and Rick Freiberg, Cece and Lee Black, Barbara and Donald Tober, Margo Langenberg, Alex Donner and Annette De Lorenzo, Ann Rapp, Roy Kean, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Craig Dix, Natalie Ross, Laurence Kaiser IV, Penny Grant, M.D., Patrick Vatel, Matt Rich, D. Colgate Rumbough, Natasha Das, Taylor Burns, Jerry Bonura, Kenita Lloyd, Chasity Logan, Randi Schatz, Joan Jedell, Dawne Marie Grannum, Gary Rombough, MD, Rachel Atcheson, Ernest Schmatolla, and Helen C. Shelton and Sylvina Shelton, Darold Cuba, Victor de Souza, Katlean DeMonchy, Ray Bouderau, Michele Herbert, Ariadna Vera and Ignacio Bustindui, Madame Gilberte Beaux, Ignacio Bustindui and Ariadna Vera Bustindui.
Champions for Children Honorary Chairs are Georgina Bloomberg and Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller, and Corporate Chairs are Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, MacFarlane Partners, and Stifel Financial Corp. Honorees are BNY Mellon, International Flavors and Fragrances, and LTC Francis Kairson, Jr., Director Emeritus at New York City Mission Society. Longtime supporter, WABC News Anchor Bill Ritter, will serve as the evening’s emcee.
For more information, visit www.nycmissionsociety.org.
