The Party was a rousing ("Best Ever") success with over 60 Gothamites in attendance.  So much transpired that space may not allow me to give it all justice, but try I will :)

 

I’m happy to announce that our Season of Giving initiative garnered contributions in a record-breaking amount of $21,000 and as a result, the Gotham Foundation was able to present 7 $3000 grants to the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (Allison Orlando choice), Canine Companions For Independence (Rich Slomovitz choice), Aspiring Attitudes of Oklahoma City (Vincent Russo choice), Coalition For Hispanic Services (Dan Schwartz choice), The Glaucoma Foundation (Jeff Lewis choice), The Beljanski Foundation (Paul Napolitano choice) and West Side Campaign Against Hunger (Susan Zinder choice).

 

Gathering the $21,000 grant “pot” was such a community effort fueled by many many individual donors, the monthly gift matchers (Sharon and Raj Goel, Josh Zinder, Vincent Russo, Paul Napolitano, Jason Greenberg, and Ben Geizhals, and myself), Gotham credit card purveyor Marc Halpert donating all the credit card fees, Corey Bearak garnering $2500 through the Mets/Yankee ticket price and this year’s Closers Paul Napolitano, David Abeshouse and Norm Spizz whose final last-minute donations took us over the top to a record!

 

Thanks also go out to Gotham accountant Michael Garibaldi who picked the winners “out of the hat” and Lisa Waterman who screened them for compliance to Season of Giving rules. 

 

Congratulations also go to Paula Oleska, the first recipient of our new Rookie of the Year Award and Networkers of the Year and Westchester Group(our new “Hot Spot”) members “Reliable” Ray Walcott and Michael Steger.  Our highest Award, The Red Bandanna Award went to RitaSue Siegel.

 

So much giving and warranted receiving made me KVELL (a legal term)!!!

 

Last, but not least, thanks to Events Chair Norm (Vig) Spizz for putting on another “really big show”. 

 

Happy Holidays!
 

PS All past Season of Giving recipients (pictured) can also be viewed at www.Gothamfoundation.org