YMA’s gala brings in $2 million
More than 1,200 guests crowded into the recent 45th annual Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards gala to raise an impressive $2 million for scholarships and career mentoring. The event, held at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, included such attendees as Lady Gaga, who is considering establishing a recurring scholarship in her name.
Other noteworthy party goers graced the event – Diane von Furstenberg, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Estee Lauder group president John Dempsey, VF sportswear coalition president Karen Murray and Calvin Klein men’s design director Italo Zucchelli – which honored Phillips-Van Heusen chairman and CEO Emanuel Chirico, Macys.com president of merchandising Jeff Kantor, and Visionaire founders Cecelia Dean, Stephen Gan and James Kaliardos.
The event got off to a roaring start when the host, Mary Alice Stephenson, appeared onstage wearing a bathrobe and declaring that if it weren’t for their supporters, “We’d have nothing to wear,” reported WWD.
Next 100 eager scholarship recipients from across the nation filed onto the stage to thundering applause. Four of these students received Geoffrey Beene National Scholarships at $25,000, and four more received $10,000 runner-up prizes.
Chirico explained why he supports the cause: He remembers wanting to attend Fordham University as a child. “It was this big, beautiful university and from 5 years old I would walk through and imagine going there. So when I was accepted, it was one of the biggest thrills of my life,” he told WWD.
The YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund bills itself as “a national nonprofit association consisting of influential members of the fashion community, dedicated to promoting education of the fashion arts and business by granting scholarships to talented students and facilitating internships, mentorships and career programs.” For more information, visit its website at www.the-yma.com.
Tagged in: lady gaga, scholarship, yma fashion scholarship fund, yma, geoffrey beene national scholarship awards,