2007 Gala - A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation

A Caring Hand Hosts its Fifth Annual Fundraising Gala to Benefit A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Bereavement Center 2007

A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation would like to thank everyone who attended and supported our fifth annual fundraising gala, Another Taste of the Perfect Manhattan, which was held on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. The event honored Stuart A. Fraser with the 2007 Billy Esposito Humanitarian Award, and Dr. Robin F. Goodman with the 2007 Healing Hand Award.

The gala was attended by over 700 people and was a huge success! Guests sampled food provided by several top New York City restaurants, including Landmarc, Ruby Foo's, Barna, Telepan, Cook With Class, Keens Steakhouse, AJ Maxwell, Dinosaur BBQ, Bobby Van's, Tribeca Grill, Victor's Café, Thalassa Restaurant, City Crab & Seafood Company, Danal, Smorgas Chef, Planethailand 212, and Moda. Beverage sponsors of the evening included Brooklyn Brewery, Nando Winery, Sidney Frank, Silk Vodka, Dewar's, GuS Grown-up Soda, Stag's Leap, and Pellegrino.

Sponsors for the evening included Bear Stearns, Kasowitz Benson, the Esposito Family, ASJ Gentile's, Citigroup, Access Staffing LLC, FactSet, Highview Management Ltd, Cassese Family Fund, Saul & Eleanor Lerner Foundation, Offices Limited Incorporated, Needham & Company, LLC, KPMG, MDA Contracting Incorporated, and Total Financial Systems Incorporated.

Guests were pleasantly surprised as they entered the elaborately decorated black and white ballroom to find the New York City themed event which included a slideshow of black and white photographs of NYC landmarks and pictures of the Manhattan skyline. The true highlight of the evening was the awards presentation. Event chairpersons Howard W. Lutnick and Elise Fraser welcomed all of our guests, and then presented the 2007 Billy Esposito Humanitarian Award to Stuart A. Fraser and the 2007 Healing Hand Award to Dr. Robin F. Goodman. Both honorees spoke with great enthusiasm about the progress of the Foundation and the future opening of the bereavement center.

Both live and silent auctions were exciting points of the evening. The live auction featured tickets to a Police concert including admission to the VIP reception prior to the show and a trip to Paris including an evening in Cognac. The silent auction included tickets to the Yankees versus Red Sox game, signed sports memorabilia, a Judith Leiber bag and a Sanibel Island vacation.

Thank you again to everyone who attended and supported Another Taste of the Perfect Manhattan! A special thanks goes to our wonderful sponsors and volunteers who made this evening possible.