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Party for Life Raises More Than $235,000
Gift for Life's 26th Anniversary Party for Life, held on February 5, raised more than $235,000 for AIDS treatment and prevention – making it the group's most successful party to date. The annual event, which benefits DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, drew 300+ attendees – including many past GFL honorees – to the party's new venue at Stage 48 in New York City.
At the event, Trevor Cohen, president and CEO of Giftcraft, was presented with the Chuck Yancy Lifetime Achievement Award. Party for Life also featured great food and drinks, a live band, and a wide array of silent-auction prizes donated by leading gift and home suppliers.
For more information on Party for Life, click here. To view additional Party for Life photos, go here. |
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| GFL Award Recipient Trevor Cohen of Giftcraft (left) with GFL Board Chair George Kacic of AmericasMart Atlanta. |
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| Dr. Mathilde Krim of amfAR was remembered by GFL founder Peter Schauben and GFL board member Sheila Charton. |
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| Party for Life attendees dance to the live band at Stage 48. |
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Gift for Life and NSS Team Up Again for AIDS Walk New York
For the seventh year in a row, Gift for Life and the National Stationery Show are once again joining forces to sponsor a team to walk in AIDS Walk New York on Sunday, May 20. AIDS Walk New York raises funds to benefit the GMHC to help fight AIDS and find a cure, and over the past six years the GFL/NSS team has raised more than $144,000. For the last four years, the team has been recognized with “GOLD Team” status, which is bestowed upon the top 20 fundraising teams from each year. This year's goal is to raise $30,000, which includes a continuing generous matching grant of $5,000 from DIFFA, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids. To join the team as a walker or "virtual walker" and/or to donate, click here. |
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| Members of last year's GFL/NSS AIDS Walk New York team. |
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| Chavez "Be Bold" red bracelets benefitting Gift for Life. |
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GFL Welcomes Esther Ossei-Anto and Teddy Pekalski to Board
GFL welcomes two new board members: Esther Ossei-Anto, marketing manager of International Market Centers, Las Vegas Market, where she spearheads the marketing direction for the Gift brand; and Teddy Pekalski, sales manager
at Whereoware, where he helps clients in the gift and home industry maximize their digital presence.
"When I joined the gift industry more than 10 years ago, my first industry event was for Gift for Life," says Ossei-Anto. "There were people of all ages, all races, all backgrounds and from competitive companies, gathered
together to raise money for a great cause. I knew I was home then, and I'm proud to be a member of the board now."
"I'm honored to join such a hard-working group of individuals dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS," states Pekalski. "I'm excited to see what the future holds for Gift for Life!" |
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| Esther Ossei-Anto |
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| Teddy Pekalski |
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Why Do You Support Gift for Life?
"The gift industry has given me so much, shaped my career and afforded me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Gift for Life allows me the chance to give back. Gift for Life is the industry’s only charitable cause, and I’m proud to be a member of this organization with so much care and compassion for others who need support and help."
– Nancy Michael, Sr. Manager, Trade Show Business Development, International Housewares Association, and longtime GFL Board Member. |
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| Nancy Michael |
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Spotlight on DIFFA Grantee: The Doe Fund
The Doe Fund was founded more than 30 years ago at a time when homelessness in New York City was at a crisis point. Determined to help in some way, George T. McDonald spent 700 nights in Grand Central Terminal handing out sandwiches and clothing to the hundreds of homeless who slept there. One was a woman known only as "Mama" Doe, who died of pneumonia on Christmas Day 1985 after being evicted by transit police into freezing temperatures early that morning. It was a turning point for McDonald, who founded The Doe Fund that year in Mama’s memory to tackle the root causes of homelessness: lack of opportunity, skills and support. The Doe Fund has since grown to provide life-transforming services and housing for people with histories of homelessness, incarceration, poverty, substance abuse, physical disabilities, mental illness and HIV/AIDS. DIFFA's funds support The Doe Fund's supportive housing facilities, which provide a range of vital services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, click here.
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The Doe Fund develops and operates affordable
and supportive housing facilities. |
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Did You Know – Global HIV Programs in Danger of U.S. Budget Cuts
President Trump's 2019 budget proposal would cut $1.2 billion from global HIV programs such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The President's expanded Global Gag Rule also restricts $8.8 billion in U.S. foreign aid for international health programs that provide or even mention abortion. This policy has already begun to shut down or cripple women’s health and family planning clinics throughout sub-Saharan Africa and South America that were providing condoms, birth control and HIV medication to low-income women. Additionally, the proposed budget cuts to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases would slow HIV research efforts in the U.S. and hinder its outreach to other counties.
A group of more than 200 global HIV clinicians, doctors and scientists, led by Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, has called out the Trump administration's hypocrisy in an open letter that says: "Science shows us that we can defeat HIV, but not if we defy evidence. President Trump's misguided budget proposal and his Administration's attempts to scale up policies in defiance of evidence will only undermine the global AIDS response and should be stopped." To read the full letter, click here. |
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