Past Events at the Eye-Bank
65th Anniversary Educational Conference - An Eye on the Future
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 At The Down Town Association
The Eye-Bank’s second An Eye on the Future held on September 28, 2010 in New York City at the Down Town Association in celebration of our 65th Anniversary was a terrific success with approximately 70 attendees present representing non-profit organizations in both anatomical donation and other fields of service. The audience was made up of national and international non-profit leaders.
The day’s three panels of experts provided cutting-edge information on Board Leadership (Richard Mittenthal, Moderator; Michael Davidson and Beth Stellato; Fundraising (Robert Carter, Moderator; Roxanne Greenstein, Asif Talukdar) and Marketing (Ruth Wooden, Moderator; Anu Gandhi, Marc Halpert, Scott Roen and Steve Rubel). Q&A sessions following each panel were lively and provided good segues into the panel topic to follow. Conference attendees received a comprehensive resource guide.
Special thanks go to several Eye-Bank Board members for contributing to the success of this one-day learning opportunity – Peter Leav for chairing; Richard Mittenthal for moderating; Scott Roen for presenting; Marilyn Castaldi, Margaret Farley, Dr. George Florakis and Dr. Michele Rhee for being on the planning committee.
Inaugural Swing for Sight
Monday, September 20, 2010 At The Tuxedo Club
The Eye-Bank continued to celebrate our 65th anniversary by hosting our first ever Swing for Sight golf tournament on September 20th 2010 at the prestigious Tuxedo Club located in Tuxedo, NY. Golfers were treated to a day with picture perfect weather, a challenging course and a delicious dinner. The Eye-Bank would like to thank the following companies for their generous support:
A fantastic time was had by all and we are already planning next year’s outing! If you were unable to attend this year, please contact info@ebsr.org to join our Swing for Sight mailing list.
7th Annual Live Auction and Wine Tasting
Monday, March 24th At The Prince George Ballroom
The Eye-Bank kicked off our year-long 65th anniversary celebration with our annual Live Auction and Wine Tasting. It was a fantastic event with great auction items and as always, a wonderful selection of wines. A wonderful time was had by all.
Remember How I Love You" Book Launch
Monday, November 9 At The Snapple Theater Center
ALAN ALDA, CHITA RIVERA, LORRAINE BRACCO, JESSE L. MARTIN, JERRY STILLER, KELLY BISHOP, DONNA McKECHNIE, REGIS PHILBIN, RICHARD BELZER AND MORE CELEBRATE ELAINE AND JERRY ORBACH.
A host of film and theater celebrities celebrated the posthumous release of Remember How I Love You: Love Letters from an Extraordinary Marriage, Jerry and Elaine Orbach's autobiographical memoir recounting their thirty year marriage, at a once-in-a-lifetime reunion of the couple's colleagues at The Snapple Theater Center on Monday, November 9, 2009.
Each morning before leaving their Hell's Kitchen apartment to report to the set of "Law & Order", Jerry wrote Elaine a short poem for her to find upon waking. The poems were humorous, sweet and topical, focusing on the couple's morning rituals, their daily routine whatever was on Jerry's mind. Combined, they tell the story of a marriage full of life and love.
At the event, a number of Jerry and Elaine's colleagues and friends read select poems from the book and proceeds of books sold that night benefited Bideawee and The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration, Jerry and Elaine's favorite charities.
The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration was honored to be a beneficiary of this wonderful night! We wish to thank Catherine Russell at the Snapple Theatre and Simon and Schuster for including us in this extraordinary event. The staff of The Eye-Bank was joined by several of our Board members, including: Joseph D’Ambrosio, Andrea Nordquist, Carla Skodinski and Anne Coté Taylor, as well as Drs. Wing Chu and Sid Mandelbau.
Wine Tasting 2009
The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration hosted another hugely successful Spring Benefit on April 1, 2009 at the Union League Club in Manhattan. In addition to the delightful selection of wines for tasting and other wines and gift items available for bid in the silent auction, the emphasis of this year’s special evening, “A Live Auction and Wine Tasting,” shifted toward an exciting live auction led by a professional auctioneer. Attendees got to raise their paddles in bids for items ranging from premium vacations and rare vintage wines to rounds of golf at exclusive clubs and tickets to Broadway shows.
The honorary chairs of this year’s benefit were The Williams Family --- actress Vanessa Williams, her brother Chris Williams who is also an actor, and their mother Helen Williams. The Benefit Committee Chairs, Michael Zambrelli and Dr. Kimberly Sippel, representing The Eye-Bank’s Board of Directors and Medical Advisory Board, were joined at the podium by Mrs. Helen Williams who reminded the audience of the importance of eye donation and the good that it can do for others.
The Williamses made a tremendous impact on eye donation this year by sharing the fact that their dad, Milton Williams, was an eye donor and encouraging others to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry in The Eye-Bank’s advertising campaign conducted in media throughout New York City. This year, the Spring Benefit raised over $87,000, the proceeds of which go toward funding much of The Eye-Bank’s public and professional education efforts including portions of the media campaign.
The Eye-Bank is grateful to all who donated the many wonderful items to this year’s fundraiser and is especially thankful for the fine wines made available for tasting by Bayfield Importing Limited; Dancing Bear Cellars, LLC; Martin Scott Wines; Vias Imports Limited and W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Limited. Special recognition goes to Bayfield Importing, Martin Scott and W.J. Deutsch who have joined this event annually for the past several years.
Lastly, The Eye-Bank thanks all those who attended for their enthusiastic support of this year’s “A Live Auction and Wine Tasting.” Their generous contributions will greatly help The Eye-Bank in its ongoing mission to restore sight to those in need.
Gift of Sight Night
The Eye-Bank celebrated “Gift of Sight Night at Shea” on July 24 at 7:10 p.m. when the New York Mets played the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For the first time, The Eye-Bank reached out to fans at a Major League Baseball event with information about eye donation. Eye bankers distributed 2,500 brochures containing enrollment forms for the New York State Donate Life Registry and fans also received a commemorative “Gift of Sight Night” insulated bag.
The Eye-Bank’s public service announcement featuring actor Jerry Orbach, who died in 2004 and became an eye donor, was seen by thousands of fans when it was shown on the giant screen before the game. The Eye-Bank was very honored to have Jerry Orbach’s wife, Elaine, attend “Gift of Sight Night” and participate in a pre-game ceremony out on the field. The Mets won handily, defeating the Pirates, eight to four prompting Mrs. Orbach to comment, “Jerry was a huge Mets fan, maybe he was looking down on us.”
Sing for Sight
2nd Annual Sing for Sight Resonates with Fans
Once again, a crowd of fans including Eye-Bank staff, directors and supporters were entertained by a rousing performance of songs from the 70s from singers Julie Weyne and Diane Pacenka at the Sing for Sight Benefit on November 30, 2007. This year the special event was held at The Canal Room in lower Manhattan to accommodate the growing audience.
Julie and Diane, accompanied by the electric sounds of the Guilford Band, created a stirring event that delighted fans and helped increase awareness for eye donation. The 2nd Sing for Sight Benefit was doubly successful being attended by more than 200 supporters and raising more than $13,000 to benefit The Eye-Bank’s public and professional education programs.
Special Eye-Bank events and activities like Sing for Sight are scheduled throughout the year. Check The Eye-Bank’s website, www.eyedonation.org for updated listings.
Photos courtesy of John D. Short
