CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien and
actress Tamara Tunie of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” will headline
Hearts of Gold’s 13th annual fall fundraising gala to aid homeless
mothers and their children in New
York. Titled “It’s a Love Thing,” the Hearts of Gold
event will take place at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 125 West
18th St.
The special evening will include a cocktail reception, live auction and a fashion show highlighting the fall collection of Beth Bowley,
Teenflo, Transit and Zapa. For the first time, the soiree will add an
after-hours party, Love Unlimited, which will follow the main event.
O’Brien, the co-mstress of ceremonies along with Tunie and the goodwill ambassador for Hearts of Gold, says she’s very particular about
donating to causes and organizations, which makes her continuing support of Hearts of Gold all the more meaningful. O’Brien marvels over Deborah
Koenigsberger, the founder and executive director of Hearts of Gold, who ensures that the money gets to the very people who so desperately need it. But there’s more to it than that, O’Brien adds.
“Imagine running out of the house in the middle of the
night and having nothing, except the clothes on your back and a trash bag
[containing your belongings]. So the first thing [Koenigsberger] does is to
make sure every child has the basics to wear,” says O’Brien. “Moms, who are
delivering when they are in the shelter, get a basket and the kinds of things
that you would get if you were throwing a baby shower, baby blankets, bottles,
nursing pads … just everything you need. And [Koenigsberger] does this on a
shoestring budget. This takes talent. She gives [with] tremendous dignity and she has
such a sense of humanity to people who are really in tough circumstances, who
will overcome those circumstances, who will move on from this.”
Koenigsberger, a former model and fashion industry stylist
who owns a women’s boutique, Noir et Blanc … Bis, has raised nearly $2 million
since Hearts of Gold’s inception.
“I know our entire nation continues to
struggle with the prolonged economic downturn, but NYC’s homeless mothers and
children are among those hurting the most,” she says. “I am honored that Soledad and Tamara are
generously supporting Hearts of Gold again this year, as we improve the lives of
these families in their time of immediate need and put them on the road to
stability and success.”
Proceeds from “It’s a Love Thing” and Love Unlimited will
support the more than 450 children and 375 mothers who annually reside in Manhattan shelters. –terry shropshire
