On Tuesday, December 2nd, American Friends of Magen David Adom proudly celebrated its Annual New York Benefit Dinner at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers.
Hosted by Willie Geist, the star-studded event honored Barbara Walters with the AFMDA Humanitarian Award, presented by Michael Bloomberg, with remarks by Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York.
“This award matters because the honor comes from an organization which has made such an impact on people’s lives whether in Israel, a country that has a special place in all of our hearts, or other places around the world suffering from other disasters,” Walters said, while accepting her award.
Proceeds from the dinner totaled $4.5 million and will go towards building Magen David Adom’s new national blood center, a facility that will protect Israel’s entire blood supply from terror attacks and natural disasters while continuing to provide 97% of the blood used by Israel’s hospitals and all the blood for the Israel Defense Forces.
Additional honors of the night: The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, represented by Sandor Frankel, Trustee, received the AFMDA Founders Award. Other honorees will include: Haina Just-Michael, the Packin Family, Noah Rockowitz, and Nicole & Michael Strongin. Honorary Chairs were Meredith Berkman and Sarah Sternklar. Dinner Chairs were David Kostin and Mark Lebow.
