On November 29, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF hosted its 12th annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball at Cipriani Wall Street, celebrating UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children around the world and highlighting the organization’s 70th anniversary.
Credit/Copyright: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for UNICEF
The event honored GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Katy Perry and Philanthropist Moll Anderson. Presented by Mariner Investment Group LLC and Baccarat, the event raised more than $4 million for UNICEF’s work to put children first. The evening featured a special appearance by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, who surprised Katy Perry – and the audience – and presented her with the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award, along with Pamela Fiori, National Board Member of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and past Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award recipient.
Hosted by Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer, the event featured performances by Sara Bareilles and the cast of The Color Purple. The evening began with the lighting of the UNICEF Snowflake at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, presented by UNICEF Snowflake Lighting Sponsor ALEX AND ANI | CHARITY BY DESIGN. Since The UNICEF Snowflake Ball began 12 years ago, the event has raised more than $31 million for UNICEF’s lifesaving programs for children.
Credit/Copyright: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for UNICEF
Guests included Orlando Bloom, UNICEF Ambassador Tea Leoni, Allison Williams, Tamron Hall, Kyle Maclachlan, Tim Daly, Lawrence O'Donnell, Brooke Burke-Charvet & David Charvet, Maggie Q, Stephanie March, Erich Bergen, Patina Miller, Adam Kantor, Ali Krieger, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Meryl Davis and Ryan Serhant, among others.
Katy Perry was honored with the 2016 Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award. Previous recipients of the award have included UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Danny Glover and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte.
Katy made her Capitol Records debut with 2008’s One of the Boys (which generated four hit singles: “I Kissed A Girl,” “Hot N Cold,” “Thinking of You” and “Waking Up In Vegas”), and cemented her status as a global superstar with the 2010 follow-up album, Teenage Dream. She headlined the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, which set a record as the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show. Katy’s cumulative streams now exceed 10 billion worldwide and she is the most-followed person globally on Twitter.
Aside from being one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, Katy is an active advocate of many philanthropic causes. In 2013, Katy was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador as a result of her commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide. From traveling to Viet Nam and Madagascar to highlight the needs of some of the world’s most vulnerable children, to recording PSAs about the importance of empowering girls and supporting adolescents living with HIV/AIDS, as well as raising awareness for UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts, Katy has used her powerful voice to advocate for children and support UNICEF’s mission to ensure every child’s right to health, education, equality and protection.
At yesterday’s event, Katy said that “I’m humbled to receive the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award tonight and celebrate 70 years of UNICEF’s lifesaving work for the children of the world. Audrey Hepburn remains a sparkling example in her career as well as her dedication to being a champion of children. Her life is an inspiration most of us will never match, but hopefully we can aspire to. I’m proud to carry on her shine and to use my voice to help bring attention for issues that affect the world’s most vulnerable children.”
Moll Anderson was honored with the Spirit of Compassion Award. Previous recipients of the award include Quincy Jones, Chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group “LA” Reid, and UNICEF Ambassador Alyssa Milano.
Moll is an accomplished author, television and radio host, interior designer, life stylist, and advocate for women and children globally. Moll’s career has been filled with many professional achievements, including winning an Emmy for her work as an entertainment reporter. She has been a regular contributor to The Doctors television show, and a guest co-host on FABLife, and she has appeared on numerous other television shows.
Along with her professional work, Moll is a dedicated philanthropist, focusing her energy on many deserving causes. She commits her time and resources to improving the lives of women and children in her community and internationally through her work with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and UNICEF.
Moll noted her inspiration for becoming involved in UNICEF’s mission, saying “Why UNICEF? Everyone has been asking me that tonight. Why did I choose UNICEF? UNICEF chose me when I was a little girl. It was Audrey Hepburn. It was seeing Audrey, beautiful Audrey Hepburn on the news as a young woman.”
UNICEF Ambassador Vern Yip designed the décor for this year’s UNICEF Snowflake Ball, featuring five colors representing themes inspired by prayer flags that correspond to key UNICEF ideals: blue for peace, red for love, white for health, yellow for joy and green for wisdom. Guests dined on a custom menu featuring collaboration by UNICEF Ambassador Marcus Samuelsson. A live auction hosted by Kate Chertavian featured VIP packages including a Paris Fashion Week experience, a Napa and San Francisco package, tickets and a backstage experience at Katy Perry’s next U.S. tour. The After Party was hosted by UNICEF Next Generation, with a special performance by The Dolls. The After Party was made possible by Presenting Sponsor Al-Monitor.
Gillian Miniter and Desiree Gruber chaired the event with Project Chair Jaime Jiménez, Christine and George Stonbely as Snowflake Patrons, and Daria Daniel and Sterling McDavid served as the UNICEF Next Generation Chairs.
