News & Events
Leaning Leaders 50th Annivesary Gala Earns Record Sum
Dismissal bells and hall monitors were replaced by clinking wine glasses and celebratory speeches when Learning Leaders took over Stuyvesant High School for its Fiftieth Anniversary Gala on Monday, November 5. The event, which raised a record $1.1 million, encouraged the 430 guests in attendance to revisit their high school days as they traveled to the school (some in a classic yellow school bus), sipped cocktails amidst student lockers, and experienced for themselves Stuyvesant’s gleaming fifth floor ballroom – that is, cafeteria – overlooking the Hudson River.
The gala honored Bloomingdale’s (the award was accepted by Michael Gould, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer), HarperCollins President and Chief Executive Officer Jane Friedman, and Peter S. Kraus, Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs & Co. All three were recognized for their outstanding commitment to New York City and public education.
During the cocktail reception, the Curtis High School jazz band performed, and New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Deputy Mayor Denis Walcott thanked Learning Leaders for its fifty years of service. Learning Leaders President Mindy Duitz received a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as well as a formal proclamation from Mayor Michael Bloomberg declaring November 5, 2007 to be Learning Leaders Day.
When guests moved into the cafeteria for dinner, CBS News anchor Dana Tyler, a Learning Leaders volunteer and trustee, took the stage as special guest emcee, introducing United States Senator Chuck Schumer, Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, and Learning Leaders Chairman Iris Weinshall Schumer.
Guests enjoyed a short video program, and to close the evening, illustrator Tracy Dockray (on piano) joined New York Times columnist, author and performance artist Bob Morris (on vocal and ukulele) for a special rendition of “One on One,” the song composed by Marvin Hamlisch for Learning Leaders’ 25th anniversary. Both Morris and Dockray are volunteers with Learning Leaders’ Authors Read Aloud program, as is Maira Kalman, who created artwork specifically for the event.
The event was co-chaired by Learning Leaders trustees Cayre Michas and Ellen Needham. The event’s Corporate Chairs were Learning Leaders trustees Edith Cassidy and John Redpath as well as Reuben Mark, who served as chief executive of Colgate-Palmolive for over twenty years, and the Trustee Emeritus Chairs were Mary Heller, Helen Judlowe and Julie Patterson.
Many former and current volunteers attended the gala, including family members of the founders and numerous long-term trustees. The celebration marked the close of Learning Leaders’ fiftieth anniversary year.
