Partnership with Children Spring Gala
For over 100 years, Partnership with Children has worked to“strengthen the emotional, social and academic skills of at-risk children tohelp them succeed in school, society and life.” The organization works withover 17,000 of New York City’s public school students in over 40 schools acrossall five boroughs. Many of Partnership with Children’s students are at highrisk of academic failure and dropping out of school.
To celebrate the organization’scommitment to youth education and gain further support for their mission,Partnership with Children partnered with Empire to produce their annual SpringGala. Taking place at threesixty in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood, theGala included a cocktail reception, seated dinner and stage program includingexecutive remarks, honorees, performances and a live auction. The event’s leadsponsors included Marty and David Hamamoto, NorthStar Realty Finance Corp.,MacAndrews & Forbes, Royalty Pharma and Verizon Foundation.
Upon entering the venue, guestswere greeted into the cocktail reception through the sounds of a live jazztrio. Within the cocktail area, Empire designed fully branded Partnership withChildren vinyl graphics placed across the walls, enabling guests to educatethemselves on the organization’s work, story and commitment to improving thelives of New York City’s youth.
During the dinner, Partnershipwith Children honored Mark Dowley – Chief Strategy Officer, MacAndrews &Forbes, Marianne Gambelli, Executive Vice President and Chief InvestmentOfficer, Horizon Media and Kenneth Mortenson, who received the Anne VanderbiltAward for Leadership. Interspersed with inspiring video content produced byReelWorks, further remarks were made by Partnership with Children’s Executive Director,Margaret Crotty.
Renowned auctioneer CK Swett then tookto the stage in an effort to raise funds for Partnership with Children’sprograms. During the auction, former Partnership with Children student RickySaunders spoke about his experience with the organization, and their ability tohelp him graduate high school and become the first male in his family to attendcollege.
By the end of the evening, over$100,000 was raised in just five minutes, with $1.16 million in total fundsraised. To close out the night; a live funk/soul performance was provided byNew York City natives Herve Alexandre and the S.F. crew with the accompanimentof a live dance troupe.
Empire is honored to work withinspiring organizations such as Partnership with Children, and is proud toserve as a production partner to help raise awareness and funds toward theirimportant cause.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
