On Friday
November 7th, GOAL USA celebrated 20 years of operations
in the US at the GOAL New York Ball at the Ciprani on
Wall St. The Ball was a sell-out event and lived up to
its reputation as one of the best nights on the New York
social calendar.
GOAL Founder and CEO
John O'Shea, who flew in from the Ireland for the event
said; “The support shown for GOAL on the night was
phenomenal, especially given the financial turmoil
that’s been so prevalent in recent times. It’s humbling
to see that people’s love for the poorest of the poor is
still as strong as ever.”
A staggering $850,000
was raised from the evening and as all events costs were
covered by sponsors, the money will go to those who need
it most - the poor and most vulnerable in our world.
Leslie Buckley of
Digicel, who had also flown in from Ireland for the
event called it “an absolutely fantastic success... a
great evening with enormous energy in the room - and in
the current economic climate an overwhelming result.”
GOAL aids the poorest
of the poor and those affected by natural and man made
disasters in 11 countries across the developing world.
GOAL strives to bring the basic needs and rights of life
such as food, water, shelter, health and education to
those who find themselves in desperate situations
through no fault of their own.
The fundraising
evening included a cocktail hour followed by a gourmet
three course meal, a live and silent auction and what
has become for many guests, the key moment of the
evening - a chance to bid directly on a project in the
developing world.
This year's “special”
project was providing water and sanitation in schools in
Calcutta. In less than 5 minutes, the auction style
round of bidding had raised $205,000 - enough money to
provide a drinking water supply, bathroom and sanitation
facilities in 30 schools for 12,000 children and their
communities! This is part of a larger integrated to
provide water and sanitation facilities for 700 schools
- approximately 280,000 children!
The most striking part
of the evening for GOAL organizers was the overwhelming
vote of support from GOAL followers in the US. Many of
these work in finance, or in real estate – two of the
industries that have been savaged by the financial
crisis.
It seems then, that
individuals and companies really do care deeply about
those who are suffering most in our world. While losing
jobs and bonuses is hitting people hard in New York, it
seems that many perhaps still recognize that they are
lucky to have those basic needs and rights of life -
food, water, health, education and shelter - that are
all too often denied those in the developing world.
GOAL keeps its
administration costs exceptionally low, which means that
the money raised from the Ball will have the maximum
possible impact on the lives of those in the developing
world.
GOAL
would like to thank our Dinner Chair, Leslie Buckley of
Digicel with co-Chairs Ned Cloonan of AIG, Paul Galligan
of ICAP, Ian Hyland of Business and Finance Magazine,
Heather James of Federal Street Partners LLC. GOAL would
like to extend a special thank you to
Tom Bryant of
Digicel.
Our
generous sponsors include Heather James, Facey
Commodity, Commonwealth Associates Merchant Bank, DHL,
RMK Worldwide, Sbarro, Setanta Sports, Stone St Tavern,
Cummins Power Generation, Douglas Kotch, Terry Michael,
B&N Industries, TalkPool, Motorola, True Solar Autonomy,
Microsoft, ZTE Corporation, Better Energy Systems,
Atlantic Hoisting.