(New York, NY) –
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Columnist
Liz Smith, Mayor’s Fund Board Chair Rob Speyer
and President Megan Sheekey today kicked off the
Sixth Annual Fete de Swifty benefit in
Manhattan. The event, founded by Liz Smith and
hosted by the
Mayor’s Fund to
Advance New York City,
raises money to support the
Family Justice
Center Initiative,
administered by the Mayor’s Office to Combat
Domestic Violence. The initiative reduces
barriers faced by victims of domestic abuse,
allowing them to access a variety of services,
such as prosecutorial, counseling, housing and
financial assistance, under one roof. Mayor
Bloomberg opened the first Family Justice Center
in Brooklyn in 2005. In 2007, a second center
opened in Queens, and the City’s third center
will open in the Bronx this winter 2010.
This year’s Fete de Swifty Honorary Chairs were
Tim Gunn, Mariska Hargitay and Nicole Kidman.
The steering committee included Liz Smith,
Stephen Attoe, Robert Caravaggi, David Patrick
Columbia, Deborah Krulewitch, Christopher
Meigher, Gillian Miniter and Peter Rogers.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Mayor’s
Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt and
Commissioner Yolanda Jimenez of the Mayor’s
Office to Combat Domestic Violence were also on
hand for the event.
Since 2004, Fete de
Swifty has raised more than $3.6 million to
support public programs through the Mayor’s Fund
to Advance New York City. This year’s event
also featured an online auction hosted by
CharityBuzz. The auction, which runs until
October 1st, includes items such as:
exclusive New York sports event packages, a
first class trip to see Bette Midler in concert
and meet her after the show, and a variety of
fashion and luxury items. The auction is online
at
www.charitybuzz.com/fetedeswifty.
Event partners also
donated a wide array of items and services for
the carnival-themed Fete.
LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton Inc
provided champagne and spirits and
Brooklyn Brewery
provided beer,
Build-a-Bear
donated prizes for the Family Justice Center
Children’s Rooms, and Quest and
Estée Lauder
donated the door gifts. Matthew David Hopkins,
owner of 360 Design Events, Ltd., an
eco-friendly design company, designed the event
and
Glorious Food
hosted the raw bar.
For more
information about the 2009 Fete de Swifty and
the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City,
please visit:
www.nyc.gov/fund.