DENISE RICH, STEVIE WONDER, PATTI LABELLE, NELLY, NATALIE COLE & OTHER STARS OF MUSIC, FASHION AND TELEVISION RAISE OVER $3.3 MILLION FOR CANCER RESEARCH.
New York, NY November 13, 2005 — A star-studded array of celebrities, New York socialites and personalities joined Grammy-nominated songwriter and philanthropist Denise Rich at the New York Marriott Marquis for the fourth biennial gala The Angel Ball 2005, helping to raise a record-breaking $3.3 million towards The G&P Foundation for Cancer Research. The black-tie benefit is internationally recognized for its consistently unique and overflowing "musical extravaganza" did not fail to impress once again. Rich uses all her contacts and influence in the music industry to acquire stellar performers such as Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Nelly, Natalie Cole, Ruben Studdard and Shawn King and also uses this sold-out charity event to showcase emerging new talent such as hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Stevie Wonder's talented daughter Aisha Morris.
The Angel Ball recognized four honorees for their outstanding contributions as humanitarians and philanthropic leaders: singer/songwriter/soul-diva Patti LaBelle; Russell Simmons, Chairman and CEO of Rush Communications; Kimora Lee Simmons, Creative Director, Baby Phat; and Glamour Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Cindi Leive.
The surprise highlight of the entire evening, even for Rich, was her announcement that the G&P Foundation had been given a generous gift of $1 million from the royal family of Abu Dhabi. Rich burst into tears as she read the amount of the donation, which until that moment had been kept confidential even from her. She said "This is the largest single gift ever received by the G&P and I thank The Royal Family of Abu Dhabi from the bottom of my heart. This means that we can make so many more deserving grants to junior investigators working in the field of leukemia and blood related cancers."*
Patti LaBelle provided one of the night's most poignant and memorable moments, when she revealed her recent cancer scare for the first time to family, friends and attendees. By the end of her speech there was not a dry eye in the house. LaBelle, who has lost three sisters to cancer, recounted her experience waiting for results from a mammogram and biopsy before reassuring the audience that she had been diagnosed cancer-free.
The legendary vocalist then segued into a surprise heartfelt rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and was joined by Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole and Wonder's daughter Aisha Morris. The night culminated with all of the performers uniting onstage to sing the Martha Reeves classic "Dancin' in the Streets."
The Angel Ball 2005 also featured performances by Ruben Studdard, Nelly, Leela James, BeBe Winans, Miri Ben-Ari and Shawn King. Additional celebrities who participated in the gala as presenters included Star Jones Reynolds, Kelly Ripa, Lorraine Bracco, Joy Behar and Montel Williams (both served as the evening's auctioneers), Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Ivana Trump, Joan Collins, JoJo, Debra Lee and Felicia Taylor, among others. The event was sponsored by Donald Toresco of DMT Enterprises, Inc. and Condé Nast Publications.
The G&P Foundation for Cancer Research was established in 1996 by Denise Rich, her daughters and son-in-law Philip Aouad in memory of Denise's daughter Gabrielle Rich Aouad, who died at age 27 from AML leukemia ("G" for Gabrielle & "P" for Phillip) The Foundation's primary goal is to save lives by funding basic and clinical medical research in both conventional and integrative disciplines, which focus on prevention, treatment and quality of life issues of leukemia, lymphoma and related cancers. Since 1998, with the help of its internationally renowned Medical Advisory Board, chaired by Dr. Stephen D. Nimer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The G&P Foundation has funded 22 researchers, totaling over $4.2 million dollars in Medical Research Awards and is one of the largest non-governmental sources of grant support to blood cancer researchers at the nation's leading institutions.
To donate to the G&P Foundation, please click here.
