The Catholic Big Sisters and Big Brothers (CBSBB) held their fundraising 12th Annual October Ball this past Saturday at the MOMA with an after party at the Marquee. Utilizing this venue for the first time in the twelve-year history of the event, the October Ball featured sounds from DJ Skooby, specialty cocktails and a Johnny Walker tasting bar from Diageo with floral designs from Victoria Ahn. The silent auction featured 70 lots with everything from vacation and spa packages to cooking lessons to luxury retail goods and upscale dining experiences!
While the early part of the evening was somewhat subdued for a Saturday night, the guests soon took to the floor with one lovely Cameron Diaz lookalike throwing her shoes off and providing a floor show with her partner. She was definitely that girl at the party for the evening. Another guest tried to be as entertaining by dancing up and down the stairs and doing numerous Napoleon Dynamite-type gyrations. But I was less than amused with him as I had overheard him verbally abuse his wife at the bar an hour earlier. I, literally, had to stage a girlfriend intervention since he was so publicly abusive to this poor gal. I hope she takes my advice and dumps the loser. But this fool aside, one lovely thing about this party was that there were tons of lovers in attendance. Many of the couples were just absolutely smouldering and there were tons of secret and not so secret kisses being exchanged which is not something that you see that often! I guess folks are getting into the nesting mode for what looks like it’s gonna be a long cold winter.
Ever present crasher Vadim showed up in his usual strange, nebbish outfit and could be spotted doing his customary routine of milling around the party and hoarding as many gift bags as he could get his hand on. As is the norm when he is around, they ran out so my friend, Morgan couldn’t get his at the end of the night. And late in the proceedings, Priyantha Silva, subject of the famous Gawker party crasher expose from last spring, showed up with some dude and talked his way in. Surprisingly, this time he became subdued instead of violent and was last seen perched against the walk taking what appeared to be a slumber. Perhaps he was dreaming of his next imaginary Hollywood producing job.
But on a serious note, I strongly support the work of this organization. The CBSBB’s mission is to strengthen and support low-income families and help them achieve and reach their full potential regardless of religious affiliation. The organization assists thousands of children, teens, and their families every year. Programs include: comprehensive family counseling, one-to-one mentoring, group support, and skill based programs. In addition, the CBSBB counsels boys and girls in an effort to promote mutual respect between the genders. A six-year study conducted by the organization substantiates that girls and boys and their families that participate in the CBSBB programs have a significantly higher rate of improvement than their counterparts in similar programs. There are vast increases in self-esteem, improved family and peer relationships, a reduction in violent behavior, improvement in academic performance, and better gender relations.
Volunteers and donors are always needed. To become a Big Brother/Big Sister you need to:
- Be 21 years of age.
- Be willing to commit at 8 hours a month to a young girl/young boy for at least 1 year
- Be willing to commit to one night a week on the telephone.
- Participate in one mandatory new Big Sister/ Big Brother training.
- Complete an application, which includes a reference check and a comprehensive interview.
Or you can donate through the Sponsor-a-Match program, which allows individuals to give money directly to a mentoring match.
For further information go to: http://www.cbsbb.org.
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