The RENS 2013 Inagural Gala

 

 

 

RENS Inaugural Gala Smash Hit

First Year Efforts Raise $1.7 million for Kids

Star-Studded NYC Event draws big time supporters from politics, business, media,

sports, Wall Street, fashion and showbiz.

On Wednesday evening, October 9^th at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York City, the RENS inaugural fund-raising gala not only made history, but proved to be a fun-filled and thrilling event for the 850 attendees, who donated more than $1.7 million to the newly formed two-year not for profit!

            Governor Andrew Cuomo, a longtime friend and confidante of program founder Dan Klores, presented the evening’s first award to honoree John Marino, former Chair of the New York State Democratic Party, giving a witty but heartfelt salute to his trusted advisor.  The Governor was followed by Gary Cohn, President of Goldman Sachs, who presented the evening’s second award to Orin Snyder, chief litigator at Gibson Dunn, one of the nation’s most prestigious law firms.  Both presentations were preceded by opening remarks from the evening’s MC, Bill Simmons, the ESPN basketball guru and New York Times #1 best selling author.

            Still, big names were not the reason the evening resonated with warmth and fun – it was the mix of the crowd, dozens of RENS players and their families, legendary figures from the arts, Paul Simon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Steve Schirripa, Clive Davis; the basketball community, Hall of Famers Bernard King and Gail Goodrich, as well as all pros, Larry Johnson, John Starks and Sam Perkins.  Other notable RENS donors included soon to be installed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo, HBO President Richard Plepler, Showtime head Matt Blank, CNN honcho Jeff Zucker, Donald Trump, Howard Stern, Marv Albert, Daryl Strawberry, Blackstone CEO Tony James, Atlantic Records chief Craig Kallman, advertising guru Donny Deutsch, sports memorabilia giant Brandon Steiner, financial wizards Bob Sillerman and Howard Lutnick, MSG CEO Hank Ratner, Paramount  czar Brad Grey, Broadway titan Jimmy Nederlander, Jr., former Governor Mario Cuomo and his wife Matilda, and a Who’s Who of  New York legal elite: Ben Brafman, Gerry Shargel, Judd Burstein, George Sheanshang, Larry Shire, Allen Grubman, Jerry Lefcourt, Ed Burke Jr., Eddie  Hayes.

            Unquestionably the highlights of the evening were the six-minute video presentation featuring the mothers of numerous RENS youngsters, and the $250,000 three-quarter court shot, taken by 20 guests.  The shot proved to be too long to make, “the one drag of the entire night” concluded Board co-chair Ian Goodman, “we really wanted somebody to go home with a quarter of a million dollars, so next year, I think we’ll do a $100,000 shot from halfcourt.”

    Testimonials

 

 

   

 

 

Thank you to our many supporters who joined us for The RENS 2013 Inaugural Gala, where we recognized The RENS Youth Basketball team. Even if you were unable to attend, we hope you will consider making a gift by clicking the button below to provide students athletes across the nation with access to join The RENS.

New Renaissance Basketball Association is designed to develop, improve, enrich and encourage each child’s way of life through a student athletic skill program that will offer the opportunity to reach full individual potential both on and off the court.

At New Renaissance we strive for excellence not perfection. Our unwavering promise is to instill in each child a strong sense of self confidence and heightened self esteem in a structured environment.

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