Surgeons of Hope’s 2020 gala – its 8th annual gala and first virtual gala – was a great success! The Celebrating Our Heart Heroes gala, chaired by philanthropist and author Jean Shafiroff, exceeded its fundraising goals. The success allows Surgeons of Hope to continue training local pediatric cardiac teams and providing life saving surgery for poor children with heart conditions in Latin America in 2021 and beyond. To date, Surgeons of Hope has saved the lives of thousands of children in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Paraguay.
The November 12th gala was virtual this year due to Covid-19. Hundreds of attendees joined the gala from the comfort of their own homes around the globe. All enjoyed the evening hosted by the renowned Jacqueline Towers-Perkins, who also ran the night’s live auction. Among the items bid on during the event were a vacation at a luxury villa in Mexico, a weekend escape with views of Connecticut’s Thimble Islands, ½-day New York Harbor excursion, and a cooking workshop with Patricia Cartin.
In addition to the auction, attendees were entertained by a performance by the jazz-inspired Acute Inflections and saw heart-warming stories of some of the children the organization has helped and the medical teams who have made it possible.
“Our virtual format this year allowed so many people who would not have been able to travel to New York to attend in person to join us on this celebratory evening. Some were across town, some were across the country, and others across an ocean. Everyone, no matter where they were, thoroughly enjoyed the evening and applauded the work of our great medical teams and celebrated the lives of the children we’ve helped,” said Surgeons of Hope Executive Director Victoria Flamant. “We are grateful for their participation and support, and thrilled they were passionate about our mission and ensuring we reached and surpassed our gala goals. We can’t thank everyone enough.”
Publicis Groupe was the presenting sponsor for the 2020 gala. Additional sponsors were Full Circle, Soma, and Acker Wines.