On May 19th at Industria Studios photographer and artist Andrea Tese co-hosted the 2nd Annual Gala 4 Good with the organization’s founder, Melissa Kushner. The Gala featured a photography exhibit by XXXX Magazine contributor Andrea Tese, with silent and live auctions of Tese’s work as well as a raffle to raise funds to benefit Goods for Good’s Tailor-in-Training and capacity- building programs.
Melissa Kushner and Andrea Tese made remarks explaining the pressing needs of the children being served by the Goods for Good. The jubilant crowd excitedly took part in the live auction announced by the charismatic CK Swett, who Ms. Tese cheekily dubbed their “Guy for Good.” Swett donned a gold cloak to make his theatrical entrance and got the crowd on their feet, selling three large-scale photographs by Andrea Tese.
Bidders in the front row included luminaries from the worlds of fashion, media, politics, finance, real estate, and royalty: Mario and Matilda Cuomo, HRH Princess Tatiana of Greece, Behati Prinsloo, Valerie Boster, Natalia and Sebastian Echavarria, Marissa Sackler, Coralie and Dennis Paul, Eleonore Marchand, Chessy Wilson, Kipton Cronkite, Soraya Darabi, Brad Livingston Black, David Gruning, Marc Kushner (Founder of Architizer), Lucia Tait, Caroline Owens, Be Inthavong and Nazy Nazhand.
After the auction, guests continued to enjoy cocktails and the infectious music of DJ Jamie Biden. The monies raised by the event totaled more than $230,000, including generous contributions from Goods for Good supporters and donations from Merck and IAC.
In August 2010, Andrea Tese travelled to the village of Mchezi in Malawi, East Africa to document the work of Goods for Good’s Tailor-in Training program, a (501)(c) nonprofit organization matching surplus goods from the United States with the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the developing world. The collection of photographs provided an insight into the everyday lives of the people of Mchezi, as well as the positive effect that G4G’s Tailor-in-Training program is having in that community, as seen through the eyes of Andrea Tese.
Goods for Good is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2006 to promote the successful development of orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi. In collaboration with community-based organizations and public schools, we work to ensure that every child in Malawi has the opportunity to achieve. We provide our motivated, yet under- resourced partners with much needed school supplies, administrative materials and essential trainings to help them better serve the children in their care. Goods for Good is helping to provide a better future for over 67,000 children and their communities annually. For more information, visit www.goods4good.org or contact info@goods4good.org
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Article by Indira Cesarine
Photos by Jeffrey Gamble
