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player ready...The 8th annual UNICEF Hope Gala, hosted by the organization’s Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Fund, was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago on April 17. More than 400 guests came out to support this humanitarian agency dedicated to putting children first through its life-saving programs in more than 190 countries.
During the reception, attendees had the opportunity to experience a UNICEF field tent. Inside, placards displayed statistics about the organization, one of which noted that since 1999, UNICEF, along with its partners, has immunized more than 118 million women with two or more doses of the tetanus vaccine. Another revealed that every 11 minutes, a child dies from this disease while a vaccine costs only $1.80.
The Chicago Children’s Choir, conducted by its president and artistic director Josephine Lee, serenaded guests as they entered the grand ballroom where the decor by HMR Designs thrilled the crowd. Dozens of illuminated Chinese festival lanterns in various sizes and colors filled the ceiling while sparkling crystal globes surrounded by fragrant white lilies dotted the tables below.
Caryl Stern, president/CEO of U.S. Fund for UNICEF, described the organization’s mission “to protect the world’s most vulnerable children regardless of politics, race and religion.” Wendy Serrino, board chair of UNICEF Midwest Region, introduced the evening’s inspiring keynote speaker, Cara Yar Khan.
Diagnosed at age 30 with hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM), a muscle wasting disorder, Yar Khan refused to curtail her field activities because of her diagnosis. She’s lived in 10 countries and served in a variety of capacities for UNICEF. Currently, she is a UNICEF child protection specialist. “My body is dying, but for everything this cruel disease has taken away from me, my work with and for children has given back tenfold,” she said.
Co-chaired by Miller Vance and Bill Dietz, the Hope Gala raised $1.2 million to support the organization’s “The Eliminate Project,” a global campaign in partnership with Kiwanis International to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers.
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