SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Here is the update on the recent social scene. Many more photos from each event appear online each week at downtownpublications.com where readers can sign up for an e-mail notice when the latest social scene column is posted. Past columns and photos are also archived at the website for Downtown.
American House Celebration of Dignity & Hope
American House Celebration of Dignity & Hope Volunteers eager to answer questions about the American House Foundation’s mission were circulating among the 240 guests at the foundation’s benefit Sally Gerak cocktail party at Birmingham Country Club. That mission, as AH CEO Rob Gillette said during his brief thank you remarks, is to help needy seniors with basic vital needs and to fund research at Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology. Guests also socialized, sipped and supped big time and perused a silent auction ($26,760 total bids) coordinated by AH’s Danielle Bruce and her crew of devoted staffers. Thanks also to ticket sales and generous sponsors, this fourth annual foundation benefit raised more than $101,000.
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1. Geri Pietrosanti (left) & American House founder Bob Gillette of Bloomfield, with Rob, Lauren, Kari and Katie Gillette of Beverly Hills. 2. Redico’s Karen & Jeff Schoenberg of Birmingham and Jan Purcell of Bloomfield. 3. Molly (left) & Joe Schwartz and Peter & Stephanie Schwartz of Bloomfield. 4. Phil (left) & Tracy Krause with Ruth & Kent LoPrete of Birmingham. 5. Mike McDermott (left) of Bloomfield, Steve Szuch of Birmingham, Brian Henry of Bloomfield and Bryan Melvin of Grosse Pointe. 6. Robert (left) & Kirstin Capinjola of Beverly Hills and Traci & Rocky Ricelli of Birmingham.
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Camp Casey’s Giddy Up Gala The story at Camp Casey’s Giddy Up Gala that brought 100 “wranglers” to Bloomfield Open Hunt was an anonymous, on the spot $10,000 donation. CC founder Molly Reeser announced the windfall after she had shown a video of the surprise horsey house calls CC volunteers make every weekend to the homes of children with cancer, and after Nora Kolar’s moving description of the positive impact CC has had on her darling little Lauren. Also in the crowd was Nathan Foote, the father of the late Casey Foote, a horse-loving 10-year old whose losing battle with cancer inspired the program. It includes the house calls, Cowboy Camp Outs, all-expense paid horseback riding vacations for the whole family, and Outlaw Outings to a variety of attractions. “Casey’s legacy lives on. It’s a miracle,” said Foote. There was also a chuck wagon supper and a silent auction that brought the event proceeds to $27,000, plus the surprise donation. It was surely motivated by Reeser’s contagious, youthful enthusiasm for CC. For more information go to www.camp-casey.org.
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Birmingham Education Foundation Toast de Mayo
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1. BEF director Laura Couger (left) of Beverly Hills with TOAST owners Regan & Thom Bloom of Pleasant Ridge. 2. Eco-Sound Pest Management’s Greg & Melissa Peterson of Bloomfield. 3. Chris Burton (left) and celebrity bartender Larry Murphy of Birmingham and Attan Kaiser of Royal Oak. 4. Birmingham native Dr. Molly Dougherty O’Shea of Troy with Beverly school principal Jamii Hitchcock of Bloomfield.
Catholic Social Services Night in Tuscany Catholic Social Services of Oakland County staged its annual spring gala at the Inn at St. John which was perfectly suited to the Night in Tuscany theme. More than 300 supporters sipped, supped, socialized, and bid in the silent auction and the post dinner live auction conducted by Greg Bator. The agency’s mission however, was best highlighted by the moving presentation “Reflections on Motherhood”. It was jointly told by a birth mother and the adoptive mother of her infant. The soiree raised $125,000 for CSSOC, which provides caring professional and volunteer services to children, families and the elderly.
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Camp Casey’s Giddy Up Gala
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1. Honorary event chair, Bloomfield pilates instructor Francee Ford (left) of Birmingham with her sister Shari and Arielle Barouch of W. Bloomfield. 2. Camp Casey founder Molly (left) and her husband Nick Reeser (left) of Ferndale with emcee Fox-2’s Monica Gayle and her husband Dean Greve of W. Bloomfield. 3. Mark (left), Alex and Tracey Burnstein of Bloomfield with Camp Casey’s Lauren Maiman of Beverly Hills.
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Birmingham Education Foundation Toast de Mayo For the second year, Toast Birmingham tossed a fundraiser for the foundation that supports enrichment programs in the Birmingham public schools. It had a South of the Border spin this year thanks to tequila sponsor Tres Agaves, Mariachi music and the savory fare chef Jeff Rose prepared for the 90-plus parents and teachers who attended. The fun social raised $9,000-plus which were earmarked for the NASA DAY events May 31, which included a once in a lifetime downlink with flight engineer Joe Acaba aboard the International Space Station.
Starfish Family Services’ First Annual Fundraiser More than 350 supporters of Starfish Family Service’s comprehensive programs attended the first annual An Evening for Starfish: Turning the Tide for Children at The Henry. Susie Citrin and her committee put a children’s party spin on the event. The band played jazzy kids’ favorites. Guests were welcomed with booming voices by Starfish preschoolers. The Parade Company loaned colorful decorations. Centerpieces were made of Legos and destined after the party for the Starfish preschool classrooms, where Robert Citrin, a weekly volunteer, is a popular for his magic tricks. The event honored the Ford Volunteer Corps for their 20plus years of support at the Inkster-based agency which serves metro Detroit families in need.
DOWNTOWN
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