Hillside Food Outreach Gala to Feature Bernie Williams, David Cone
The Hillside Food Outreach is preparing for it’s 11th annual “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” Gala Dinner and Auctions with former Yankee Bernie Williams as host.
In 1997, when Kathleen Purdy looked into why her grandmother wasn’t getting enough to eat, she discovered that it was because she was sharing her food with other seniors in her building who were less fortunate than her.
Purdy gathered a small group of friends who helped her collect donations, and began delivering food to the seniors once a month. As five years passed, and the number of volunteers and donations grew, so did the requests for more services.
“I got a call from someone who asked me if I could deliver to someone they knew, and then somebody else called, and somebody else,” said Purdy, “and it just grew from there.”
The program is 100 percent funded by donations, and its 350 volunteers currently deliver food to more than 2300 families in Westchester, Putnam and Western Connecticut.
“We don’t only deliver food, we get involved with the people. We deliver friendships,” Purdy explained.
The Gala will feature special guests David Cone, Tim Raines and Cecil Fielder. Bernie Williams and his band, and Angelina Mendes, a local singing sensation from Putnam County, will provide music. There will be a special Q&A with Sweeny Murti interviewing Williams and Cone.
There will be both silent and live auctions with items such as sports memorabilia, golf outings, gift from local restaurants, a week-long trip to Tuscany, a photo safari in Africa, a dinner for eight, cooked in your home by CIA’s Chef Phil Crispo, and an autographed guitar from Bernie Williams.
“We also have one prize which is a day at Yankee Stadium with Sweeny Murti,” Purdy explained. “The winner will be in the WFAN box, for the broadcast of the game.”
When asked how much the benefit was expected to bring in, Purdy said, “We’re hoping to raise between 150 and 200 thousand dollars that night.”
The gala will take place on Saturday, January 26, 2013, at the Matrix Conference and Banquet Center, 39 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT. The event begins at 6pm, and tickets start at $150 and can be purchased online at www.hillsidefoodoutreach.org. For further information contact Kathy Purdy at (914) 747-0095.
By Barbara O’Hare
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.