April 27, 2009 – Phillips de Pury & Company in Chelsea was the scene of our 16th annual auction, “Growing Green.” Over 250 parents, grandparents, alumni parents, friends and staff gathered for a fun-filled evening that was a phenomenal success, raising over $290,000 for the school.
The silent auction drew a nice crowd, with a few items in particular being bid on hotly. The live auction, with auctioneer Alexander Gilkes from Phillips de Pury & Company running the show, elicited great excitement and cheers. For the first time we had a reverse auction as part of the live auction, starting with high bids and decreasing, which garnered participation from a large percentage of attendees, raising over $100,000 alone. All funds from the reverse auction went to “Close the Gap” – to cover the shortfall between state funding and the actual cost of a Gillen Brewer education.
Our raffle was once again very popular, with the chance to win a Mac laptop, a Wii and Wii Fit or an iPod Touch. The Anacondas won the prize of a pizza party for being the class to sell the most raffle tickets. The Balloon Bonanza was also a big hit, with many guests lining up to pop a balloon and win a prize.
The atmosphere was livened up by the gorgeous student portraits taken by school psychologist and child photographer, Audrey Halpern, which were a wonderful reminder of why we were all there and provided an impetus for bidding on the enticing silent auction items on display.
Throughout the evening guests enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres and a tasting buffet of comfort foods, all served on biodegradable plates (made from naturally fallen banana leaves) and in biodegradable cups (made from corn) to live up to our green theme.
We are so grateful to our many constituents who supported the auction, as well as the many parents who put in countless hours on the committee or as volunteers. Time, talent and treasure definitely came together to create a night that we’ll never forget.
Invitations & Portraits Chairs
Nora Funaro & Dawn Kellman
Journal Chairs
Nancy Eder, Alex Reichl,
Paula Syphrett-Moss & Bruce Upbin
Event Logistics Chairs
Catherine Coakley & Franca Gioia
Food Chairs
Kimberley Junas & Karin Patterson
Grandparents Day 2008
Fall Family Fun Day 2008
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Click on the thumbnails or use the arrows below the thumbnails to view the pictures from our Fall Family Fun Day.
May 1, 2008 – Our community gathered together at Phillips de Pury & Company in New York's trendy Chelsea neighborhood to celebrate a truly great accomplishment: 15 years of making a difference, one child at a time. The Gillen Brewer School's 15th Anniversary Spring Benefit Auction was a phenomenal success and raised $240,000 that will be used to fund our exceptional programs. The evening not only gave us an opportunity to raise money for our school, but also a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our vibrant community.
The evening started off with a lovely champagne reception overlooking the Hudson River at sunset. The silent auction offered many exciting items, from tickets to Saturday Night Live, to authentic signed Yankees paraphernalia, to a sophisticated art tour through Chelsea. The sound of balloons popping filled Phillips' gorgeous space as many guests participated in our Mystery Balloon Bonanza. Gillen Brewer parents were also given a special treat via the Gillen Brewer photo wall – candid black and white photos of all of our children, beautifully photographed by one of our psychologists, Audrey Halpern. These lovely pieces of art reminded us why we were there that night – to raise money for our incredible kids.
Our live auction raised almost $70,000, thanks in part to two fabulous dinners to Rao's Restaurant, which sold for over $30,000! Many teachers also auctioned off their diverse talents, for which we are so appreciative.
Our raffle this year was ultra exciting! Prizes were a Sirius Satellite Radio with one year of free service, a Nintendo Wii Game Console, and the piece de resistance, a MacBook Air! Guests also took home wonderful goodie bags full of fun, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, magazines, DVDs, gift certificates and delicious healthy cookies.
We sincerely thank our PA Co-Heads, Graciela Meltzer and Alison DeNoia, for their many hours of hard work to help make this benefit the smashing success it was. Many thanks as well to our Spring Benefit Committee for their efforts in soliciting items, writing our journal, and organizing the many different facets of the evening, from raffles to set up to break down. We are so grateful to Terry Cave for the delicious food, and to MTV Networks and Merrill Corporation for the wonderful designs and printing of our invitation and program. Without the generous donations of the time and resources of supporters like these, we could not have made this evening as special as it was.
October 18, 2007 —On October 18, 2007, The Gillen Brewer School held its second annual Fall Ladies Luncheon, "Raising Resilient Children," at The Colony Club. Over 80 people turned out to hear Dr. Elena Lister, a NYC psychiatrist who is renowned for her work with children on issues of grief and loss.
In her talk, Dr.Lister emphasized that children possess a resiliency not found in adults. Able to recover from shock, loss, and trauma far faster than a grown person, many children are not only able to "bounce back," but live on in a far more stress-free manner than their adult counterparts when confronted with trauma — from learning and social disorders to death and loss. She also addressed questions posed by the audience:
"When is the appropriate age to inform my child of his or her challenges?"
"How do I introduce controversial social and political issues to my child?"
"How do I educate my child about his/her sibling's learning and social disorder?"
Gillen Brewer School strongly believes that an involved and well-informed family is invaluable to each child's overall education. As parents and mentors, we seek a network of resources and knowledge that help us communicate and involve ourselves with our children for a multitude of issues from general healthy living to dealing with grief, stress and loss. This year's luncheon was informative and enlightening.
A special thanks to Laura Schacht Bilicic, Kathyrn George Tyree and Leslie Johnson for co-hosting the event, Dr. Elena Lister for a thought-provoking discussion and Allison Vella for eloquently sharing her personal experience. Thanks also to those who attended the luncheon and those who supported the event through their generous contributions.
Pet Partner Project
Our neighbors at the ASPCA and the Delta Society, teamed up with us this year for a Pet Partner Project. Each weeka dog and its owner come to visit classrooms at Gillen Brewer. During these visits, the students learn to ask the owner, "Can I pet your dog?" and to also gain permission from the dog by letting it smell their hand. Our pet partners, Lily, Mr. G, and Penny, each come with their own favorite things to do: get brushed, fed, walked (inside and on our roof-deck), and/or given a tour of the classroom. Each week the children practice their communication skills with the pets and their owners in order to develop meaningful relationships, practice appropriate interactions, and learn the dynamics of non-verbal communication. This project has raised the children's awareness of body language helping them to further strengthen their communication skills.
The students were so excited each week to have Lily, Mr. G and Penny visit that they began generating ideas for things they could do and make for their pet partners. The Tadpoles and Belugas baked home-made doggie treats which allowed the children to do something special for their pet and reinforced the math skills associated with baking. The Sprouts and Tadpoles made doggie coats for their pet partner with pictures and words from each student. The students personalized the coats and planned the design. About a week later the classrooms received photos of each dog modeling their new attire.
In an effort to connect with and to show the ASPCA our appreciation, the Sprouts spearheaded a blanket-towel drive. The Sprouts went one step further and hand delivered the donated blankets and towels to the staff at the ASPCA which truly connected each child to the experience. Thank you to all who contributed your used towels and blankets to the project. The Pet Partner Project has been a huge success and we are so grateful for our partnership!
To see all of our big events from previous school years, please click below to open our full year "What's Brewing" yearly School Newsletter
