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[Editor's Note: this event has nothing to do with the Musella Foundation - we are just helping spread word of it]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday Night Live Star Kenan Thompson to Host Third Annual Cristian Rivera Foundation Gala
August 3, 2011—New York, NY—The Third Annual Cristian Rivera Foundation Gala is set to take place on Monday September 12 from 6pm to 10pm at the newly re-launched Copacabana Supper Club and Event Space at 268 West 47th Street in Times Square. Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson will host the event, which raises money towards research into a rare pediatric brain stem tumor known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which currently has no cure.
“Being part of the Cristian Rivera Foundation means a lot to me. Working to save children’s lives is a very important and inspiring thing,” said Thompson. “I have young children in my family—nieces, nephews and cousins—so I can imagine what it would be like to lose them, although no one can truly understand that level of heartbreak unless they’ve gone through it firsthand. I’m very excited to be involved in this foundation in any way I can.”
A cocktail hour will be held from 6pm-7pm, concurrent with the red carpet arrivals of esteemed committee members and celebrity guests. This will be followed by a sit-down dinner, live entertainment and a silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items including dinners catered by celebrity chefs Ricardo Cardona and Alex Garcia, and an autographed photo of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali carrying the Olympic torch.
Proceeds from the Third Annual Cristian Rivera Foundation Gala will be donated to Dr. Mark Souweidane of Memorial Sloan Kettering and Weill Cornell Medical Center, a leader in his field who is set to begin clinical trials of a promising treatment delivery system that will help cure DIPG. The disease affects 200-300 children each year in the United States who fall between the ages of 1 and 9. The median survival rate of a child diagnosed with DIPG is only three to 18 months and there are no recorded survivors.
The Cristian Rivera Foundation, a New York City-based 501(c)(3), was started in 2009, six months after its namesake, Cristian Rivera, died from DIPG. He struggled with the disease for two years and was six years old at the time of his passing. Cristian’s father, renowned event promoter and marketer John “Gungie” Rivera created the foundation to raise awareness of this rare disease and make sure that no other family suffers the horrors of DIPG again. The Cristian Rivera Foundation raises awareness and funds for Pontine Glioma through an annual gala, as well as other fundraising events and the sale of signature blue wristbands and t-shirts. Many high-profile celebrities have been seen wearing the Foundation’s wristbands, including P.Diddy, Kid Capri, model/actress Bobbi Jo, iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove, Juelz Santana, acclaimed Broadway actress Alice Ripley, former New York Yankee Bernie Williams and Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field.
For more information on the Cristian Rivera Foundation, visit www.cristianriverafoundation.org and www.cristian-rivera.com, or contact: