Save this story Save Story Save this story On Monday evening, God’s Love We Deliver—the beloved organization responsible for providing medically tailored meals to over 40 million New Yorkers—celebrated its 20th annual Golden Heart Awards. The fundraiser once again drew a glamorous crowd to Manhattan’s Morningside Heights on a crisp evening in October, starting with the impressive lineup of honorees: Misty Copeland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Andrew Scott.
Within the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, one couldn’t help but marvel at its 121,000-square-foot size and colossal 177-foot ceilings—especially considering this hallowed venue is where the charity’s humble story begins. What started with a single meal delivery in 1985 eventually moved to a small church on West 86th and Amsterdam, where volunteers at West Park Presbyterian Church worked tirelessly to prepare and send out 50 meals per day to New Yorkers at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Fast forward 41 years, and the mission of helping neighbors impacted by illnesses is still intact, only now, on a much, much larger scale.
That mammoth effort was evident on Monday, as 700 guests filed up the steps of one of the world’s largest gothic cathedrals. Among them was one of God’s Love We Deliver’s most steadfast supporters, Michael Kors. A lifelong New Yorker, the designer co-chairs the annual gala alongside honorary chairperson Anna Wintour, who was also in attendance. Naturally, the aforementioned honorees and guests at the head table, including Olivia Munn, Nicky Hilton, Lea Michele, Annabelle Wallis, Martha Stewart, and Judith Light, were all dressed in head-to-toe looks by Michael Kors Collection.
Kors has been involved with the organization for 35 years and even has one of the annual awards named in his honor. “I always say these people are the picture—I just make the frame,” he told Vogue, when asked about being in the company of past recipients of the Michael Kors Award for Inspiring Philanthropy, such as Hillary Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Audra McDonald. “I’m happy, of course, to be able to give this award to the people who we really feel are so deserving every year. It’s a pinch-me situation and it never gets old.”
As attendees took their seats, past Michael Kors Award recipient Neil Patrick Harris gave opening remarks with his partner, David Burtka, while guests dined on a fall-inspired menu. Wintour and Kors were then joined by God’s Love We Deliver President and CEO Terrence Meck, who joked that this was the best Monday night of the year—not the other major fundraising initiative Wintour heads up each year on the first Monday in May. It was one of the many light-hearted comedic quips mixed in with meaningful moments that defined the evening.
Andrew Scott was honored with the Golden Heart Award for Outstanding Humanitarianism & Cultural Impact. The Irish thesp was recognized for his role in the upcoming biographical drama, Elsinore, in which he portrays Scottish actor Ian Charleson as he takes on the role of Hamlet while battling a terminal AIDS diagnosis. “In the same year that Ian was in London playing this part, sneaking out of the hospital to get to the theater, people here in New York were knocking on doors with a meal for people that the rest of the world had decided to stigmatize, judge, and forget about,” Scott said. “More than 40 years later, those people are still knocking on those doors.”
Eleven-time Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus took the stage after being presented with the Golden Heart Award for Outstanding Artistry & Advocacy by Vogue ’s Chloe Malle. Fresh off her Broadway debut in Other Desert Cities , Louis-Dreyfus shared her connection to God’s Love We Deliver. She has been an ardent supporter of the environment and a member of the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council, but it was her anecdote about her breast cancer journey that really resonated with the room. “Now when I look back on that exceptionally difficult time in my life, it’s not the illness that I remember—it’s the chili with cornbread on top that my beloved mom cooked for me,” Louis-Dreyfus recalled. “I am so happy to support God’s Love We Deliver. The work they do is critical and urgent. I love this organization.”
While presenting an award to Misty Copeland, Kors highlighted her history-making achievement of becoming American Ballet Theatre’s first-ever Black principal dancer. He also spotlighted her commitment to launching free after-school ballet programs for kids in the Bronx and Harlem through her namesake foundation; last year, she helped provide free movement classes for adults aged 50 and older, too. “I want everyone to experience all that people give of themselves every day to make a difference in someone’s life,” said Copeland.
Before the night ended with a performance by Tony Award-nominated performer Jasmine Amy Rogers, Harry Santa-Olalla, known as The Fundraising Guy, enthusiastically led the evening’s lightening-speed paddle round, which kicked off with over $1.5 million in donations in the first 15 minutes. If your paddle was on the ground, you would automatically be on the hook for $500, Santa-Olalla teased. Guests were evidently eager to contribute—one look around the room and you could see Martha Stewart and Paige DeSorbo raising their hands to pledge five-figure donations. As a result, the evening ended with almost $4 million raised.
Earlier this year, God’s Love We Deliver opened Liberty BKLYN, a 30,000-square-foot meal distribution center in Sunset Park. “It’s not just for people who are ill—it’s for their caregivers, it’s their kids. It’s become even more inclusive. With our new space in Brooklyn, we’re really able to roll up our sleeves and whatever comes our way, we can manage it,” Kors told Vogue . When asked what he hopes for this year": “Bigger and better, always,” Kors beamed.
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 1/23 Anna Wintour, Michael Kors, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Terrence Meck, Andrew Scott, and Misty Copeland
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 2/23 Olivia Munn and Nicky Hilton Rothschild
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 3/23 Lea Michele
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 4/23 Andrew Scott
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 5/23 Huma Abedin
Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse Have Welcomed Their First Baby Venus Retrograde Is Coming—Here’s What It Means for Every Star Sign Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 6/23 Tina Leung
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 7/23 Misty Copeland
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 8/23 Neil Patrick Harris, Terrence Meck, and David Burtka
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 9/23 Annabelle Wallis
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 10/23 Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 11/23 Gary Janetti and Brad Goreski
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 12/23 Nelly Moudime and Priya Shukla
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 13/23 Linda Fargo
Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse Have Welcomed Their First Baby Venus Retrograde Is Coming—Here’s What It Means for Every Star Sign Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 14/23 Martha Stewart
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 15/23 Jasmine Amy Rogers
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 16/23 Emmett Findley and Judith Light
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 17/23 Bridgette Ingraham-Roberts and Erik Bottcher
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 18/23 Tyler Lain
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 19/23 DJ Lina Bradford
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 20/23 Harry Santa-Olalla
Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 21/23 Payton Purther, Julia Mervis, and Paige DeSorbo
Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse Have Welcomed Their First Baby Venus Retrograde Is Coming—Here’s What It Means for Every Star Sign Expand Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 22/23 Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Expand Photo: Emilio Madrid 23/23 Chloe Malle
Source: Lifestyle
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