Champions for Children Charity Gala raises €65 thousand for child victims of Abruzzo Earthquake
The Champions for Children Charity Gala, held in Le Méridien Gallia Hotel in Milan on June 8th 2009, has been a successful event, raising a total of 65,000 Euros for child victims of the Abruzzo earthquake in which over 300 people lost their lives in April 2009.
400 guests and 28 sponsors welcomed the invite of Clarence Seedorf, Founder and President of Champions for Children, and donated funds in favour of children affected by the earthquake.
Upon their arrival at the venue, the guests were personally greeted by Clarence Seedorf and had their picture taken with him. Roberto Ciufoletti, Chairman of the Foundation, and the ambassadors Ambra Orfei and Alberto Cisolla, national volleyball champion, were also present to welcome the guests.
During the aperitif, offered by le Meridien Gallia and Finger’s, ranked amongst the world's top ten Japanese restaurants, the guests admired 12 works of art that were up for auction. Famous auction house Christie's conducted the 'Art4Children' auction, together with Ezio Greggio, ambassador of Champions for Children. Artworks by Hans Hartung, Maria Mulas, Marco Lodola, Lucio Oliveri and Arnaldo Pomodoro went under the hammer. Champions for Children’s ambassador Ambra Orfei presented the evening.
The little ambassadors from I FELINI di Tanja Kok (an association of children active in social causes) gave a 1,000 euros cheque to the Champions for Children’s President.
The Gala was also an occasion to present the new Champions Playground Project that the Foundation will realize in South Africa in collaboration with the Catholic University of Milan and the Western Cape University. The Playground project also benefits from a contribution from Regione Lombaria.
Mattia Inverni, lead singer from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”, and his band entertained the guests with their songs during the entire evening. After dinner a raffle was organised with prizes donated by Le Meridién Starwood Hotel, Louis Vuitton, Valentino Rossi and other sponsors.
The night ended with a performance of award-winning popsinger Alain Clark, who sang the beautiful “Father & Friend” with his father Dane. After midnight, Clarence Seedorf joined Alain on stage and they performed a few songs together.
We would like to thank all sponsors for making this event possible, in particular Le Méridien Gallia Hotel Milan for their hospitality, Ferrari for the wines, Finger’s Restaurant for the aperitif, Audi for the car service, SetUp Allestimenti Scenografici for the stage, Barbera for the coffee and Sony Italia for the videos.
