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December 5, 2003 (New York, New York) - On Wednesday, December 3, 2003 the NYU Child Study Center raised nearly $3.2 million, a record setting amount, at the Sixth Annual Child Advocacy Award Dinner held at the Regent Wall Street. This year's dinner, "Giving Children Back Their Childhood," was chaired by Beth and Michael Fascitelli and honored Lawrence H. Summers, President of Harvard University, and Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee for their commitment to the health, education and the welfare of children and young adults.
"If you look at all the categories of cost at Harvard, mental health is one of the ones that has increased most rapidly over the last decade," said Honoree Larry Summers. "And there is no money the University spends that is more important."
At the Dinner, the Child Study Center unveiled its new public service announcement (PSA) campaign including television spots narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi is a strong advocate for child mental health issues and was honored by the Center at last year's Child Advocacy Award Dinner. The PSA campaign includes television, print and radio spots sponsored by The Bear Stearns Charitable Foundation and created by BBDO New York. The campaign, which also features the tagline, "Giving Children Back Their Childhood," is part of a larger 9/11 Public Education Campaign designed to educate parents, teachers and others about detection and treatment of both 9/11-related and other general mental health disorders.
"More than 10 million children and teens in this country suffer from a psychiatric illness - more than leukemia, diabetes and AIDS combined. And 70% of those children never receive treatment," said Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Director of the Child Study Center. "Mental illness robs children of their childhood. With all the help provided at this year's dinner, research and scientifically-proven care will enable us to give children back their childhood."
Guests at the Dinner included Larry Silverstein, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and World Trade Center leaseholder; and NYU Child Study Center Board members: Brooke Garber Neidich, Board Chair and Daniel Neidich; Arthur Carter, Publisher, The New York Observer and Linda Carter, Ph.D.; Mickey Drexler, Chairman and C.E.O, J. Crew & Co.; Lisa Pevaroff Cohn and Gary Cohn, Managing Director and Co-Head Equities Division, Goldman Sachs; Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca Productions and Craig Hatkoff; Cathy and Stephen Graham; Jill and Bob Smith and Joanne Corzine.
The Annual Child Advocacy Award Dinner celebrates the NYU Child Study Center's commitment to its mission: to apply the best of modern science and medicine to the problem of mental illness in children. The Dinner is the primary fundraising event for the NYU Child Study Center; all proceeds support the programs and initiatives of the Center. Past honorees include: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rudolph Giuliani, Tipper Gore, Governor George E. Pataki , Whoopi Goldberg, Senator Jon S. Corzine and Joanne Corzine, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D and Leonard N. Stern.
The NYU Child Study Center is dedicated to the understanding, prevention and treatment of child and adolescent mental health problems. The Center offers expert psychiatric services for children and families with emphasis on early diagnosis and intervention. The Center's mission is to bridge the gap between science and practice, integrating the finest research with patient care and state-of-the-art training, utilizing an extraordinary new facility and the resources of the world-class New York University School of Medicine. For more information, contact the NYU Child Study Center at (212) 263-6622 or visit www.AboutOurKids.org.
Dinner honored Larry Summers, President of Harvard University, and Ann Tenenbaum and Tom Lee
