Granting the wishes of young children and adolescents is an undeniably rewarding experience. That's why I decided to check out a special kickoff event honoring the upcoming 17th Annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Southern Florida. Held each year at the downtown landmark and attended by more than 250 of South Florida’s leading philanthropists, this exclusive preview event celebrated the annual Ball, to be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011. I was very excited to hear that the money raised this year is expected to push the organization’s all-time fundraising total in 17 years above $10 million. That is an incredible accomplishment! During the kickoff event, the “Three Amigos”— Norman Wedderburn, President/CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, Shareef Malnik, Ball Chairman and proprietor of The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar, and Robert Hill, Ball Host and General Manager of Intercontinental Miami [all pictured above]— unveiled key details, such as the theme of this year's gala. I'll give you a hint: black and white (masks are a must)! It was also announced that the Ball’s live auction will be emceed by Burn Notice star Gabrielle Anwar. Did I mention DJ Irie will be spinning his beats? Sounds like a ball to me! Make sure you buy your tickets early and save the date for this celeb studded event!
Above: Beatrice Clancy, Dr. Sanford Ziff [Founder of Sunglass Hut and Philanthropist] and Lady Monica Heflter. Past celebrity guests have included Paula Abdul, Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian, Scottie Pippen, Venus and Serena Williams [just to name a few]. To secure your seat for this prominent social event, call 888-773-9474 ext. 318.
Above Left: Miami philanthropists, Diane and Aristotle Ares, who always look fabulous! Above Right: Shareef Malnik, Ball Chairman and proprietor of The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar, along with the beautiful Tara Solomon, Principal of Tara Ink.
Above: Karneval Masque Atelier showed guests their Venetian styled masks for this year's ball. If you purchase one of their customized masks, you'll be happy to know that 20% of the profit from your purchase will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For more information, feel free to email info@karnevalmasque.com.
