NEW YORK, USA--For Haiti, American actor Sean Penn is the gift that keeps on giving, and last week Friday night, the Oscar winner (Milk) and some of his Hollywood friends – Dreamworks’ David Geffen and Creative Artists Agency’s Bryan Lourd – hosted the Haiti Takes Root fundraiser at Sotheby’s in New York City.
Emceed by Gayle King, the dinner and auction was in aid of Penn’s charity, the J/P Haitian Relief Organization (HRO). The charity hosts an annual gala in Los Angeles, California, but this was the first time Penn took his cause to the Big Apple.
The benefit was organised to help J/P HRO to reforest and rebuild Haiti. Ticket prices started at US $5,000 and an up-market auction featured works of art by Ed Ruscha, Henry Taylor, Deborah Kass, Thomas Houseago and Jonas Wood.
A slew of VIP experiences featured in the novel live auction, including a soccer experience with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, a trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix, an art and culinary trip to Denmark with Noma chef René Redzepi, and a private tour and dinner at James Turrell’s Roden Crater, led by Michael Govan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Wallis Annenberg, Director, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
In addition to participation by some of New York’s biggest luminaries, celebrity attendees included supermodel Naomi Campbell, singer Ellie Goulding, Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Bravo’s Andy Cohen, Foxcatcher director Bennett Miller, actor Neil Patrick Harris and more.
Penn, who is the founder and Chairman of the Board of J/P HRO and Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti, has said of the organization’s campaign: “In Haiti, having trees is a matter of life and death. They give food, they protect the soil, and they provide shelter from the storm. If we can’t reverse deforestation – and do it now – the deck is going to continue to be stacked against Haitians already struggling to survive.”
The 56-year-old Hollywood great added: “This auction is about getting at these root causes of Haiti’s challenges. It’s about giving the Haitians the tools they need and planting the seeds for a better future.”
According to the organization’s press release, Haiti Takes Root is a 10-year, US $300 million partnership to support local agriculture.
“The goal of J/P HRO is to support the residents of the camps we managed and surrounding areas’ transition from vulnerability to resilient, sustainable and prosperous communities,” it said. ~ Caribbean360 ~
