The 2024 Human Spirit Awards Gala Raises Over $400k for Brooklyn

Last month, BCS held our annual Human Spirit Awards Gala at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, where over 200 guests showed up to raise funds in support of our programs and services. This year’s theme, “Rooted in Brooklyn,” spoke to BCS’s 158 years of community involvement across the borough (and inspired some pretty spectacular tree branch decor). We also celebrated our 2024 honoree, the New York Jets Foundation, which has long worked closely with our Education and Youth Development programs. With the help of all our sponsors, donors, and attendees, we raised over $420,000, surpassing our $400,000 goal.

The Gala began with a cocktail hour in 1 Hotel’s beautiful, light-filled lobby, where guests filled their plates from an enormous charcuterie and fruit feast and sampled from floating plates of hors d’oeuvres (including some adorable miniature empanadas). Violinist Priya DeBerry worked her musical magic as attendees checked their bags, smiled for photos on the step and repeat, and mingled over drinks.

With wine glasses full and spirits high, guests moseyed into the dining room for the main event, where the night’s emcee, CBS news reporter Brian Vines, gave opening remarks and teased the rest of the night’s programming. Guests were treated to stone fruit salad as a first course, followed by a choice between braised short rib with polenta and roasted salmon over beluga lentils (both equally mouthwatering). Friends new and old broke bread (literally) as videos highlighted BCS’s impressive history and scope.

Speakers included Raine Martin, BCS’s Chief External Relations & Advancement Officer, and Board Chair Peter Cahill. BCS CEO Janelle Farris also made a triumphant return after her extended health leave, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. Jesse Linder, the NY Jets’ VP of Community Relations, then took the stage to accept the award on the Jets Foundation’s behalf, and a short video highlighted BCS’s Generation Jets Academy after-school program in East New York. We also honored the Turning Point Brooklyn Board of Directors and announced that Turning Point and BCS will officially merge into one organization!

To finish off the dinner portion of the evening, auctioneer extraordinaire Courtney Christensen hosted an exhilarating round of fundraising, with some truly epic Jets ticket offers for all the die-hard fans in the room. An auction thermometer on the big screen showed the live progress of donations rolling in, and roll in they did! After all this great fundraising, attendees returned to the lobby for a delectable array of chocolate caramel tarts (and maybe another round of drinks!)

All in all, the 2024 Human Spirit Awards Gala was an unforgettable evening with a truly incredible impact. We are so grateful to everyone who donated, including our sponsors for the evening: The New York Jets Foundation, Ernst & Young, Constance Christensen, Greenberg Traurig, Elizabeth Christensen, The Cahill Family, The Gallo Family, KPMG Financial Risk Management, Lamb Insurance Services, NFL Foundation, Dino J. Veronese, Gerry McGinley, UBS Financial Services, the Friends & Family of Janelle Farris, and Wino(t). Thank you to everyone who showed up to celebrate the communities we serve and continue making our work possible!

Photos by Paul Martinka