IFDA'S Holiday Gala Nets $15,000 For Habitat For Humanity

Furniture World Magazine

The International Furnishings & Design Association Holiday Gala held recently at the Fashion Institute of Technology raised $15,000 from silent auction bids on trips, restaurant dinners and furnishing items ranging from bed linens to sinks. The centerpiece of the auction was a week's stay for up to six people at a private chateau in Burgundy, France, donated by Felissimo Universal Corporation of America whose flagship store is located at 10 West 56h Street in NYC The week's stay at the Chateau de Pouilly sur Saone alone raised almost $5,000. Habitat's Executive Director, Roland Lewis, commented that "this was the most money raised at a single Manhattan event in the charity's history." Other high ticket items that garnered top bids included a Sherle Wagner International hand painted porcelain sink, a Lane Company leather bench, Park B. Smith bed linens and a Benjamin Moore paint consultation, complete with 10 gallons of paint. Restaurant Row which offers diners dinners for two to four raised $2,000 from restaurants such as Aquavit, B. Smith, Bouterin, Christers, The Four Seasons, Hudson River Club, Independent, and Judson Grill as well as the Rocking Horse Café Mexicano and Union Pacific. A designers duo offered lunch at the Astra And Lexington Cafes. Furthermore, the James Beard Foundation donated a fellow membership and a dinner for two valued at more than $400, The IFDA Gala is held annually in December at a different locale benefiting a different charity each year and it attracts from 250 to 300 members and guests. The other part of the Gala is the popular Holiday Bazaar, offering shoppers tons of home merchandise at bargain prices, which helps to fund a variety of IFDA programs.