Photo Credit: World Red Eye
Miami’s most avid philanthropist Michael Capponi and co-chair Shelly Tygielski will host the Global Empowerment Mission foundation’s 2nd Annual Gala this Saturday, April 8th, at the beautiful 1 Hotel South Beach’s Atrium Room for an evening of giving back.
Photo Credit: World Red Eye
Tickets for the event are $150 per person and can be purchased here, which includes a sunset reception; drinks from a premium open bar and passed gourmet canapés; a silent and live auction including awe-inspiring items and experiences such as a visit with the Pope, tickets to the Cannes Film Festival, a personal portrait painted by renowned artist Romero Britto, and much more; and a special live performance by a surprise guest. Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe will be speaking alongside Michael Capponi throughout the evening. All proceeds of the event will directly benefit the GEM foundation.
This year, the foundation will also be honoring a special guest, an exemplary student named Kesny Philippe. Kesny was one of the first members that the foundation worked with following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti weeks after the earthquake. The organization took him out of Port au Prince and enrolled him in a private school in Jacmel where Kesny excelled as a student, earning straight A’s and graduating at the top of his class. He will soon be headed off to college in France. Kesny will fly into Miami just for the occasion to talk about his experience with GEM, how he has progressed since seven years ago and what the organization can do to help others just like him achieve the same amazing success story.
The event will also showcase highlights from the past year including their work in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew where GEM supplied an incredible 350,000 pounds worth of supplies to the country following the devastation incurred by the hurricane, where they were on the ground day one of the aftermath striving to put the country back together once again.
If you’re unfamiliar with GEM, here’s a little more background on what it does and why it’s important that you support:
Founder Michael Capponi formed the organization in 2011, after his experiences helping in Kosovo in 1999. Since then, he and the other GEM founding members have been involved in supporting some of the most significant global tragedies over the last decade, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In the wake of this tragedy, the foundation has been focusing a large portion of its endeavors in Haiti to revitalize the poverty-stricken country. The near-term goal of GEM is to empower people in these areas of devastation by providing emergency medical aide, food, housing, quality education, diverse vocational training and job creation. The end result is to create opportunities for the people in these developing countries to become self-sufficient with a stable and sustainable economy, ultimately eliminating their dependency on foreign aid. The evening will also help raise funds for the Louis G. Lamothe Foundation, named after the former Prime Minister’s father.
