Haute Event: 21st Annual Bunny Hop

On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, The Associates Committee of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center hosted the 21^st Annual Bunny Hop at FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue, New York’s legendary toy store. A Society tradition and the most high-profile family event of the year, the Bunny Hop is a thrilling and magical evening for families and children of all ages. Sponsored by Tiffany & Co. and with generous support from UBS Private Wealth Management, over 1,000 people attended including The Society’s members, celebrity guests and New York families. The Event Co-Chairs were Kate Doerge, Chiara Edmands, Blair Husain, Palmer O’Sullivan and the Benefit Vice Chairmen were Alexandra D. Edwards, Shabnam Henry, Marianna Olszewski Rounick, and Martha Sharp.

Guests enjoyed a variety of hands-on activities including: games by Kids In Sports; face painting by BongarBiz and Faces by Derrick; cupcake and cookie decorating by Eleni’s New York; Freeze Frame Giant Piano Photos; costume dress-up areas provided by Let’s Dress Up!; sand art by the Craft Studio; live animal presentations by A Touch of Nature; entertainment by Magic Al the magician; Sammie and Tudie; Miss Pinkie’s Playhouse; twisted balloon art; Alex Toys giant paper flowers; musical entertainment by MME Entertainment; and a live musical performance by Broadway Babies.

The event raised over $320,000 to benefit the Pediatric Family Housing Endowment. The fund pays for overnight stays at special nearby accommodations when children and their families come from out of town for treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s renowned Pediatric Department and are unable to afford this expense.  The endowment helps to relieve some of the financial strain for families with children undergoing treatment at the cancer center.

Guests included Kelly Rutherford, Ramses Barden from the New York Giants, Alexandra Kotur, Kate Doerge, Chiara Edmands, Blair Husain, Palmer O’Sullivan, Alexandra Edwards, Shabnam Henry, Heather Leeds, Anne Keating, Lisa Errico, Shoshanna Gruss, Eleanor Ylvisaker, Allison Aston, Ferebee Taube, Natalie Leeds Leventhal, Kate Allen, Jill Kargman, Danika and Charlie Gould, Stephanie and James Loeffler, Claudia Overstrom, Kate Pickett, Eleanora and Michael Kennedy, Dr. Annette Rickel, and many more.