Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld recently hosted GOOD+ Foundation’s 2016 Fatherhood Lunch at The Palm Restaurant in Tribeca, which raised nearly $275,000 for the charity. The Foundation focuses on empowering dads with positive parenting and discipline strategies. Since its inception, GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative has supported over 20,000 families.
During the lunch Jerry Seinfeld described how many fathers who seek help from a fatherhood program don’t have the resources or materials to create the best environment for their families. With the services and products donated by the GOOD+ Foundation, many men are able to get the long-term support needed to help lift the family out of poverty.
“We realized we needed to address the missing component – the fathers,” said Seinfeld. “Your father is half of who you are. They are an important piece of the puzzle. We knew if we could get fathers back into the lives of their kids, we could really stabilize this environment.” In his remarks, he added, “Men are terrible at talking about being a husband and being a father. A gigantic hurdle is encouraging these men talk to each other, share their stories and realize they are not alone. I feel great that I’m able to help other men get into this experience of being a father.”
Guests at the luncheon included Alex Gorsky, David Lauren, GOOD+ Foundation Board Member Stacey Bendet Eisner, GOOD+ Fatherhood Leadership Council members Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Michael Strahan, Jeff Gordon, Will Kopelman, Harry Kargman, Jason Weinberg, along with Sam Champion, Jim Cramer and Nicky Rothschild.
One of the fathers, who has personally benefited from the program, addressed the gathering to share his experience and the successes he has achieved since he started working with the Children’s Institute Inc.’s Project Fatherhood in Los Angeles and began receiving donations from GOOD+ Foundation.
The organization recently completed an independent program evaluation by LeSar Development Consultants showing the impact of GOOD+ Foundation donations on both fathers and the programs served: 82 percent of fathers reported that GOOD+ donations improved their relationship with their child’s mother or relatives, and the same number reported the donations made them feel more like a dad to their child.
Also present was GOOD+ Foundation’s new Fatherhood Program Manager Jomael Young who saw the GOOD+ Fatherhood Initiative develop from its inception, having served as the Program Leader for the Fathers First Initiative in the Rockaways – a GOOD+ Foundation partner – for more than 10 years.The Fatherhood Initiative helps fathers with counseling, job training, relationship workshops, and actively engaging in their children’s lives. GOOD+ Foundation has distributed nearly 500,000 items to over 20,000 families through 19 father engagement programs.
The event was presented by Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren, with additional support by Crackle. The event was underwritten for the fourth time by Bruce Bozzi and Palm Restaurant.
The GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council is made up of a high-profile roster of fathers who are passionate about their own role as dads, and hope to raise funds and awareness for the initiative. Council members include Jerry Seinfeld (Chair), Jason Alexander, Anthony Anderson, Judd Apatow, Jason Bateman, Neil Blumenthal, Bruce Bozzi, Dan Bucantinsky, Rob Buccini, Ty Burrell, David Burtka, Christian Carino, Matt Cherwin, Camille Chidiac, Common, Shawn “Pecas” Costner, Victor Cruz, Matt Damon, Eric Ray Davidson, Robert Downey Jr., Darren Edwards, Eric Eisner, Nacho Figueras, David Fredston, Jeff Gordon, Alex Gorsky, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Hart, Alan F. Horn, Hugh Jackman, Mitch Jacobs, Woody Johnson, Harry Kargman, Pierre Kim, Boris Kodjoe, Will Kopelman, Jay Leno, Greg Lipmann, Blaine Lourd, Bryan Lourd, Bill Maher, Gabriel Miller, Francois Mobasser, Nas, David Neville, Rob Prinz, Michael Richards, Dan Roos, Bob Saget, Matt Schneider, George Shapiro, Dax Shepard, Lance Somerfeld, George Stephanopoulos, Steve Stoute, Michael Strahan, Michael Tiedemann, James Van Der Beek, Dwyane Wade, Marcus Wainwright, Charlie Walk, George Wallace, Jason Weinberg, Mel Woods and Jeffrey Wright.
Haute Cuisine
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