Greetings from the Cristian Rivera Foundation.Welcome to the Cristian Rivera Foundation’s November newsletter. Our first order of business is of course to thank everyone who attended the Second Annual Cristian Rivera Foundation Gala at New York City event space Quo on Tuesday, October 19. It was thanks to your generous participation that we were able to give Dr. Mark Souweidane of Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering a $30,000 donation.
As you may remember from Dr. Souweidane’s editorial piece that ran in this newsletter earlier in the year, he and his team have been committed to the mission of offering children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) a safe and novel treatment option. Right now Pontine Glioma has no cure and it kills all 300 children in the United States diagnosed with it each year. “Finally, after 12 years of preclinical testing, [my colleagues and I] have designed a treatment option for children with DIPG that uses convection-enhanced delivery (CED) and a tumor specific agent called a monoclonal antibody,” said Dr. Souweidane, who was one of the doctors to perform routine shunt surgeries on Cristian. “The drug delivery method CED bypasses the blood-brain barrier…separating the blood and the brain… thus delivering drugs directly to the tumor.”
The Cristian Rivera Foundation is proud to be one of the brain tumor foundations supporting Dr. Souweidane’s research. We have so much faith in his work that we also awarded him the Vision of Hope Award in recognition of his dedication and commitment to curing this terrible disease.
Dr. Souweidane was one of many award recipients that night. John “Gungie” Rivera presented Committee Members Alex Garcia and Ricardo Cardona with Outstanding Service Awards for their tireless efforts and generosity, as well as for the delicious food they donated to the gala. Committee Members Tedsmooth and Kenya Bradix each got the Cristian Rivera Humanitarian Award for their dedication to the community and the foundation, respectively. Both of them were very close to Cristian and were touched by the surprise honor. Rivera also presented a special posthumous honor to Ralph Mercado, Sr., who passed away from a brain tumor five weeks after Cristian Rivera lost his life to Pontine Glioma. Committee Member Ralph Mercado III accepted the award in memory of his father’s admirable character, lifetime achievements, and courage in his battle with cancer.
We also auctioned off some great one-of-a-kind items and experiences in our live and silent auctions. Lucky winners walked away with an autographed jersey from Carlos Beltran; a painting by Ouattara Watts; baseballs signed by Derek Jeter, Bob Gibson and Hank Aaron; a Cristian Rivera Foundation t-shirt autographed by iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove; a soccer ball signed by David Beckham; a football autographed by all of the New York Giants; boxing gloves autographed by legendary boxer Muhammad Ali and a date with “Las Gemelas Lulu y Lala” from The Luis Jimenez Show on X96.3. We also offered a weekend at the W Hotel in Hoboken, including dinner and lounge for both nights; and a party for 25 people catered by Alex Garcia and Ricardo Cardona, who cooked, cleaned and provided both liquor and staff. The bidding got so intense for this that Alex Garcia decided to triple the offer and gave parties to the three highest bidders. Thanks to all the money raised from these auctions, we were able to send Dr. Souweidane an additional $10,000 toward his research.
If you were at the gala, you were in the company of such high-profile guests as Dangerous Minds actor Renoly Santiago, actor/singer Frankie Negron, Committee Member and rapper Jim Jones, legendary producer and Committee Member Little Louie Vega, Committee Member Funkmaster Flex, Committee Member J.I. Starr of La Mega, singer George Lamond, comedian Ruperto Vanderpool, Committee Member Mr. Olympia Victor Martinez, Committee Member and music producer Boy Wonder of Chosen Few, Committee Member DJ Camilo, painter Ouatarra Watts, Committee Member and celebrity photographer Johnny Nunez, independent film producer/photographer Daniel Hastings, singer Brenda K. Starr, singer O’Neill McKnight, Committee Member and film producer David Maldonado, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Former Bronx Borough President and Committee Member Fernando Ferrer, and Committee Member and former New York Knicks All Star Anthony Mason.
Mason—who was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in September and the Tennessee State University Sports Hall of Fame this month—was so moved by the message of hope at this year’s gala that he has decided to make the Cristian Rivera Foundation his official charity.
Not only are we proud to report that news, and express our great thanks to Anthony for the gesture, but we are also delighted to welcome “Las Gemelas Lulu y Lala,” aka Marissa and Marianela Gonzalez to the Cristian Rivera Foundation family as our two newest Committee Members. We look forward to working with them to realize our goal of finding a cure.
If you missed the gala, there’s still time to make a donation and support our cause. Visit cristianriverafoundation.org and click on the Donation tab. Or click the Shop tab to buy a signature foundation wristband, t-shirt or pendant from Joan Hornig Jewelry. Every tax-deductible donation or purchase brings us closer to a world without Pontine Glioma. Be sure to tell your friends, family and colleagues about the foundation through email, Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth so that they too can get involved. Together we will find a cure. Full Steam Ahead!
Sincerely,
John “Gungie” Rivera, “Forever Cristian’s Daddy,” and all of the members of the Cristian Rivera Committee: Alex Garcia, Andy Epstein, Anthony Mason, Aurora Flores, Boy Wonder, David Maldonado, Denise Miranda, DJ Camilo, Dr. Ben Velazquez, Dr. Mary Saleeby, Dr. Bear Walker, Edward Caban, Elis Pacheco, Fernando Ferrer, Funkmaster Flex, Hamlet Peralta, James R. Cotto, Jay Hernandez, Jeff & Valerie Lavino, Jim Jones, Jimmy Rodriguez, J.I. Starr, John “Jellybean” Benitez, Johnny Nuñez, Jose Alberto “El Canario,” Joseph Mbeh, Kamar De Los Reyes, Kenya Bradix, Khaliah Ali, Little Louie Vega, Lucho Concepcion, Luis Guzman, Marianela Gonzalez, Marissa Gonzalez, Mark Rosner, Mathew “Mateo” Rajkumar, Melissa Chung, Miriam Colon, Murray Richman, Pablo Diaz, Ralph Mercado III, Ray Wong, Ricardo Cardona, Robert Vazquez, Solange Osorio, Steve Cox, Tedsmooth, Vic Latino, Victor Martinez and William Pla.
