Donna Karan and Maria Bello at Sustainatopia Awards
By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore
On Sunday, April 3, Donna Karan, Maria Bello, Selita Ebanks, and Michael Capponi were among the recipients of the Sustainatopia Honors 2011, presented by Plum TV. These extraordinary philanthropists were honored for their charitable efforts through “impact investing, philanthropy, and sustainable business practices,” at an exclusive cocktail party and awards ceremony at Frank Gehry’s latest architectural marvel, the New World Center in Miami Beach.
Medium star, Patricia Arquette, (more of a “small” in person but with a HUGE heart) spoke at the event, followed by special performances included Latin Jazz singer, Maria Rivas; motion and visual performance artist, Natasha Tsakos; and founder of the first “green art community” in Florida, Luis Valenzuela. Special guests included: Danoushka.
About winning this prestigious humanitarian award, Michael Capponi remarked, “To be in the company of so many talented and dedicated individuals- Donna Karan, Maria Bello, Selita Ebanks, and Patricia Arquette, was such an honor. Sustainatopia brought us together, each having different projects and goals in mind (all wanting to help the Haitian people). After meeting, we are now all working together. We have become a stronger force as a team and we hope we will be more effective and ultimately reach more people.”
Additional Sustainatopia honorees included: Barbara Guillaume and Romero Britto. Proceeds from the evening were donated to Project Medishare and Shine on Sierra Leone, two organizations which strive to achieve quality healthcare, education and development services in Haiti and Sierra Leone. Capponi’s efforts in Haiti will continue to be actualized through funds raised at his World is Not Enough themed birthday extravaganza at sea on Saturday, April 16. Refer to the Don’t Miss column for more details.
