Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope Gala

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being a special guest at the gala for Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope Foundation. I first attended in 2012, but was unable to attend last year due to a prior commitment, so I was super excited for this year!

Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope Foundation was created by Jennifer and Michael LaBarbera in memory of their daughter Gianna Nicole who lost her battle to leukemia on November 1, 2007. She was only 4 years old. It is the foundation's primary goal to help ease the financial burdens of families currently in the battle against this devastating disease.

My mom and I made our way to the El Caribe in Brooklyn. Once again, the venue was incredible. We were greeted by Tammi D'Antoni and had a few pictures taken by our friend and photographer, Steve White.

There were more baskets than I could count (I had my eye on a few specific ones) and food tables covered the entire dance floor. I was stunned at how many guests there were…way more than there had been two years ago! We edged our way to our table where we saw Michael Scholl, Tammi's Mom, Claudia Carucci of Zoe Salon (my fabulous hair sponsor), Carla Murino, and Belinda Mendez-Azzolini, who are all great friends and equally great people.

After a blessing from father Jamie (whom I met a St. Bernard's Bazaar last year), Gianna’s Uncle Lou addressed the guests. He spoke about Gianna, the foundation and its work, and introduced the families the foundation was honoring; The Tornabene family, the Harvey family and the Delfino family. I already knew the family of Marina Tornabene - an amazing young woman, wise beyond her years - and hoped to introduce myself to the other families before the night was over.

There were a few more speakers and then it was time for Michael Scholl and me to speak to the 600+ attendees. Michael, who is part of the Inner Circle, had the opportunity to donate his share of their annual satire show's proceeds to a charity of his choice. He was so kind to give me the choice of where the money should go and I chose Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope Foundation. It felt great to be able to give them this money because I know what great work they to directly help families affected by cancer. Both Michael and I received an "Appreciation Award."

The dance floor was opened and, after introductions by Cindy Vero & Vinnie Medugno, there were incredible performances by George LaMond and Brenda K Starr.

Later on, I introduced myself to the other recipient families and exchanged information with them for future fundraising collaborations. I took some more pictures and bought my basket raffle tickets, which I put in just in time before they began to call the winners. It has become well known that I am very lucky when it comes to winning at basket auctions, but this time I was shocked when I won the grand prize I was hoping to win all night: 2 VIP tickets to the Bella Magazine White Party in the Hamptons with special guest Laura Prepon from Orange Is The New Black!! I also won a $400 bar basket that I could barely carry out.

This event was more amazing than I can even describe. The love in the room was overwhelming and I know that a lot of money was raised to help families in need. Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope has never had to turn away a family in need of assistance and that is because of the support and generosity they continue to experience year after year. Thank you, again, Tammi D'Antoni and Jennifer & Michael LaBarbera for asking me to join you on this special night. You are truly inspirational people whom I have come to love and admire. I can't wait until next year!