On Oct. 17, KACF held its second annual gala dinner for charity at the Grand Hyatt hotel in midtown Manhattan. The dinner was a great success as KACF was able to capitalize on the momentum created by its inaugural gala last year. KACF raised more than $600,000 through the generous support of its donors and sponsors. Sponsors included Citi, Tiger, Samsung, Lexis-Nexis and Reed Elsevier. 

Many of New York’s highly regarded business professionals, dignitaries and celebrities participated in the event, including the night’s keynote speaker, Jeannie Park, the former executive editor of People magazine; U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Mayor Michael Bloomberg and all of whom spoke to the more than 800 guests at the dinner. SuChin Pak of MTV and Michael Kim of ESPN served as the night’s emcees. The night also featured performances by Maggie Kim and the Ides.

Following the gala, KACF board president Suok Noh said, “I am simply awed by what we achieved through the collective effort of our limited staff and volunteers … and while we should congratulate ourselves for the job well done, let’s remember why KACF held the event in the first place, and that’s to help create a culture of giving in the Korean American community and ultimately, to help those who cannot help themselves.”

KACF is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to distribute to social-service organizations focused on serving the New York Korean and Asian communities.

 

Caption; CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:?MTV’s SuChin Pak and ESPN’s Michael Kim presided over the gala dinner. • From left: Korean Consul General Kim Kyung-keun, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mrs. Ban Ki-moon, Citi’s Bill Rhodes, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jeannie Park. • Keynote speaker Jeannie Park addressed the more than 800 guests at the KACF Gala dinner. • Gala co-chair Sarah BJ Sung (third from right) and corporate honoree Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of Citibank (far right), enjoy the evening with guests.