The Life's WORC 35th Anniversary Holiday Gala was held at the Garden City Hotel on Friday, December 1,2006. This annual event brings together supporters of Life's WORC to celebrate the agency's past and to help raise needed funds for the future.

The previous year's (2005 - 34th) Holiday Gala, honoring Benedetto Filingeri, raised just under $200,000, the most ever for a Holiday Gala. The event also saw the introduction of the Life's WORC Make-A-Difference Campaign which affords a donor the opportunlty to direct his/her funds directly to an individual supported by Life's WORC. Just after the campaign was introduced from the podium by Life's WORC Chairman, Vince Grucci, $12,000 was raised to help purchase items such as a specialized wheelchair, tickets for a baseball game, adaptive equipment, etc.

Building upon earlier successes, Life's WORC honored three individuals at this latest event, all of whom are members of the Life's WORC Advisory Board of Directors. The three Honorees were Steven P. Cavaluzzo (Senior Vice President, JPMorgan Chase), Brian E. Walsh (Senior Vice President, CitiBank) and Thomas P. Daum (Co-owner/Operator, Chemiclene, Inc).



The 19th Annual Geraldo Rivera Golf & Terns Classic was held on May 19th at the Tam O'Shanter Golf Club in Brookville, New York. Under mostly sunny skies with a strong breeze, a sellout crowd of golfers enjoyed a great day of golf. This year's outing raised $150,000 for Lifeis WORC, the second most in the history of the outing.

When Life's WORC was formed in 1971, Geraldo made a commitment to help the new agency grow so that it could support people with mental retardation in an effective manner. In 1977, Life's WORC opened the first home for people wth mental retardation. The home is located in Llttle Neck, Queens, and it is named in honor of Geraldo Rivera.

In order to help raise funds for Life's WORC, Geraldo initiated the Geraldo Rivera Golf & Tennis Classic. Since its inception 19 years ago, the outing has raised over $2 million for Life's WORC.



The 4th Annual Chefs of Long Island event was held on Monday, March 13th at Quartz Caterers at the Nassau County Bar Association in Mineola. The event began at 7:00 p.m. and lasted until 9:00 p.m.

This annual event featured 20 local restaurants, wineries and bakeries who shared samples of their signature dishes for the guests in attendance. Participating businesses included: Banfi Vinters in Old Brookville, Buon Appetlto Gonrmet Market in Sea Cliff, Calagero's Restaurant in Garden City, Cardinali Pastry Shop in Carle Place, Chester CakeIGreat American Dessert Company in Maspeth, Ivy Cottage I I Restaurant in Williston Park, Mandolin0 Grill in Mineola, Mark of Excellence Distlnctlve Catering in Port Washington, Mim's Restaurant m Roslyn & Syosset, Morton's The Steakhouse in Great Neck, Quartz Caterers In Mineola, Seventh Street Caf6 in Garden City, Sweet Karma in East Meadow, Tin Alley Grill in Garden City, Tom Cat Bakery In Long Island City and Tupelo Honey in Sea Cliff. In addition to the fine food and wine at the Chefs of Long Island event, this year featured outdoor ice sculpting by Scott Rella Sculptures.