Love Heals Gets the Ultimate Birthday Gift: Donations for Over $300,000

Celebrities from all walks of entertainment joined in the celebration for the 20th anniversary of  13th annual Love Heals at Luna Farm event Saturday evening on July 9, 2012. The event brought out stars like designer Rebecca Minkoff, pianist Chloe Flower, news anchor Chris Wragge and Kelli Delaney, to name a few. While munching on Southern BBQ and sipping on summer cocktails by Patron, celebs also danced all night long with tunes from DJ Kiss.

All through the night, hosts Hilary Rhoda, Charlotte Ronson, Andrew Saffir, and Daniel Benedict mixed with co-founder Dini von Mueffling, Niche Media’s Samantha Yanks, as well as friends for a spectacular night.

And all was for a good cause as The Alison Gertz Foundation raised over $300,000 with the help of its 650 guests. Founded in 1992 to carry on the memory of late AIDS activist Alison Gertz, the organization aims to empower and encourage youth advocacy against HIV/AIDS with proper educational tools and community outreach.

Love Heals birthday bash was a success with the help of Patron Birthday Splash, Luna Farm Refresher, and Healing Touch and all the wonderful celebs who contributed to such a noteworthy cause.

Accessorizing For Spring with Style Expert Stefani Greenfield

Stefani Greenfield is a true style expert with several successful businesses under her belt. She is the co-founder of Scoop stores and was recently made Chief Creative Officer of the Jones Group. Stefani certainly knows a thing or two about effortlessly combining uptown chic with just the right amount of downtown cool. Check out some of her fabulous picks and tips on how to seamlessly “successorize” your spring time style.

Look 1: Vibrant Patterned Scarf – A bold, bright colored scarf is the perfect complement to any neutral dress this spring. My personal favorite is the Splendid maxi dress. The Theodora & Callum Jaipur Fringe Wearable Art Scarf will take your basics from ordinary to extraordinary! Finish off the look with some fabulous jewelry like the Theodora & Callum Silver/Brass/Gold Salon Bangles. For me gold bangles are a staple in my wardrobe, they can be thrown on with any look, in any climate and any time of year. Have fun mixing patterns and pair the outfit with these Theodora & Callum Orange Bali Espadrilles!

Theodoraandcallum.com has some incredible tutorials on interesting ways to wear your scarf. Check out our Ways to Wear videos to take your scarf from street to beach and beyond.

Love Heals 20 year Anniversary Gala, the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education

Last week, I attended my first Love Heals event where Founders Dini Von Mueffling, Stefani Greenfield and Victoria Leacock Hoffman celebrated at the 20th Anniversary Gala.  The event took place at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City and raised over $675,000.

Julianna Margulies, Cristina Greeven Cuomo and Michael Lorber were honored and the event was emceed by InStyle editor Hal Rubenstein.  Other guests included The Good Wife actors Josh Charles, Alan Cumming and Christine Baranski; Emily Mortimer, Michael J Fox & Tracy Pollan, Donny Deutsch, Chris Cuomo, Patricia Duff, Adam Lippes among other notable New Yorkers.

Julianna Margulies made a heartfelt speech and was moved to tears as she praised Love Heals co-founders, Dini von Mueffling, Stefani Greenfield and Victoria Leacock Hoffman, for following through on their pledge to their best friend Alison Gertz for continuing her AIDS education work.

Actress Emily Mortimer took the stage to introduce and present Cristina Greeven Cuomo’s award and emcee Hal Rubenstein entertained guests throughout dinner. Rubenstein presided over an exciting auction that included the opportunity to win a ‘walk-on’ role on the Emmy award winning television show, The Good Wife. When Julianna Margulies suddenly arose from her seat and offered to share her dressing room with the lucky winner, the bidders went wild, netting $10,000 for the prize.

Broadway stars Daphne Rubin-Vega and Anthony Rapp from the original cast of Rent made certain that there was not a dry eye in the room as they reunited to perform the evening’s finale, an emotional rendition of “Seasons of Love”.

Love Heals, The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education  was founded in 1992, following AIDs activist Alison Gertz’s untimely death. She contracted HIV from a single sexual encounter at the age of 16.  Over the past 20 years, Love Heals partnered with more than 700 schools and community groups and by the close of 2011, Love Heals will have directly educated more than 500,000 young people about the realities of HIV and AIDS.