Reporting by Leah
Over 500 people attended the eleventh annual Love Heals at Luna Farm benefit on Saturday, July 10, 2010, on a private horse farm in Sagaponack, New York,with a beautiful sunset as a backdrop. Attendees enjoyeda southern-style barbecue by DeForest Gibbs, Patron cocktails, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, silent auction, dancing, and the Sony? NEX camera professional photo studio.
The eleventh annual Love Heals at Luna Farm has become a well-knownbenefit during the busy Hamptons summer social circuitand a worthwhile charity to support for theAlison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. Almost $350,000 was raisedfrom the event and directly benefits Love Heals. Founded in 1992 to carry on the work of the late AIDS activist Alison Gertz, Love Heals empowers young people in the fight against HIV. Love Heals has reached more than 400,000 young people to date.
This year’s “A Picture Perfect Summer” themed event was presented by Sony and made for a lively and entertaining evening asattendees were able to have their photos takenat the Sony NEX camera professional photo studio and receive a 6 by 8 inch glossy.Manyof these photos were then displayedon the interior ceiling of the event tent as a slide show. Sony had on display the world’s smallest lens camera, which was launched in May and just became available in stores in July. Snap Squads, men and women wearing snap squad t-shirts,demonstratedthe features of these cameraswhiletaking peoples’ photos.
The dance floor got rockin as DJ Mel DeBarge played some happening tunes. A brief video presentation and speakers spoke about Alison Gertz and the Foundation for AIDS Education, reminding everyone of the important work of this charity and education.
Confirmed attendees included Co-hosts Peter Davis and Mary Alice Stephenson,Daniel Benedict, Cristina GreevenCuomo,Boykin Curry,Donny Deutsch, Becca Diamond, Victoria Leacock Hoffman, Celerie Kemble, Hoda Kotb, Hilary Rhoda, Andrew Saffir, Molly Sims,Eric Villency, Dini Von Mueffling, Charlie & Lauren Walk and Matt White.
Alison Gertz was infected with HIV through a single sexual encounter when she was 16 years old. Soon after discovering that she had AIDS, she made her story public in an effort to help others and quickly rose to become an internationally recognized spokesperson for AIDS awareness and prevention. She devoted her final years to providing young people with the information they needed to protect themselves, information that could have protected her from contracting HIV. She knew that if it had happened to her it could happen to anyone.
Love Heals, the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education, empowers young people in New York to make informed choices by educating them about HIV/AIDS. Love Heals visits schools and community groups to reach both young people and those individuals who impact their lives and places special emphasis on outreach to high-risk communities.
Love Heals believes that HIV/AIDS education is the right of every person and that it should be taught in a safe and neutral atmosphere, in a nonjudgmental manner, and within the context of comprehensive sexuality education.
Love Heals also believes that quality HIV/AIDS education must respect and value diversity, teach tolerance, dispel stigma, foster self-esteem, and empower the individual.
“Sony believes that photography and the Sony alpha NEX cameras are important tools to help advance Love Heals efforts in AIDS Education and prevention. No matter the category, Sony is making innovative ideas a reality. This encapsulates what we mean by: make.believe. What you imagine, we can make real. We imagine a world where AIDS doesnt exist, so were supporting Love Heals to help make that a reality. The NEX camera embodies Sonys make.believe spirit because consumers want better picture quality in a smaller form factor. These new cameras are the game-changers everyone has been waiting for and will revolutionize the consumer experience by offering outstanding DSLR picture quality with a totally pocketable size camera.” – Steve Sommers
For more information about this charity please visitwww.loveheals.org.
