By Andrea Lillo
CHICAGO–The International Home & Housewares Show was the site of the Housewares Charity Foundation’s benefit gala, which honored three of their own—and raised more than $1.7 million.
The Housewares Charity Foundation’s legacy charity is The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network also benefited from this year’s event.
Thierry de LaTour d’Artaise, chairman and chief executive officer, Groupe SEB, received the Lifetime Humanitarian Award. Renee Behnke, president emeritus, Sur La Table, was honored as Humanitarian of the Year; and Burton Tansky, chairman and chief executive officer, The Neiman Marcus Group Inc., received the inaugural Design and Fashion Leadership Award.
The live auction, emceed by Leon Dreimann of Greystone Brands, included such prizes as learning to cook with Behnke and a Napa Valley getaway, while the silent auction included signed mixers from celebrity chefs, JetBlue tickets and framed photos from Evelyn Lauder.
Since the first gala in 1998, the Housewares Charity Foundation has raised more than $6 million.