FOSTER PRIDE 2026 BENEFIT • MONDAY OCT 19TH
FOSTER PRIDE 2026 BENEFIT • MONDAY OCT 19TH
PHILLIPS 432 PARK AVE NYC • PARTY: 6:30–8:30 PM • SPECIAL RECEPTION: VIP TOUR • HORS D’OEUVRES + WINE + MUSIC + ART
A Special Evening at Phillips Featuring Honorees:
BILL RITTER + MICKALENE THOMAS
HOST: JOSH GONDELMAN • MUSIC: DJ HEAVY HITTER MIKE MEDIUM
CATERING / COCKTAILS: THE VAUX SOCIAL & LOLO’S ON THE WATER • WINE: VANGUARD WINE BAR
Benefit Tickets $175 for 1 person
Benefit Tickets $300 for 2 people
Experience an exclusive meet-and-greet with our distinguished honorees and emcee and celebrate with 25 VIP tickets. Your remarkable support will be acknowledged during our live program and prominently featured across all digital and printed materials, including our website and social media.
Most importantly, your generosity will sponsor an entire year of HandMade classes for 50 talented youth, empowering them to crochet, manage a small business, and retain 100% of their profits from sales online and at American Eagle.
VIP Tickets
Foster Visionaries $25,000
Enjoy a meet-and-greet with our honorees and emcee, alongside 20 VIP tickets. Benefit from premium visibility in our digital presentation, printed program, website, and social media.
Your sponsorship nurtures a full year of Made It Myself after-school art classes for 25 children (ages 3-14), fostering their creativity and self-expression through painting and art creation.
Foster Creativity $20,000
Foster Futures $15,000
With 15 VIP tickets, experience recognition during our live program and enjoy premium placement across our digital and printed communications.
Your support sponsors three 10-week College Internships, offering invaluable professional experiences at prestigious organizations like the Guggenheim Museum, Stoop Stories, and The New York City Law Department, shaping the future leaders of tomorrow.
Foster Artisans $10,000
Receive 10 VIP tickets & premium recognition in our digital and printed outreach.
Your generous sponsorship funds Ceramics Classes and supplies for 50 young artists, nurturing their talent and providing a creative outlet for expression and growth.
Foster Generations $7,500
Along with 8 tickets, your sponsorship is celebrated across our digital and printed platforms. You enable a year of Art is Messy/Life is Messy parent-child workshops, strengthening family bonds through the joy of art.
Foster Careers $5,000
Your support, recognized with 5 tickets and listings in our donor categories, supports Career Night, equipping 30 students with essential resume writing and networking skills for their future success.
Foster Talent $2,500
With 3 tickets, you’re listed across our donor categories and directly contribute the framing of students’ artwork, printing of programs, and recognition certificates for prestigious exhibitions at venues like Rockefeller Center and the National Arts Club.
Foster Fun $1,500
2 VIP tickets and meet and greet with our honorees and emcee. Support one scholarship to a private summer art program.
Foster Hope $1,000
2 VIP tickets and meet and greet with our honorees and emcee. Supports supplies for our free clothing distribution center, Second Story.
Foster Play $500
2 VIP tickets and meet and greet with our honorees and emcee. Supports supplies for one specialty art workshop.
A Special Evening at Phillips Featuring Honorees:
BILL RITTER + MICKALENE THOMAS
HOST: JOSH GONDELMAN • MUSIC: DJ HEAVY HITTER MIKE MEDIUM • CATERING + COCKTAILS: THE VAUX + LOLO’S • WINE: VANGUARD WINE BAR
HONOREE: ESTEEMED JOURNALIST
Bill Ritter
Bill Ritter is a seasoned journalist with over 30 years of experience, anchoring major newscasts at WABC-TV New York and reporting for ABC News and “20/20,” with a career spanning key events like the Rodney King trial, the Gulf War, and the launch of “Good Morning America Sunday,” recognized for his investigative work and community advocacy.
HONOREE: RENOWNED ARTIST
Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas is a globally celebrated artist best known for her empowering portraits of Black beauty, with works in institutions like the Met, MoMA, and the Whitney. A Tony-nominated producer, she champions emerging artists— LGBTQ+ creatives, and artists of color. Honored as one of TIME100’s Most Influential People and with a historic solo exhibition at the Grand Palais.
HOST
Josh Gondelman
Josh Gondelman is an Emmy, Peabody, and WGA winning writer and producer with credits on Showtime’s Desus & Mero, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He’s a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me and the talent behind the stand-up special Positive Reinforcement.
THE HEAVY HITTER
DJ Mike Medium
DJ Mike Medium has risen from spinning on air every Saturday on HOT 97 to DJing for global brands and performing at major stadiums like MetLife and Barclays, earning acclaim as a standout "New Generation" DJ—recognized by Grammy Award-winner DJ Khaled and welcomed into The Heavy Hitter DJs crew in 2021 by the Notorious B.I.G.'s former DJ, DJ Enuff.
Portraits: Mickalene Thomas © Emil Horowitz
Bill Ritter courtesy of ABC
Josh Gondelman by Mindy Tucker
DJ Mike Medium by Ricardo Rodriguez