Welcome to The Blair D.C. Project, Blair Guilfoile's weekly blog about her experience being a fall intern for BRAVO!. We love our intern blogs and hope you enjoy following Blair!
Weeks 7 & 8
October 12 - October 23, 2015
“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.” – John Keats
The BRAVO! team headed up to NYC last week to produce a gala for the New York Stem Cell Foundation. Round two in New York merits a second blog post dedicated to it. Only this time, my trip was more work than play, although we did manage a few excursions here and there when we had a free moment.
The annual gala was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the organization, which was a pretty big deal. In previous years, the gala was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center, but this year Jazz was undergoing renovation, so the venue was changed to the Skylight at Moynihan Station. Moynihan used to be an old post office. The raw industrial space added a certain element of boldness that matched the energy of a 10-year anniversary. I saw an old warehouse transform into an elegant and sophisticated space fit for a foundation’s gala was a truly valuable experience for me. I agree with what Tracy said in her blog post this week – it’s humbling to see all the work that ultimately makes the finished product.
The NYSCF Gala consisted of a cocktail reception and seated dinner. But what makes this gala standout is that during the cocktail reception there is an actual science fair. NYSCF brings in their scientists from different research areas and they set up these “science stations” for the guests to interact with. As a result, the guests were able to truly interact with NYSCF in a way beyond just attending the gala and raising money for the cause. It allowed the guests to experience the NYSCF brand. As Nancy said in our debrief meeting, “You have to let people feel, see, do, and experience what you do. If you can’t make that happen, your story is lost – there’s no need to tell your story to begin with.” Ultimately, that’s what the night was about. NYSCF did more than just raise money – it shared its story.