Michael Rapaport Headlines Rhonda’s Kiss Third Annual NYFW Fundraising Event, Kiss For Comedy, at The Civilian Hotel

The fundraising event held September 10th at Civilian Hotel’s Rosevale Cocktail Room benefits the Brooklyn Maimonides Midwood Cancer Center Patient Care Program

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 12, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Rhonda’s Kiss (www.RhondasKiss.org) is a national non-profit created to help cancer patients in need by donating to the non-medical expenses associated with cancer. The organization is passionate about giving patients and their families a fighting chance to recover. Through fundraising and annual events, the organization has worked to help raise awareness and funding towards cancer programs that are led by forward-thinking doctors at hospitals that support the charity’s overall mission.

The third annual New York fundraiser “Kiss for Comedy” and timed to New York Fashion Week was held in midtown at The Civilian Hotel’s Rosevale Cocktail Room, with a mission to raise funds for the Cancer Patient Care Program at Brooklyn Maimonides Cancer Center. The evening, centered around a standup comedy show curated by headlining comedian Mike Young, featured a surprise performance by legendary celebrity comedian and actor Michael Rapaport, a musicial performance from American Idol finalist Sam Woolf, and comedy set by Jamie Wolf. The evening was emceed by comedian and I Heart Radio host Chanel Omari of “Chanel In The City.”

The event was presented by Danny A. Abeckaser (Director/Actor/Producer), Rhonda’s Kiss Executive Director Kyle Stefanski (Actor/Producer), Executive Chairman Marc Stefanski along with Rabbi Heshy Augenbaum of Maimonidies Midwood Hospital and Eustace Montgomery-Hicks. Brianna Calin, patient survivor, was honored at the fundraiser as well as entrepreneur, event chair Eli Weiss. Additional notables in attendance included comedian Sienna Hubert-Ross, DJ Stevie Guttman, DJ Pookie, Darren Weiss, Lorenzo Antonucci, Chef Jonah Johnson, Jamar Hart, models Maryam Zolghadr, Berit Adelaide, Maya Litovsky, and Eyal Baumel.

The impactful evening of compassion and support at the Civilian Hotel and their popular Rosevale Cocktail Room is to raise awareness for Rhonda’s Kiss Cancer Nonprofit and Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital Cancer Center. The Live and Silent auction featured incredible items, such as a Napa Valley Rebellium Wines experience, dinners at top VIP hotspots from TAO to Ambra to Craig’s, a custom painting by actor Emile Hirsch, a regular supporter of the organization, and more.

Donate and support via donation platform partner 1Click2Give: https://1click2give.org/rk-comedy/

In 2014 Rhonda Stefanski was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and passed away just a couple of months later. Following her passing, husband Marc Stefanski and his five children wasted little time in their mission to help others and founded “Rhonda’s Kiss.” The family-organized charity continues to celebrate Rhonda’s memory through lifesaving work and giving back to local communities in need. To date the organization, now spearheaded by her son Kyle Stefanski as the Executive Director, has donated over $2 million to support cancer patients.

Rhonda’s Kiss aims to assist in the whole care of a cancer patient, working to ease the insurmountable costs associated with a cancer diagnosis. The organization uses a three-pronged approach, focusing on outreach (education, awareness and screening), navigation (medical and home) and patient services (treatment and financial assistance, and emotional support). In addition, Rhonda’s Kiss’s main efforts focus on assisting patients with non-medical needs with items such as covering the cost of rent and utilities, wigs, oncology massage, nutrition, exercise, groceries, childcare, household expenses, utilities, rent, mortgage, ambulance transport, and other transportation costs related to treatment, as well as unexpected costs involved in the holistic care of each patient. Through their alignment with Maimonides, Brooklyn’s first accredited Cancer Center, they have established the Patient Care Program to support patients that need support with the expenses listed above.

Principal fundraising for Rhonda’s Kiss takes place through national events and local fundraising. In addition to support by the Marc A. and Rhonda L. Stefanski Foundation, Rhonda’s Kiss is well-known for its annual celebrity fundraising events. Proceeds from Rhonda’s ‘Kiss For Comedy’ fundraiser will support non-medical services at the award-winning Maimonides Cancer Center in Brooklyn. Funding needs include Lymphedema/Compression DMEs, which most insurances do not cover; ambulance transportation for patients who need bed-to-bed transportation as they continue to experience difficulties; and education on how to access telehealth/virtual support groups. Other services that Rhonda’s Kiss will help fund include but are not limited to child care; rent; groceries; transportation; wigs; home health aides; holistic therapy, incontinence supplies, and more.

About Rhonda’s Kiss:

Rhonda’s Kiss is a national non-profit created to help cancer patients in need by donating to the non-medical expenses associated with cancer. The organization is passionate about giving patients and their families a fighting chance to recover. Through fundraising and annual events, the organization has worked to help raise awareness and funding towards cancer programs that are led by forward-thinking doctors at hospitals that support the charity’s overall mission. Kyle Stefanski, Rhonda’s son and Executive Director adds, “At Rhonda’s Kiss, my father, brothers and sisters and I, along with our board and partners are reminded every day that people struggling with cancer need support to maintain their dignity and fight.”

About Maimonides Health and Maimonides Cancer Center:

Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, serving over 320,000 patients each year through the system’s 3 hospitals, 1,800+ physicians and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties and Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital, a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center. Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.

Maimonides Cancer Center is recognized for excellence and is the first fully accredited cancer center in Brooklyn. Their comprehensive center is home to New York’s top cancer specialists, with a fully accredited Breast Center, Breast Imaging Center of Excellence and Prostate Center offering the latest minimally invasive approaches such as HIFU. Patients receive personalized treatment plans from experts who use the most innovative treatment therapies and provide access to clinical trials that advance cancer research and outcomes.

Press Contact: Alexandra Lasky
Rhonda’s Kiss / The Influence
[email protected]
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