The Bronx YMCA is planning its Bon Appetit Fundraiser with four local honorees on Thursday, September 7, at its 2 Castle Hill Avenue location.
Offering a “selection of food and wine from some of the best restaurants in the Bronx and beyond,” according to a flyer, the event will honor Gary Axelbank, Rosemary DeLuca, Demetris Giannoulias and Nalini Singh.
Tickets cost $100 per person with the money going toward providing the Y’s toddlers, children, teens, adults and senior citizens with “quality activities and services that keep our communities strong,” Axelbank noted.
Axelbank hosts BronxTalk, a flagship talk show in the Bronx that debuted in October of 1994.
As a call-in talk show, BronxTalk gives Bronxites an opportunity to talk on the air with the borough’s movers and shakers.
It has also presented political debates in some of the borough’s most hotly contested campaigns.
BronxTalk also tackles issues including Bronx education, crime and policing, politics, health care, youth services, domestic violence, housing, economic development, arts and entertainment, and quality of life.
BronxTalk, produced by Yeila Lluberes, is broadcast live on Cablevision’s channel 67 and Verizon Fios channel 33 at 9 p.m. Mondays.
DeLuca is a former Wildlife Conservation Society executive who was honored for her service to the institution and people of the Bronx during a retirement party on Wednesday, July 12, inside the Bronx Zoo’s Schiff Family Great Hall.
DeLuca served as WCS’s director of government relations for 16 years and previously worked as the New York Botanical Garden’s community affairs manager for seven years.
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and other elected officials declared the day as ‘Rosemary DeLuca Day’ in her honor.
Giannoulias is the founder, chairman and CEO of Spring Bank, which supports the growth of small businesses and startups in the Bronx through a partnership with the Business Outreach Center, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)-certified small-business development organization, according to the website for Community Development Bankers Association at cdban
In the summer of 2014, Spring Bank wrote a letter of credit to help the Business Outreach Center secure the lease for the Bronx Business Incubator, a new space for entrepreneurs to conduct business, engage in workshops and network with peers, according to the website.
“A majority of small businesses get their first loans from community banks,” said Giannoulias. “It’s fun to meet people and hear them talk passionately about something that they’re working on and to be able to be a part of it. That’s the great thing about being a banker.”
Nalini Singh is principal of Antonia Pantoja Preparatory Academy: A College Board School, 1980 Lafayette Avenue. No information was available from the school’s website at www.appab
The Y requests that those interested in attending the gala to R.S.V.P. by Tuesday, September 5, by calling Deborah Adams at (718) 789-9736 Ext. 209, or emailing her at deada
