Comments Off on ARF’s Jewels of Summer Beach Ball
21 Aug 12

ARF’s Jewels of Summer Beach B ...

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

On Saturday night, August 18th I was invited to The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) annual Beach Ball, with this years theme the ‘Jewels of Summer’ appropriately so for who the evening honored.  A lovely event held at the Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club, you can’t go wrong when you are literally over looking the beach, surrounded by pets up for adoption and of course some Hamptons and NYC celebrities.

Everyone there had the same mindset, that it’s about rescuing and caring for the animals.  The affair was emceed by NBC’s Chuck Scarborough – who you may not know that he and his wife Ellen are ardent supporters of various rescue organizations, including ARF, but they are also proud parents of their own adopted pets.  Chuck did a great job and he was also pretty funny when describing his pets and how he and Ellen recently just adopted another dog.  (Way to go!)

There was a cocktail hour with a lot of hors d’oeurves being passed around a raw bar and a lot of picture taking and laughter happening – everywhere you went people were talking about their own pets or a pet they were thinking of adopting.  So while to the rest of LI – it might seem like just another ‘Hamptons’ event with celebrities, it wasn’t just about that, it’s all about the animals, and ok and maybe a little about what some of the guests were wearing.

This year’s Beach Ball honored Candy Udell the President of London Jewelers and Founder of Rescue Paw Foundation.  ARF recognized Candy with the ARF Champion of Animals Award  for her tireless efforts, generosity and dedication to animal welfare.  Candy has a jewelry line called, ‘Our Cause For Paws‘ and the sale of the jewelry helps provide grants to qualified Not-for-Profit organizations that operate facilities to provide care and shelter for animals who have been rescued; seek qualified adoptive owners for saved animals; promote, foster and advance the adoption of rescued animals; stimulate interest and concern in the prevention of abuse and neglect of animals; and promote the prevention of animal overpopulation through spay and neuter programs.

l to r: Kathleen Rice Nassau County District Attorney; Candy Udell President London Jewelers; and Chuck Scarborough NBC News Anchor

Candy was introduced and given the award by Nassau County District Attorney, Kathleen Rice.  Who is also an animal lover and has her own adopted dog too.    Kathleen has also recently really started taking big initiative with the Nassau County SPCA, and proposing bills that strengthen the laws of  people who are animal abusers.

“All of us at ARF were delighted with the success of the 2012 Beach Ball—Jewels of Summer.  You can’t have a better honoree than Candy Udell, President of London Jewelers and Kathleen Rice and Chuck Scarborough as presenter and Emcee were top notch.  $250,000 was raised to help cats and dogs in need at ARF,” said  Sara Davison, Executive Director of ARF.

ARF Board Member, Lisa McCarthy; Francis Hayward of Be Kind to Animals; and Sara Davison, Executive Director at ARF

There was also a silent auction at the event and adorable dogs, puppies, cats and kittens on hand for adoption in the new ARF adoption van. 

For more information on how you can get involved with ARF go to www.ARFHamptons.org.  See the slide show of pictures below!

Comments Off on Unconditional Love for SASF
24 Jul 12

Unconditional Love for SASF ...

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

It was a beautiful evening for the 3rd Annual ‘Unconditional Love’ event benefiting the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) on Saturday, July 21, 2012 in Southampton, NY.  Held at the beautiful waterfront private residence of Sandra McConnell the evening’s event included honoring event Chairwoman Jean Shafiroff and Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation’s President Jonathan McCann honored Chuck and Ellen Scarborough at Southampton Animal Shelter.  Strolling the grounds there were also adoptable pets available for adoption at the shelter.  Summer and Smokey stood out in the crowd as well as the cutie pie, Captain Jack who came to the shelter scared and nervous – but thanks to the amazing trainers and staff, he was nothing but sweet, happy and said hello politely to anyone who came to him.

Captain Jack!

Smokey!

Over 300 people attended the elegant affair complete with a silent auction, cocktails and dinner and dancing to this year’s fete and live entertainment was provided by the Alex Donner Orchestra. The event was emceed by NBC’s Jane Hansen and some of the guests included Martin Shafiroff, Elizabeth Shafiroff, CeCe and Lee Black, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, Lydia and Rudy Touzet, Jean Little and Howard Marton, SASF Founder Susan Allen, Board Exec. V.P. Sony Schotland, Treasurer Steve Greenfield, Board members Joel Cooper and Jay Durante, and Darlene Rodriguez, David Ushery and Lynda Baquero from NBC, Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley and his wife Marianne among many other guests.

The event helped raise over $375,000 for SASF which was founded in 2010  as a call to action when the town decided it could no longer care for the animals at the town shelter premises. Not only were the 225 animals currently housed there in jeopardy, so were all others that would be found.  The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation offers a low-cost spay/neuter clinic to help combat pet overpopulation. All privately owned pit bull type dogs are spayed or neutered free of charge.  Dog obedience classes are also offered to the public. The Shelter is a non-profit organization relying on the generosity of individuals and businesses to help save lives at the adoption center and provide much-needed programs that benefit homeless pet.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation was founded in 2010For more information please visit www.southamptonanimalshelter.com

See more pictures below!