The Lycée Français de New York honors alumna Dr. Sylvie de Souza, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Brooklyn Hospital Center during Tous Ensemble: Lycée Strong, its first ever online Gala on Wednesday, March 31st at 7:30pm. The annual Gala is the school’s most important fundraiser of the year, and its new online format keeps the celebration joyful and bright, with the participation of community members of all ages and exciting guests.
Co-chairs Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Natalya Poniatowski, Lauren Santo Domingo, and Mathilde Stern-Pointillart share the inside scoop in this interview.
The theme of the Gala, Tous Ensemble: Lycée Strong, is clearly an homage to this Covid era. Tell us more about it.
The community, the city, the entire world is going through a lot this year. It has not been easy for anyone. Yet we see so much resilience and strength in New York City and in the Lycée community. States and cities have united following major crises under this idea of being “strong,” and we wanted to echo that rallying cry. The sun is rising, and there’s hope for the future.
The Lycée is honoring an alumna for the first time, Dr. Sylvie de Souza, Class of 1981.
It is so exciting to be honoring an alumna, Dr. Sylvie de Souza. She is Chair of Emergency Medicine at Brooklyn Hospital Center, and a hero to us and to her community. We can’t think of a more important person to celebrate this year than a medical professional who is on the frontline of the pandemic in New York. In honoring Dr. de Souza, we are recognizing all doctors and frontline medical workers, including many in our own community.
Sylvie de Souza is Lycée to the core. Her mother taught in the Primary School. Her son, Rémi, graduated from the Lycée in 2015. It’s wonderful to see how the Lycée has shaped her path. We see her ambition, her intelligence, her compassion, her leadership and her strength, and in them, we find an inspiring role model for Lycée students.
You transformed the gala into an online experience. What can attendees expect this year?
The fact that we’re online has definitely made us think extra creatively about how to make a moment of genuine connection. We led with this idea of making it an inclusive event that everyone in the community can be a part of. You’ll see a program that is efficient – about an hour – with voices of students throughout, along with a special performance by the Primary choir.
Ticket buyers will receive a link to the event on March 31st and can live cast it directly to their television, computer, tablet or phone. We had imagined grandparents, alumni and friends tuning in from afar. Family members can get dressed up and come together at home to sit around a table, make a nice meal and watch together.
We hear you’ve gathered a number of special guests to say hello throughout the evening. Would you name a few?
Being online has extended our guest list to be sure. Here’s a short list, but you have to come to the event to see everyone! Eric Ripert, Marc Levy, Jean Reno, Caroline de Maigret, the artist and activist JR (2016 honoree) will be joining us. And we’ve just confirmed an appearance by a very special member of the PSG soccer team….
How will bidding and auctions work in the online format?
The Gala is the school’s most important fundraiser. More families have been asking for financial aid and emergency support during Covid-19. This night is a chance to give to this fund and to the many programs the Lycée is able to deliver to students, even in the pandemic.
There are many ways for families to take part. They can buy a ticket, and we have a few different ticket options, so supporters can contribute at different levels. They can add an extra donation to their ticket purchase, and they can participate in the auctions. A silent auction will be opening later this week and is open to anyone who would like to bid, even without a ticket to the event.
Instead of the Live auction, we’ll also have a Super Silent auction with the same caliber of amazing items that are usually featured in the Live auction – just online.
During the event itself, we have a fabulous MC and auctioneer, Harry Santa-Olalla, who will invite everyone to bid or contribute to the Scholarship Fund.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We are grateful to our community members who have already come out to support Gala 2021. We are off to a great start, and can’t wait to welcome everyone for this moment of connection and cheer around this school that has done so much for our students.
Lycée Français de New York Gala Virtual Edition 2021
Tous Ensemble: Lycée Strong
Wednesday, March 31st
7:30pm-8:30pm
Tickets at lfnygala.org.
About the Author :
Caroline Naralasetty, Director of Development, was born in France and is a proud Lycée alumna and parent. She majored in art history at Stanford University, before beginning a career in fundraising for cultural institutions. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.