Chef Paul and Bernice Steinbaum hosting ‘Art of the Palate’ Gala to benefit Art Studio Miami programs for youth impacted by the Haiti earthquake
MIAMI – Celebrity chef Paul Griffith and renown art gallery curator Bernice Steinbaum will be hosting a gala May 1, 2010 to benefit Little Haiti based Art Studio Miami (ASM). The gala will be held at the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in the Wynwood Art District, 3550 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33127. All proceeds from the event will benefit programs for youth impacted by the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Tickets and sponsorships for the event are available for sale at www.ASMHelpLittleHaiti.org.
ASM annually serves approximately 200 youth from the impoverished area of Little Haiti, and staff and volunteers have been working around the clock to serve the needs of youth that have lost family and friends.
ASM has been at the center of the Haitian relief efforts since the earthquake. Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL) addressed news crews the week after the disaster at the City of Miami’s staging area for Haiti relief, located directly across the street from ASM. Meek called for local organizations to provide leadership and support during the long period of rebuilding.
“South Florida is in this for the long haul; this will be the center for the recovery. . . we are going to need leadership and understanding,” said Meek.
In response to Meek’s appeal, ASM volunteers and staff have been working around the clock to serve youth impacted by the earthquake, doubling programs for at-risk youth. To offset the costs of increased programs, celebrity chef Paul Griffith, best known to followers as Chef Paul, and renown gallery owner Bernice Steinbaum, are hosting Art Studio Miami’s innagural gala, Art of the Palate. Funds from the event will benefit services and programs at ASM.
“In the wake of this disaster, people are forgetting that many Haitian people who have already immigrated to Miami are in desperately impoverished conditions, living below the poverty level, which in several cases means homelessness, no running water, and little to no food or water,” said Degi. “Chef Paul and Bernice Steinbaum are stepping in to support our efforts to provide opportunities for youth to thrive despite challenges arising from this disaster.”
Since 2007, ASM has served over 500 youth from Little Haiti and Overtown using creative, art based projects to nurture students’ creative thinking abilities and prepare them for classroom settings and job situations. The organization partners with professional artists and community leaders to provide students with mentors and concrete tools to remain in school, and gain stable employment after graduation.
Event sponsors include Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Chef Paul, These Are All Our Children, DUO Magazine, IRREVERSIBLE Magazine, University of Miami HOPE Public Resource Center, The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division LSD, Shop2Donate, Orange Stain Productions, Make Art Matter, and Mount Degi & Associates.
For more information please contact Beth Degi, Art Studio Miami at 786.250-ART1 or [email protected].
For more information visit www.ASMHelpLittleHaiti.org. To view ASM programs in action watch the ASM video at www.blip.tv/file/2124377.
