Recently, I was asked to help a friend out by photographing a fundraising benefit she was putting on. I didn’t know it at first, but not only did this opportunity prove to be an amazing experience as a photographer, but also an eye opening and amazingly rewarding event to be a part of. The event was called “Cooking Live” and it took place at the Ritz Carlton in New York City. Host Chef Ming Tsai was accompanied by Chefs Mario Batali, Floyd Cardoz, James Dangler, Marc Forgione, Masaharu Morimoto and Laurent Richard and “sous chef” Matt Damon. Each prepared a meal and explained to the audience the step by step process of doing so. Once the instructions were given, the other chefs helped out on the line and made a dish for each person in the room. Sadly, I couldn’t try any of the dishes, but as you can see in the photos below, they looked, and smelled, amazing.

The proceeds of this event benefitted the nonprofit called the Family Reach Foundation. Their mission is to provide financial relief and heartfelt support to fighting cancer, particularly for children affected by the illness. Grants are given to affected families to pay mortgage or rent payments, utilities, transportation to and from treatment and certain medical expenses not covered by insurance. The amazing thing about this foundation is that these requests are usually fulfilled within 7-10 days because speed is crucial to these families when they require urgent support. So once everyone’s bellies were full with delicious food, the real meat and potatoes of the evening was served: the story of Mikalo and his mom Raquel.

Mikalo was diagnosed with Leukemia before he was two years old. Raquel, a single mother, had to make the difficult decision to leave her job and stay with her baby boy throughout his treatments. Because of this choice, they eventually lost their home and were faced with bouncing between homeless shelters. For two years they lived like this all while Mikalo was undergoing chemo treatments. Soon they learned that Mikalo needed a bone marrow transplant, and a sterile living environment, making their current living situation impossible for his recovery. Once Family Reach Foundation heard of their situation, they immediately stepped in and provided a living environment that allowed him to get the treatment he needed.

If you’d like to learn more about or make a donation to the foundation, feel free to visit their website: www.familyreach.org. This event was such a fun and rewarding thing to be a part of and I hope the photos do the night justice!