Worldwide Orphans Foundation Honors CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper, Raises $1.3 Million

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Worldwide Orphans Foundation honored CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper for his extraordinary reporting on the plight of Haiti's orphans and vulnerable children at its Sixth Annual Benefit Gala in New York. WWO is dedicated to transforming the lives of orphaned children around the world.

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Co-hosted by Heidi Klum and Grammy Award-winning singer Seal, more than 700 patrons and friends of WWO attended the star-studded affair, held on Nov. 1 at the Cipriani Wall Street. The 2010 Gala theme was "...reaching out and reaching deep". 

"My husband and I became involved in the Worldwide Orphans Foundation because we knew the extent of the orphan crisis around the world and wanted to help bring awareness to the cause," said Klum, host of "Project Runway".

Special Guests attending the celebratory gala included: actors Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman; Mary-Louise Parker; comedian Rosie O'Donnell; actor Andrew Garfield; Executive Producer of Project Runway Desiree Gruber and actor Kyle MacLachlan; Broadway star Christine Ebersole; Broadway director Kathleen Marshall & Scott Landis; model and filmmaker Sarah Ziff and Editor in Chief of Glamour Magazine, Cindi Leivi.

The evening gala raised $1.3 million to support WWO's unique work to address the unique needs of orphaned children in their own countries through medical, developmental, psychosocial and educational programs.

CNN's Cooper received the WWO Honorary Orphan Ranger award in recognition of his in-depth reporting on Haiti and outstanding coverage of Haiti's orphaned and vulnerable children in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that rocked the island on January 2010.

Dr. Jane Aronson, founder and CEO of WWO, spoke of Cooper's commitment to international development and humanitarian issues. "We have a comradeship that makes you driven to do much more," said Aronson.  

Guests viewed an inspiring short film on the impact of WWO programs in the countries where it serves. Aronson issued an appeal to guests to support the work of WWO. After receiving a $100,000 matching gift from board Chair Janet Kagan and her husband, Howard, guests raised an additional $195,000.

Seal closed out the spectacular evening with a soul-stirring special musical performance, which featured spontaneous song requests from gala guests.

 For more information, please visit www.wwo.org.

SOURCE Worldwide Orphans Foundation