Tom Colicchio & friends "Toast" to the Children of Bellevue (Hospital)

Gorgeous sunset views of the East River courtesy of Riverpark - live music - a silent auction strewn with the world's most delicious and luxurious items - Dana Cowin - Tom Colicchio - Gail Simmons - Top Chef "cheftestants" - a Zyr Vodka bar - wine and beer tastings - heavy hors d'oeuvres provided by a slew of NYC's most famous restaurants: Barbuto, Blue Smoke, Colicchio & Sons, Hearth, Frankies Spuntino, The Hurricane Club, Lincoln, Pearl Oyster Bar, Perilla, Porterhouse NY, Public, Riverpark, & Jacques Torres Chocolate ...

Last night, the 15th Annual Children of Bellevue's "Toast to the Children" gala was held at honorary chair, Tom Colicchio's, gorgeous waterside restaurant, Riverpark. Vital funds were raised on behalf of the Children of Bellevue, an organization which "...delivers critical growth and development programs and services to ensure that children and their families, most of whom come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, have access to resources and knowledge deemed vital to raising happy, strong, and healthy children."

The Children of Bellevue's five core programs are:

Reach Out and Read, which promotes literacy
The Video Interaction Project, helping parents play "smarter" with their kids
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, helping hospitalized pediatric psychiatric patients participate in important, normalizing experiences during their stay
Child Life Developmental Services, helping children in the hospital overcome their fear and pain
The Frances L. Loeb Child Protection and Development Center, helping attend to the unique needs of physically and sexually abused children

Please enjoy some of my favorite snapshots from what, truly, was a magical evening - all in the name of charity.