French American Aid For Children Honors Philippe Oddou At Fête De l’Opéra Comique

French American Aid for Children hosted the Fête de l’Opéra Comique, a black-tie masquerade evening, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on Tuesday, October 20. The evening honored Philippe Oddou, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sport dans la Ville, with the Simone Alibert Smith Award, and brought together the Deputy Consul General of France in New York, Myriam Gil, FAAFC grantees, sponsors, and members of the philanthropic community in support of underserved children and young people in France and the United States. The reception was followed by dinner, opera performances, a live auction and a pledge drive.

Soprano Alyson Cambridge, whose career spans The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Broadway, served as host. Deputy Consul General Gil opened the program with remarks on French-American friendship and FAAFC’s work since 1939, followed by a short film on the work of FAAFC’s grantees.

Mezzo-soprano Tivoli Treloar, who is pursuing her Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School, performed, accompanied by pianist Giancarlo Llerena, who has made his recital debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Later in the evening, Cambridge took the stage herself for the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen.

FAAFC Co-Presidents Jeri L. Sape and Wendy C. Weiler presented the Simone Alibert Smith Award, named for the organization’s founder and first President. Established in 1939, FAAFC started by assisting the war efforts of World War II. Today, the organization provides grants to address critical issues in Healthcare, Nutrition, Education, Wellness, and Physical and Mental Health, continually seeking innovative solutions to enhance the lives of children and young people. The award recognizes individuals whose work transforms a cause and whose legacy will uplift future generations. Its previous recipient, Katherine Gage Boulud, Vice President of the Board of Spoons Across America, was in attendance.

Oddou co-founded Sport dans la Ville in 1998. Today it is France’s leading non-profit serving young people from low-income neighborhoods, reaching more than 15,000 children in 40 French cities through sport, mentorship and job-readiness training, with the support of approximately 300 public and private partners.

The evening was sponsored by CIBC Private Wealth Management, CORE Club, Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris, Revel Rouge, Proskauer, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, Baccarat, Bernardaud, La Maison du Chocolat, FAUX, Ruinart, Restaurant Frédérick Simonin, Baobab.

Among the guests present were Barbara Tober, Missy Pool, Nancy Moonves, Ellen Saidenberg, Odile de Schietere-Longchampt, Ken Hausman, Donald Zilkha, Philippe Oddou, Jeremy Kohomban, Hank Stampfl, and John and Susie Fallon. From French American Aid For Children were Jeri L. Sape, Co-President; Wendy C. Weiler, Co-President; Marguerite Mangin, Board Member and Past President; Francesca Dricot, Board Member; Lynette Dallas, Board Member; and Pauline Argenson, Board Member.