KINGSTON -- The HealthAlliance Foundation’s Vampire Ball Halloween Party brought in more than $43,000, including $8,000 in in-kind gifts, the foundation said Wednesday.
The money -- from party admission fees, sponsorships, a silent auction and sales of donated Tonner Doll Co. dolls -- will support HealthAlliance healthcare programs, services and facilities in Kingston “wherever the need is greatest,” said foundation relations Director Cheryl McKeever.
The foundation has already pledged more than $423,000 to the hospital this year, McKeever said. Gifts included an upgrade to the cardiology unit’s biotelemetry system to monitor patients’ vital signs, wireless workstations on wheels for nurses and a teddy bear clinic in the Broadway Campus’ Emergency Department, where children can take an “injured” teddy bear through a series of play medical stations, including a mock X-ray, with HealthAlliance nurses.
HealthAlliance operates two Kingston hospital campuses, on Broadway and Mary’s Avenue.
Saturday night’s wickedly fun costume party, at the chillingly decorated Lazy Swan Golf & Country Club Village in Saugerties, attracted 168 guests, McKeever said.
Almost all guests were in costume, she said.
An event highlight was a song-and-dance musical number.
Kingston High School student Andrew Hoben reprised his Dr. Frederick Frankenstein role from the school’s March production of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” parody. He sang and danced with his Frankenstein monster, played by Eric Oloffson of Red Hook, to the syncopated Irving Berlin song “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” complete with top hats and tails.
The duo were supported by 10 top-hatted, cane-carrying backup dancers made up of HealthAlliance Foundation board and staff members and community volunteers.
Dancers included foundation board Chairman Glenn Decker, a former Ulster County Commissioner of Social Services, and board member Robert Tonner, chief executive officer of Kingston’s Tonner Doll; Sean Soliva, senior branch manager of M&T Bank’s North Front Street branch in Kingston, and Carly O’Keefe-Grey, the branch’s senior teller.
Kingston’s Joanne Canapini, responsible for Tonner Doll’s marketing and public relations, choreographed the backup dancers’ synchronized routines.
“We want to thank Robert Tonner and his staff at Tonner Doll for all the work they put into organizing this event,” said foundation Executive Director Steffen T. Kraehmer. “Our second annual Vampire Ball was a resounding success because of their contributions, and the support of our local businesses and sponsors.”
Event sponsors included Tonner Doll, Kathryn and Joseph Ferraro, Rose & Kiernan, Helsmoortel Realty, Mobile Life Support Services, Woodland Pond at New Paltz, American Anesthesiology, Scott Dutton Associates, Joe and Debbie Mariscovete, Karay Metals, M&T Bank, Peg and Jiggs Dargan, Westwood Metes & Bounds Realty, Emergency Medical Associates, Always There, Commercial Associates Realty, Kingston Uptown Business Association, Normann Staffing, Optimus Architecture, Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley, Empire Merchants North, Kingston Candy Bar and Radio Woodstock 100.1.
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About the HealthAlliance Foundation
The HealthAlliance Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization supporting the HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley’s mission, healthcare programs, services and facilities. The HealthAlliance Foundation continues its development efforts for the HealthAlliance Hospital campuses on Broadway and Mary’s Avenue in Kingston, as well as the Woodland Pond CCRC in New Paltz. For further information about the HealthAlliance Foundation, please visit our website at foundationupdate.org or contact Steffen T. Kraehmer, CFRE, Executive Director, at 845-334-2760.
About HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley®
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley® is the alignment of HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus and Broadway Campus, as well as Margaretville Hospital, Mountainside Residential Care Center and Woodland Pond at New Paltz. As the parent organization with a unified governance structure, the goal of HealthAlliance is to strengthen the quality of care and bring forward enhanced technology to serve the present and future healthcare needs in the Hudson Valley. HealthAlliance and its affiliate facilities are committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care and ensuring patient safety, privacy and dignity to all. For further information about HealthAlliance visit our web site at www.hahv.org.
Photos below (top to bottom):
Frankenstein and His Monster: Eric Oloffson, as Frankenstein’s monster, and Andrew Hoben, as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, pose during the HealthAlliance Foundation’s Vampire Ball Halloween Party. They sang and danced at the party to the Irving Berlin song “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” supported by10 top-hatted, cane-carrying backup dancers made up of HealthAlliance Foundation board and staff members and community volunteers.
Garden Gnomes: Harris Safier, left, and HealthAlliance Foundation board member Robert Tonner dressed as small humanoid garden gnomes at the HealthAlliance Foundation’s Vampire Ball Halloween Party.
Gone with the Wind: From left, Pat Melick, Stephanie Melick, Kathy Ferraro, Joe Ferraro, Tom Roessner and Linda Roessner won best group costume at the HealthAlliance Foundation’s Vampire Ball Halloween Party for their “Gone With the Wind” depiction of the 19th-century American South.