buildOn Dinner 2011 Raises $2.3 Million, Breaks All Records!

Thanks to our legions of supporters, our 2011 buildOn Dinner on November 17th was a huge success, raising $2.3 million – a buildOn event record!

The evening honoring Keith Sherin, Vice-Chairman & CFO of GE, and his wife Janet was attended by 840 supporters from across the country and raised 10% more than the previous event record set at last year’s Dinner.

Savannah Guthrie, of The TODAY Show, hosted the evening’s program, which featured two alumni of buildOn’s afterschool programs. Both Luis Alonso, a recent Bronx buildOn alumnus, and Haben Girma, a 2006 alumnus and current Harvard Law student, shared how buildOn has impacted their lives. You can read both Luis’s and Haben’s stories on our blog.

buildOn CEO & Founder Jim Ziolkowski spoke passionately about our work over the last year in the Bronx and in Nepal, where we built our 400th school worldwide. He was joined onstage by an emotional group of students who paid tribute to his efforts over the last two decades.

Global Partners for the event included American Airlines, British Airways, CLSA, Deutsche Bank Securities, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, GE, and GE Foundation.

Thank you to all of the sponsors and attendees who helped us celebrate 20 years of building a movement!

Check out photos of attendees, students, and speakers on our Flickr account!