Ross School Fifth Annual Starlight Ball

By May 17 at the Ross School, East Hampton

The Ross School's Fifth Annual Starlight Ball has been announced for Saturday, May 17, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. This is a benefit for the Steven J. Ross Scholarship Fund, co-chaired by Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney. The Ball is honoring Juergen and Anke Friedrich and the JAF Foundation.

There will be a special concert gala with entertainment by Chic featuring Nile Rodgers. This important benefit raises money for the Steven J. Ross Scholarship Fund, which currently enables 46 percent of Ross School students to receive some form of financial aid. The co-chairs for the 2008 Starlight Ball will be author Jay McInerney and his wife, Anne Hearst, and this year's honorees are Juergen and Anke Friedrich and the JAF Foundation.

This year's Concert Gala will showcase the world-renowned band, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers. Their 1978 hit song, "Le Freak," became Warner Brothers' biggest selling single of all time. The team of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards are also famous for other popular hits such as "Everybody Dance," "Good Times," and "I'm Coming Out." Nile Rodgers not only propelled his own band to the top; he produced and composed the album "We are Family" for Sister Sledge and produced albums for Diana Ross, Madonna, Duran Duran and David Bowie, to name just a few.

Ross School is proud to welcome such talented musicians, whose "We Are Family Foundation" celebrates the same values that have always been so important to Ross School. Rodgers founded the "We Are Family Foundation" originally to help in the healing process after the events of Sept. 11. In October 2001, a children's version of the song "We Are Family" was recorded, featuring more than 100 beloved children's television characters such as Barney, the Muppets, Dora the Explorer, Rugrats, Arthur and Sponge Bob in an unprecedented collaboration among more than fifteen competitive media corporations. Its current mission is to "celebrate the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate people about mutual respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity."

Besides music and dancing, the Starlight Ball will include cocktails, dinner, raffles, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $500 and $1,000. Premium tables ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 are also available with many sponsorship recognition opportunities. For more information on tickets, tables, silent and live auction donations, please call Jennifer Rockford at 631-907-5171 or jrockford@ross.org.