Rosie's Theatre Kids Holds 10th Anniversary Gala Tonight

Rosie's Theater Kids presents the celebration of their 10th anniversary with a star studded Gala in NYC at the Marriot Marquis tonight, September 25, 2013. RTKids will commemorate this incredible milestone with a tribute to an extraordinary and deserving individual and longtime supporter: Sheila Nevins, President, HBO Documentary Films. They are thrilled to recognize Sheila for her unwavering commitment to the arts. RTKids will also be awarding the Inaugural Velvet Seat Award to none other than their founder - multiple Emmy Award winning television host and actress - Rosie O'Donnell - whose commitment to the students of RTKids knows no bounds.

Artistic and Executive Director, Lori Klinger, says this year's Gala, with the help of RTKids dedicated staff and event co-chairs - Liz Smith, Marlo Thomas, Dana and Michael Goldstein, and Leslie and Daniel Ziff - will be better than ever. The evening will feature performances by Rosie's Theater Kids, a live auction with items such as a Selena Gomez concert package with a meet and greet, VIP Jingle Ball tickets, and more! RTKids enjoys numerous visits from famous personalities from stage and screen, who drop by to lend support and inspiration - Tony Bennett, Sarah Ferguson, Glee's Jenna Ushkowitz and Jonathan Groff, BD Wong, Zachary Quinto, Roseanne Barr, Audra McDonald, and Clay Aiken, just to name a few...

Rosie's Theater Kids benefits thousands of children who live near the "Great White Way" but never have had the opportunity to step inside one of the theaters and experience Broadway. As Rosie says, it's "like living in Hawaii and not having access to the beach." RTKids is one of the largest arts-in-education programs serving New York City public school students, and one of the only organizations that provides all services FREE OF CHARGE to the students and the schools. Proceeds from the Gala provide essential funding to ensure RTKids can continue to grow and reach more children through their programs. Public school students enrolled in RTKids come from some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city with little or no arts education in the classroom. RTKids opens the world of the arts to them and, in the process, teaches them life skills that allow them to excel in school and realize their dreams of a better life. Since the founding in 2003, they have touched the lives of over 50,000 New York City school students and are thrilled to report that:

100% of RTKids students who remained with the program graduated from high school;
100% of those students were accepted into college; and are attending such prestigious universities as Baruch, Duke, Howard, University of Michigan, Northwestern, and Stony Brook, to name a few;
94% of the upper school students attend specialized or selective high schools.

For more information, visit www.rosiestheaterkids.org/events or contact Buckley Hall Events - 914-579-1000