What’s black and white and red all over? The third annual Rock & Rawhide benefit of course!
The New York City-based animal rescue organization known for delivering toys, blankets, supplies and other comfort items directly to shelters across the country, along with its awareness program is having its yearly Black, White & Red Gala this year at the iHeartRadio theater on Tuesday.
Hosted by Elvis Duran, Skeery Jones and Bethany Watson of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, the evening will be sure to be an unforgettable one.
Guests will enjoy cocktails and wine while nibbling on delicious food from Dean & DeLuca including petite spinach quiche, beef satay, coconut shrimp and samosas.
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There will be a silent auction and raffle with some pretty stellar prizes. The auction will include Jingle Ball premium tickets, tour of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, wine baskets, jewelry from Deity (Emmy Rossum , Jessica Biel and Julie Roberts are fans), Kate Perry Dog Training sessions and so much more.
The raffle includes two round tickets on JetBlue, Hilton hotel stay and two ticket to the Broadway show Sylvia, to name just a few.
While guests are enjoying food, cocktails and mingling with like-minded people, they get to listen to music from Rexford, L Train and Sarah Barrios.
Dogs aren’t allowed at this event, but celebrity pooches Tinkerbelle and Baby Howard will be making an appearance, so you’ll be able to get your pup fix.
Attendees can either purchase general admission or V.I.P. tickets. General admission includes wine, cocktails, the passed yummy food, access to both the silent auction and raffle, along with the amazing entertainments. Guests will also go home with a thank-you bag chock-full of goodies, including full-sized products from John Masters Organics, Downtown Doghouse nail trim cards, Stella & Chewy dog snacks, sitter gift cards and much more.
The V.I.P. tickets include all of the above amazingness plus access to the rocking cocktail hour occurring before the big event. Here guests will be able to mingle with donors, sponsors and meet the talent. They will also have access to the front of the stage during the main party and will receive special raffle ticket pricing plus 10 additional raffle tickets. For the silent auction, VIPers are given an extra 15 minutes at the end of the night to bid.
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Regardless of the choice, people will have an amazing time, while supporting a great cause.
“We hope guests have fun and get a warm fuzzy feeling in their heart knowing the money they spend goes directly backs to the animals,” says co-founder Sean-Patrick Hillman. He tells us that less than 1 percent of funds go to administrative costs. “Everything we do goes directly back to ensuring animals are taken of, supplies are delivered and organizations are properly promoted.”
Rock & Rawhide began four years ago after Hillman and his wife Kylie went into the ACC shelter and noticed that some dogs were loudly barking, not from aggression but from stress. The Hillmans wanted to learn more about the psychology of the problem and how they could help. They learned that distraction therapy (i.e. giving the dogs toys) can help reduce noise and stress, which can lead to homeless animals passing evaluations and getting adopted quicker. The pair, both from the music world, began putting on shows and asking people to donate items — and it just snowballed from there.
Besides providing organizations supplies, Rock & Rawhide acts as megaphone for their partner nonprofits, getting the word out and having boots on the ground to promote various causes. To date, Rock & Rawhide has delivered more than $1 million worth of relief to shelters across the country.
This year, the organization is looking to expand its presence in Miami, while also launching its initiative in Los Angeles and other areas. It also plans on unveiling a top-secret program, which will be the single largest awareness event ever pulled off in the U.S. The central hub will be New York City, and the goal is to drive awareness, advocacy and adoption for pit bulls. We will provide updates once we know more.
To purchase tickets head to the Rock & Rawhide website. The event is at iHeartRadio Theater located at 32 6th Ave, New York, N.Y. It is from 6 to 9 p.m. for V.I.P. ticket holders and from 7 to 9 p.m. for general admission guests.
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Main image by Pet Portraits by Eric