Photo Flash: Sing for Hope Hosts Welcome Wednesday Event in NYC

Neither snow nor sleet could keep friends and supporters away from Sing for Hope's recent Welcome Wednesday event in midtown Manhattan.

Braving the winter chill, a spirited group of volunteer artists, collectors, and community members came together to celebrate the launch of The Sing for Hope Collection, a photographic series that captures the transformative power of the arts. Photographs from the collection are being sold this season to benefit Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs throughout New York City (view the complete collection here).

Hosted by celebrity stylist Vartan Vartali at VARTALI Salon in midtown Manhattan, the festive atmosphere reflected the vibrance of the photographs. Guests included beloved Sing for Hope Board Member Renée Fleming, fresh from her Super Bowl anthem triumph three days before. "The People's Diva" spoke with supporters and shared her commitment to the arts as a vehicle for conveying hope and uplifting communities.

Also in attendance were the newly crowned Miss New York Amanda Mason, Miss New York City Kira Kazantsev, Miss Cosmopolitan Christina Moore, and Miss Metropolitan Julia Rae -- new friends to Sing for Hope and arts advocates in their own rights, with pursuits ranging from graduate opera studies to non-profit leadership. Other guests and collectors included General Counsel of Christie's Karen Gray, Cushman & Wakefield Executive Director Brian Feist, Sheila Lennon of United Cerebral Palsy of New York City, and Volunteer Artists Nakeisha Daniel, Edyta Halon, Jess Browne-White, Laura Ricciardi, and Michael Miller.

Co-Founding Directors Camille Zamora and Monica Yunus offered a toast and spoke briefly about Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs that share creative inspiration in under-resourced communities throughout the five boroughs. The crowd was then treated to a beautiful violin performance by Volunteer Artist Joel Lambdin -- a reflection, in his words, of "the music of the spheres" and the myriad ways in which the arts create positive change in the world around us.

To learn more about volunteering in Sing for Hope's arts outreach programs or to make a tax-deductible donation to support arts programming in under-resourced areas, please visit www.singforhope.org. To support Sing for Hope by purchasing a limited edition print from The Sing for Hope Collection, visit http://www.singforhope.org/sing-for-hope-collection.

Photos by Roderick Lapid