Actress Debi Mazar to Emcee Brooklyn Community Services 150th Anniversary Finale Gala

Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) will host its landmark 150th Anniversary Finale Gala on Monday, June 5th honoring visionaries that have made significant contributions to uplift Brooklyn residents with actress, chef and activist Debi Mazar as the emcee. The theme is For the Love of Community and will be held from 6:00 - 9:00 pm at Brooklyn's stunning newly opened 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, located at 60 Furman Street.

Currently, Mazar, a Brooklyn resident, is balancing her career co-starring in TVLand's hit show Younger as Maggie, a lesbian artist living in Williamburg and co-hosting the Cooking Channel series Extra Virgin with her husband Italian chef Gabriele Corcos. Mazar began her entertainment career in the 1980s as the famed makeup artist behind styling her friend Madonna for concerts and videos. Her makeup clients began to include celebs like Diana Ross, Raquel Welch and Run DMC. After appearing in several Madonna videos, Mazar's first entry into acting was a supporting role in Martin Scorsese's classic Goodfellas. Film roles with acclaimed directors followed like Oliver Stone's The Doors, Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Spike Lee's Jungle Fever and Malcolm X. On television, she had lead roles on the drama series Civil Wars and L.A. Law. One of her famed television roles is press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series and film Entourage. Mazar is a longtime women's rights, immigrant reform and LGBT advocate.

The BCS 150th Anniversary Finale: For the Love of Community will be an elegant evening with a cocktail reception, auction, dinner and an awards presentation. The honorees are philanthropists Mr. Aaron Dean & Dr. Deborah Dean, corporate leader PVH Corp., arts & entertainment leader Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, BCS Board Member Edward F. Gentner Jr., Esq. and the BCS Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service.

"Brooklyn Community Services is proud to reach this historic milestone by saluting these visionary leaders who all share our legacy of making an impact in Brooklyn. Our honorees Aaron and Dr. Deborah Dean, PVH Corp, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, and Edward F. Gentner, Jr., Esq. have been dedicated supporters in aiding BCS programs and continuing our legacy of empowering underserved Brooklynites. Our program honoree, BCS Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service, has many success stories helping at-risk students achieve new opportunities through earning a high school diploma," said Marla Simpson, BCS Executive Director.

About the BCS 150th Anniversary Finale Gala Honorees:

BCS Philanthropic Leadership Award honorees are Mr. Aaron Dean & Dr. Deborah Dean. Mr. Dean, a former Chairman of our BCS Board of Directors is the President and Owner of Cydean LLC, while Dr. Dean is Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Mount Sinai Health Systems.

BCS Corporate Leadership Award honoree is PVH Corp. Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH),one of the largest global apparel companies, owns the iconic Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo), Warner's and Olga brands and market a variety of goods under their owned and licensed brands. PVH's successful corporate responsibility strategy focuses on "people (including human rights and human resources), the environment and communities where we work and live."

BCS Arts & Entertainment Leadership Award honoree is Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE). BSE oversees programming, marketing, sales, and operations for Barclays Center and Long Island's NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and manages and controls the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and its Development League team, the Long Island Nets, as well as the business operations of the NHL's New York Islanders.

BCS One Brooklyn Community Outstanding Service Award honoree is Edward F. Gentner, Jr., Esq. Mr. Gentner is Vice Chair of the BCS Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Governance Committee. He is Senior Counsel with Cullen and Dykman LLP and has a legal practice which includes a wide range of corporate and commercial work.

BCS Program Award honoree is BCS Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service. BCS Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service, located in Clinton Hill, helps at-risk students ages 16 to 21 from failing out and provides a path to a Regents Diploma and plan for post-secondary success.

Sponsors for Brooklyn Community Services 150th Anniversary Finale include: Investors Bank, PVH, Greenberg Traurig, Citi, Cullen & Dykman, LLP, Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation and New York Jets.

Ticket prices begin at $500, and sponsorships range from $5,000 - $50,000. For more information on tickets and sponsorships for the BCS 150th Anniversary Finale, please call or email 718-310-5660 Kerry Doyle, Donor Relations Associate, at kdoyle@wearebcs.org.

Join the conversation with Brooklyn Community Services at www.WeAreBCS.org, FACEBOOK at Brooklyn Community Services, Twitter and Instagram at @WeAreBCS.org.

About Brooklyn Community Services

Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) celebrates the strength of the human spirit, and throughout 2017, we continue to celebrate our 150th Anniversary. Our mission is to empower at-risk children, youth and families, and adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities to overcome the obstacles they face, as we strive to ensure opportunity for all to learn, grow and contribute to ONE Brooklyn Community. To achieve this mission, we offer comprehensive and holistic services: early childhood education; youth development services and educationally rich after-school programs; counseling for at-risk families; treatment, recovery and job training to support the life goals of adults living with mental illness; person-centered rehabilitation and community living support for adults with developmental disabilities and disaster recovery case management and relief services. BCS also seeks to increase public awareness of the impacts of poverty on individuals and the community at-large. With a staff of over 500 and over 25 sites around the borough, BCS serves 13,000 people every year. Today, BCS is one of the longest serving nonprofit, non-sectarian social service providers in New York City.

PHOTO: Debi Mazar photo credit: Lisa Leone

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