Past Events

Tip Off To Success 2009

The Bulldogs Care Foundation would like to thank everyone who attended and supported our third annual fundraising event,Tip Off To Success, on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at the Altman Building in Manhattan. The event honored Allen Jones, with the 2009 Pillar of Strength Award and Eric Wenzel with the 2009 Courage Award.

Allen Jones – Courageous Co-writer of the book, “The Rat That Got Away”, along with Mark Naison.
The book chronicles his story from humble beginnings growing up in the Patterson Houses in the Bronx. As a young man, Allen ran with a troubled crowd where many are either still in jail or have been killed by drugs or drug related violence. Allen himself was incarcerated at the young age of 18. Against tremendous odds, Allen’s prowess on the basketball court and his affiliations with youth sports organizations and their mentors allowed him to escape a certain path of destruction and despair. Allen became a successful professional player, coach, radio personality and banker in Europe, while also emerging as a tremendous mentor to his community. His story is truly inspiring and we were honored to have him present to accept our 2009 Pillar of Strength Award.

Eric Wenzel
This charity was founded in honor of four student-athletes who passed away in a tragic car accident. And for a while, we thought we had lost a fifth. Eric Wenzel was in that accident, and spent 2 months in a coma. He came out of it with his mind intact but his body severely damaged, and has spent the past six years pushing himself through intensive rehab. He recently underwent his sixth operation to repair injuries he sustained during the accident. Despite all these hardships, Eric was able re-apply and graduate from Yale, and has gone on to start a career on Wall Street where once again he is creating a presence with his big personality.
To exemplify the type of impact Wenzel is able to make on a community, the #1 selling sandwich currently in New Haven, CT is called “The Wenzel.”
No one cares more about this Foundation, no one raises more donations, and no one is more deserving of our 2009 Courage Award than Eric Wenzel.

The event was attended by over 500 people and was a huge success once again! Steven Duke, Chairman of the Board of Directors noted, "Another successful event for BCF was crucial to continuing our positive momentum. I think the results speak for themselves; with an energetic volunteer base and a group of sponsors committed to BCF’s mission, this year’s achievements have exceeded all expectations. We are very proud of what we have accomplished this past year considering the present economy and look forward to a bright future for the BCF”

We’d like to extend a special thanks and acknowledgement to all the sponsors, donors, Board Members and Event Committee Members that made the night such a success. Guests of Tip Off To Success enjoyed delicious cuisine prepared by Balducci’s, The Chef’s Warehouse, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Les Halles Downtown, and MYLO. Refreshing beverages were provided by Blue Point Brewing Company, Brooklyn Brewery, Bulldog Gin, and Vitamin Water. Live music was provided by The Stingers and the band had everyone dancing by the end of the night! Sponsors for the evening included Balducci’s, Bletsas Plumbing, Deutsche Bank Securities, Dunway Services, Cindy & Andy Dwyer, Hudson Securities, Knight Libertas LLC, The New York Baseball Academy, The Murphy Family, Selective Insurance and the Winged Keel Group.

If you are interested in sponsoring a future event, please email Paul Ardire at paul.ardire@db.com

“I feel thankful that the Bulldogs Care Foundation honors and appreciates youth that
strive to make themselves, people around them and their communities better.”
~ Essane Diedro

The BCF All-Stars
Recognizing the Remarkable
This year we decided to take our granting efforts in a bit of a different direction. In addition to our annual Summer Basketball Academy grant, we decided to start an application process where organizations from the local NYC area would nominate their most promising and inspirational student-athletes. The reception we received was amazing and 12 extremely impressive applications were submitted. We painfully decided upon 4 candidates who best represented the core values of BCF to become our first team of All-Stars and honored them at the event.

Herminia Thabet
An active member of Harlem RBI, a youth development organization that provides inner-city youth with opportunities to play learn and grow. It uses the power of teams to coach, teach and inspire youth to recognize their dreams. Herminia is now a freshman on the Iona Softball team, and possesses the high level of character and determination that the BCF stands for. Her consistent effort over the past 8 years as a part of the program has led her to success on and off the field. Herminia has transformed herself from a struggling young pitcher into an award-winning New York City powerhouse, all while maintaining excellent grades.

Julian Hackney
Our Second BCF All-Star is an active member of Street Squash, a Harlem-based urban youth enrichment program that combines academic tutoring, squash instruction, college preparation, community service and mentoring. Julian Hackney is a student athlete who exhibits exceptional dedication to both his academics and to Street Squash, where in his four years he has taken advantage of all that the program has to offer. A two-time captain and StreetSquasher of the year, he is a leader on the field and off, setting the bar high with a 90 average and a number 5 spot on a very competitive varsity ladder.

Scarlett Jimenez
The third All Star award went to a member of Figure Skating in Harlem, an organization that hopes to transform young lives and help Harlem girls to grow in confidence, leadership and academic achievement. Since 1997 the program has served more than one thousand girls and prepares them for success in all aspects of life. Scarlett Jimenez, a 7 year participant in the program truly exemplifies leadership and inspiration. Dedicating over 10 hours each school week to her group skating and educational activities at Figure Skating in Harlem, Scarlett has passed a remarkable seven testing levels of the Ice Skating Institute national standards and has earned a spot in their advanced skating group. What’s even more impressive is her commitment to academics. Scarlett is a straight A student at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, and her love of science has earned her the unique opportunity to work as a laboratory assistant for a University professor, gaining college credit while still in high school.

Essane Diedro
Last but certainly not least, the fourth All Star is a part of the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization that utilizes the sport of fencing as a vehicle to develop life skills in young people from underserved communities. Essane Diedro’s dream is to become a Neurosurgeon. As a freshman on the Columbia fencing team, she is clearly on her way. Her 9 years as a part of the Peter Westbrook Foundation can be characterized as nothing short of inspirational. While maintaining grades high enough to warrant entrance into the National Honor Society and serving as a member of a debate team that was ranked second in the North East region, she has thrived as a fencer, attending the Fencing Nationals and even winning as a member of a Junior Team.

In recognition of the amazing accomplishments these four organizations have made in guiding the BCF All-Stars to success, The Bulldogs Care Foundation has granted them each $5,000.

Click here to view photos from the event!
Photos were taken by event photographer Monika Salazar.