On Thursday, Nov. 4, a small group of family and friends from Scarsdale teamed up to organize an opening cocktail reception to help raise funds for the non-profit organization Manos Unidas Peru, which built the first private school for special education in Cusco, Peru.

The fundraising event featured original paintings from Peruvian artist Estrella Dannon and appearances by "Soy Andina" director Mitchell Teplitsky, dancer and choreographer Cynthia Paniagua and Celeste Marion, the co-founder and director of Manos Unidas Peru.

Patricia Engelhard, along with her sister Carol O'Neill, spearheaded the small group that organized the event. "I thought it's easy to bring at least 100 people together. My mom is an artist, and I can cater," said Engelhard. "I asked Celeste, 'What can we do for you?'"

With only three weeks to plan, the group reached out to their friends, family, clients and co-workers through Facebook, e-mails and word of mouth. "I invited my friends to taste my culture, have a cocktail and see some art," said Engelhard, who hosted a home gathering expecting a small, intimate reception resembling an art gallery opening.

It was cold and rainy the day of the event, and Engelhard feared her small gathering would shrink even more. Instead, the rain stopped just in time and more than 100 people showed up for the fundraiser. "Cars were parked up and down the street, bumper to bumper. My house was packed with people," said Engelhard.

The guests enjoyed traditional Peruvian food catered by EsCarole, a catering company owned by Engelhard and O'Neill. "People loved the Barsol Pisco Sours, [which are the Peruvian national cocktail]," laughed Engelhard. "It was the cocktail drink of the night. I had to get my husband to help us because there was such a demand."

Dannon, who is also Engelhard's mother, showcased and sold her latest paintings at the fundraiser with the intent to donate a portion of her sales toward Manos Unidas.

When it came time for Engelhard to speak about Manos Unidas, she stood in front of a collage of pictures featuring students who have received aid from her organization. "My husband wrote me a speech, but I decided to speak from the heart," said Engelhard, a Peruvian native, who cried in the middle of her speech.

"Those children are not treated the same as children in the U.S. The people [of the Cusco region] don't understand the problem, particularly autism," said Engelhard, who attributed the culture's lack of understanding towards an awareness issue and absent knowledge on various disabilities.

"I was very impressed with Celeste's work," said Engelhard. "She gave up a lot to start this foundation. She is driven by passion. I really admire people who do things like that. She's changing my life. I've never experienced the happiness I did that night."

Guests moved by Engelhard's heartfelt speech and Marion's work with Manos Unidas donated more than $10,000 to the organization. This single fundraiser helped Marion to reach her goal of $25,000 to expand Manos Unidas Peru by the year's end.

"The guests got to see beautiful art," said Engelhard. "They had nice drinks. There was no pressure because we didn't charge anything to attend. They came to us and gave the checks."

The fundraiser event lasted well into the night. Engelhard was pleased with the event's successful turnout and fundraising efforts, and attributes the event's popularity towards O'Neill, Dannon, Teplitsky, Lorraine and Andy Kransdorf and her husband, Nathan Engelhard.

Engelhard hopes she can help raise money for more small non-profit organizations like Manos Unidas Peru by hosting another event or donating EsCarole's services. "What I really admire about the United States is how much its people give back," said Engelhard. "It is a donating culture, a giving culture that always does things for the community."