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Community Corner

Celebrity Golf Tournament Benefits White Plains Hospital

Ahmad Rashad teed off at Quaker Ridge Golf Club last weekend to help raise funds for White Plains Hospital.

Ahmad Rashad harnessed the considerable wattage he wields to shine a bright light on White Plains Hospital and help pack its coffers with some much-needed funds. 

Yesterday, the Emmy-Award winning sportscaster and former all-American running back held a Golf Classic, followed by a formal dinner at Quaker Ridge Gold Club in Scarsdale. The weather was auspiciously sunny and warm as celebrities and locals teed off to benefit the hospital

“Ahmad has put his heart and soul into this benefit,” Jon Schandler, president and CEO of White Plains Hospital, told Scarsdale Patch. “We are hoping to raise $100 million in the next few years for the hospital, and events like this are immeasurably helpful.”

Rashad kicked off the celebrity-studded golf tournament the night before at 42 at the Ritz Carlton in White Plains. Offering skyline views of Westchester and Manhattan from the (you guessed it) 42nd floor and sophisticated, summery cocktails from the restaurant’s crack team of mixologists, the restaurant hosted a sports and broadcasting celebrities mingling with the well-heeled crowd. The event was analogous to the hospital it benefited — Manhattan quality, sans the ‘tude. 

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Tickets were about the price you’d pay for dinner at 42, plus a special a bottle of vino ($150 a head), but Westchester residents snapped them up as eagerly as the hors d’ oevres, which included smoked salmon and caviar on brioche, truffled arancini with roasted red pepper puree, baby lamb chops, goat cheese balls with pickled mango and blueberry jam. 

Their eagerness to do a good deed while snagging a convenient excuse to stave off the Mondays, get dressed to the nines and hit the town paid off.

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The room was packed, the cocktails were flowing, the food was bountiful (raw bars, carving stations and a generous dessert buffet) and everyone looked well-tanned and glittering.

“This is the second year Ahmad is involved in the benefit,” said Tricia Laine, assistant vice president of development for the hospital. “Last year, we raised $250,000, and this year, we hope to exceed that significantly. The cocktail party, dinner and golf outing are sold out, so I know we will.”

The hospital has already raised almost $14 million in its bid to raise $100 million in three years. It is on the fast track to modernize, add space and stay at the top of the heap in Westchester.

“We already have a fantastic staff,” Schandler said. “But we want to enhance our surgical capabilities, especially in the vascular, thoracic, spinal and orthopedic areas. Our priority is our operating rooms. But we also plan to add 60,000 square feet worth of space, some of which will go toward operating rooms, creating more private rooms and making the arrival experience more pleasant and easier.”

White Plains Hospital is renowned for its state-of-the-art, high-tech facilities and one-on-one, old-fashioned client service. Not only does it have the largest free-standing cancer center, it delivers the most babies it Westchester and has one of the most well-regarded stroke and joint treatment programs in the country.

Instead of merely opening its doors to the affluent though, White Plains Hospital also focuses on caring for those who can’t afford care elsewhere. In its mission statement, the voluntary, not-for-profit organization says that it aims to offer “high quality, acute health care and prevenitive medical care in a caring and compassionate manner to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. The Hospital will provide care and services without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, age, sexual orientation or ability to pay.”

"Ahmad is community-minded and philanthropic," Schandler said. "He has gone out of his way to bring in his friends and colleagues to help benefit the hospital. The entire board has been extremely impressed with his dedication."

As the night wound down, many geared up to tee off on some of the most beautiful courses in our pocket of the country the next day. Among the many people getting into the swing of things for White Plains Hospital were Bob Costas, NBC Sportscaster, O.J. Anderson, former player for the New York Giants and  Ron Harper, five-time NBA champion, among others.

The event was co-chaired by Jonathan Spitalny and Robert Tucker. Delta Air Lines was the title sponsor, and Philips Norelco, Tiffany & Co. Westchester, Equinox, Steiner Sports and Red Oak Transportation also helped sponsor the event. 

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