With developer William Macklowe serving as its guest of honor, the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation's Real Estate Division is hoping to raise a record $1.5 million at its 13th annual Empire Ball to be held at the Grand Hyatt on Wednesday, December 14.
Last year, supported by the New York real estate community and its affiliates, the Empire Ball fundraising event generated over $1.3 million in contributions.
Located at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in cure-focused research and a pioneer in islet cell transplantation.
Macklowe launched the William Macklowe Co. (WMC) in July, 2010 after a career as president of Macklowe Properties. He is being honored with the DRI Leadership Award for both his philanthropic efforts as well as his contributions to New York City
Other award winners at this year's event are Michael Rodriguez, president of Alliance Building Services, who will receive the Camillo Ricordi Humanitarian Award, and Richard Laskowski, vice president of Vanguard Construction and Development Company, who is being honored with the Distinguished Service Award.
"I am delighted and honored by the tremendous outpouring of support we continue to receive from our friends in the New York real estate community that enables us to continue our efforts to find a cure for diabetes, an insidious disease that adversely impacts the lives of millions of people of every age and background," said Peter DiCapua, COO for Atco Properties & Management, Inc. and chairman of the DRI Real Estate Division. "If history repeats itself again this year, as it has in the past, the 2011 Empire Ball will be our most successful fund raising event ever."
There are nearly 26 million Americans living with diabetes - making the disease one of the biggest health concerns in the U.S. today. Since 1983, the New York real estate community and its affiliates have raised more than $28 million for diabetes research.
The idea for an annual fundraiser was initiated by Charles Rizzo, principal of The Rizzo Group, after learning of his daughter's diagnosis with diabetes. Mr. Rizzo and Mr. DiCapua, along with 10 other members, founded the event. For 15 years, the annual fundraiser was called the Pyramid Ball. In 1998, the event was renamed the Empire Ball and began supporting the DRI.
Over the last 28 years, the event has become the real estate social and fundraising event of the season. Past honorees include: Alton Marshall, Former Secretary of State under Governor

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Rockefeller; Businessman William "Bill" Shea, for which Shea Stadium is named; Charles
Urstadt; David Baldwin; Gerald D. Schein, Lizanne Galbreath; Edward S. Gordon; John Catsimatidis; Joseph "Dee" Dussich; Frank Sciame; and Jody Durst - all heads of corporations and leaders in their respective industries.
Tickets to the event are still available for purchase. For more information on tickets, advertising opportunities and other ways to support DRI, please visit www.diabetesresearch.org/2011EmpireBall.
About the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) and Foundation
The mission of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation is to provide the Diabetes Research Institute with the funding necessary to cure diabetes now. The Diabetes Research Institute leads the world in cure-focused research. As the largest and most comprehensive research center dedicated to curing diabetes, the DRI is aggressively working to shrink the timeline toward the discovery of a biological cure for this disease. Having already shown that diabetes can be reversed through islet transplantation, the DRI is building upon these promising outcomes by bridging cell-based therapies with emerging technologies. The Diabetes Research Institute was created for one reason - to cure diabetes - which is and will continue to be its singular focus until that goal is reached. For the millions of people affected by diabetes, the DRI is the best hope for a cure. For more information, visit DiabetesResearch.org or call 1-800-321-3437.



For more information, contact:
The Empire Ball Benefit Office
(212) 843-1708, [email protected]

For online reservations:
www.DiabetesResearch.org/2011EmpireBall



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