ARTWALK 2016 Honors Scharf, De Paola, Raises $750,000 to Fight Homelessness

The Coalition For The Homeless held its twenty-second annual ARTWALK Thursday at the Metropolitan Pavilion. The evening, which featured a treasure trove of art for sale in both silent and live auctions, honored artist Kenny Scharf and philanthropist Mike De Paola. 700 people attended, raising $750,000 to go towards helping New York City’s homeless.

“Because of the work we do, homeless New Yorkers are guaranteed the right to shelter,” said Dave Giffen, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “You don’t see big tent cities in New York the way you do in other cities because New Yorkers think it’s inhumane to have people living on the streets. 62,000 people a night sleep in homeless shelters. We have 11 direct service programs that help 3,500 homeless people every day. ARTWALK helps bring attention to this issue. We get nearly 1,000 amazing, compassionate New Yorkers showing up every year, and the support of the entire artistic community.”