CORE, the emergency response nonprofit co-founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee, held its fourth fundraiser during Art Basel Miami on Thursday night, with a guest list that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Diplo, Carmelo Anthony, Alessandra Ambrosio and Soleil Moon Frye.
The event, for which The Hollywood Reporter served as media partner, raised over $1 million to support CORE’s focus areas of responding to emergencies, mitigating climate change’s impact and expanding health access to the most vulnerable communities.
The night kicked off with cocktails by the beach soundtracked by a DJ set from Mia Moretti, followed by a seated dinner and live auction, featuring work from artists such as Astro and Max Hooper Schneider. British contemporary artist Chris Levine’s custom “Equanimity (CORE Gala), 2024” portrait of Queen Elizabeth adorned in real diamonds was auctioned for $100,000.
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Diplo opened the program with an introduction to Lee (as Penn was not present at the event) and Garcelle Beauvais closed things out, before Jewel took the stage for a medley of acoustic songs, starting with “Over the Rainbow” and followed by her hits “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “Hands.” Following the performance, she surprised the crowd by auctioning off the guitar she played during her performance.
“I’ve been a big fan of Sean’s work for a long time. I’ve been following it since his first experience in Haiti, and gotten very close with Ann over the years,” Jewel said of wanting to be a part of the event. “You don’t meet many organizations that have to do a different job every single time; every disaster is different, everyone’s unique, and they go in and solve those problems. I’m just very impressed with the organization.”
The gala also honored Hollywood lawyer Mathew Rosengart, who is a partner at Greenberg Traurig and serves as CORE’s litigation counsel. “I am deeply honored to represent and be recognized by CORE, an organization of passionate humanitarians whose impact has been an inspiration to me,” Rosengart said. “This is an organization that bravely heads into crises to support communities who need it most, particularly groups of people who are overlooked or underserved. I have witnessed CORE’s work firsthand – both in Haiti in 2018 and during the pandemic when they rapidly expanded to provide urgently needed free COVID-19 vaccinations and tests. My team at Greenberg Traurig and I proudly work to ensure CORE can fulfill its global mission, grounded in building strong local communities.”
Co-chairs for the event included Alessandra Ambrosio, Casey Affleck, Cecilia Renes, Craig Robins, Diplo, Francesca Giustra, Francisco Costa, Garcelle Beauvais, Jared Leto, Jon Bon Jovi, Jorge Perez, Michael Mann, Soleil Moon Frye and Vivi Nevo.
Melinda Sheckells contributed to this report.
