At first glance, the event was a typical gathering of local socialites, complete with pineapple cocktails and a serving of Chanel.
About 30 women from Tenafly and surrounding communities flooded the stately home of Ellen Silberman May 7, each one carrying a designer purse.
They mingled, sipped drinks and chatted.
But as each new guest arrived, the purses started piling up.
The gathering was more than a pocketbook party – the women at Silberman’s home dropped off their once beloved bags and bought new ones, all in the name of charity.
Through Silberman’s cause, Supplies 4 Success, young high school girls from Englewood’s Dwight Morrow will get their hands on the designer bags for job interviews and $3,000 raised by the women that night will be used to buy backpacks and school supplies for other students in need.
Shopping for a new pocketbook has never been more fulfilling.
"Normally the proceeds would go to Yves Saint Laurent," said a local woman who attended the fundraiser.
For more than three years, Silberman and her friends have been raising funds for students in need through the charity by hosting pocketbook parties and other small fundraising events.
The ultimate goal, Silberman said, is to make sure all underprivileged school children don’t have to worry about not having the basics.
"I really feel strongly that kids are brought into this world and are 100 percent dependent on us and we have to do the right thing if children can’t afford the basics to start their school year," Silberman said.
"We come from a privileged world. Our kids get fancy sneakers, tutors and more than one book bag a year but some kids in our area need the basics that the government doesn’t fund so we have to help them. It’s a way of leveling the playing field."
According to the charity’s sponsor, the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey, there are more than 20,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11 living below the poverty line in northern New Jersey.
"Some people have to choose between paying the bills or sending their kids to school with supplies," said Rachel Jurisz, outreach programs coordinator with the UJA.
Last year Silberman and a committee of 10 local mothers and businesswomen from Bergen County used the proceeds they raised through Supplies 4 Success to donate backpacks filled with notebooks, pens, paper and other supplies to elementary schools in Teaneck, Paterson and Wayne.
Schools are chosen based on how needy their students are, usually by how many students are on the free lunch program, according to Jurisz.
But this year, Silberman and her friends want to do more good and they want to do it closer to home.
"Tenafly has pockets of poverty and Englewood too. This year we’re spreading our wings and going into many more towns in our immediate area," Silberman said.
And in addition to holding traditional silent auctions and group fundraisers, the women of Supplies 4 Success are using their contacts to go corporate.
Nikki Rosen of Tenafly is a member of Supplies 4 Success. She’s also the vice president of Sabrett Hotdogs, an Englewood-based empire.
Rosen said she knows what it’s like to be solicited for donations and what it takes to raise money from corporate sponsors like Sabrett. She said she’s more than happy to lend her business experience to a worthy cause shared among friends.
"Living in an affluent neighborhood, people don’t see it and forget people in need," Rosen said.
Supplies 4 Success is planning its first formal fundraiser at Englewood’s Grand Cru Wine Bar this October. For more information or to donate, call Ellen Silberman at 201-615-8155 or e-mail epekes87@aol.com.
E-mail: kumka@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6705
