The Charles Lafitte Foundation (CLF), a philanthropic organization founded by entrepreneur Jeffrey Citron and his wife, Suzanne, hosted its second annual charity golf tournament on June 7 at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club. All of this year’s proceeds went to “Happiness is Camping.”
The tournament raised $200,000. The Citrons matched the proceeds raised by the tournament dollar for dollar, bringing the total funds raised for “Happiness is Camping” to $400,000. The event proceeds marked the largest single donation that “Happiness is Camping” has ever received.
“Happiness is Camping” is a free sleep away camp that hosts about 400 children with cancer. Volunteers and donations drive the camp, which was founded in 1980, and medical staff from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center provide medical supervision for the campers. The camp’s high-quality facilities are designed to address a variety of special needs, from providing care to children undergoing chemotherapy, to accommodating campers with significant physical disabilities.
“One of our primary missions is supporting organizations that create opportunities for children to lead healthy, satisfying and enriched lives,” said Mr. Citron, co-founder and board member, Charles Lafitte Foundation. “We are thrilled that the proceeds raised at our tournament will enable children who may otherwise be unable to attend camps to go to one designed with their needs in mind.
The tournament kicked off at 7:30 am with breakfast and a golf clinic. The day’s activities also included a cocktail reception, lunch buffet and an awards program. The tournament featured 64 golfers and was sponsored by New World Aviation and KMZ Rosenman. The event also included several speakers, including one of the campers, Marie McGrory.
The Charles Lafitte Foundation acts as a grant maker, innovator and volunteer for four main programs: Education, Children’s Advocacy, Medical Research & Issues, and the Arts. The mission of CLF is to provide for and support inventive and effective ways of helping people help themselves and others around them.
About The Charles Lafitte Foundation:
The Charles Lafitte Foundation is a private philanthropic organization founded by Suzanne and Jeffrey Citron. A multifaceted, multi-purposed organization comprised of four distinct project areas, CLF strives to affect innovative change in the areas of education, children’s advocacy, medical research and the arts. Contributions range from single donations to on-going project funding and volunteer work. Grant proposals may be submitted via the organization’s web site, www.charleslafitte.org. Preference is given to proposals and programs that foster significant change for many individuals.
About Jeffrey Citron:
Jeffrey Citron is a technology pioneer and visionary who transformed the financial services industry. As Chairman and CEO of Vonage, Mr. Citron aims to redefine yet another industry — telecommunications.
Some of the more revolutionary financial services developments over the past decade were spearheaded by Mr. Citron. In 1995, Mr. Citron founded The Island ECN, a computerized trading system designed to eliminate the problems associated with order execution. The Island ECN recently was acquired by Instinet Group for 503 million dollars. Today the newly merged company is one of the largest global financial exchanges, and is responsible for more than one in four NASDAQ trades.
Following on the success of The Island ECN, Mr. Citron founded and became the Chairman and CEO of Datek Online Holdings Corp. as Datek transitioned into the online brokerage industry. Under his leadership, Datek had grown to become the fourth largest online brokerage in the US, and was recently acquired by Ameritrade Holdings for 1.3 billion dollars. The newly merged company with nearly 3 million customers is now the second largest online financial services firm behind the Charles Schwab Company. Mr. Citron departed Datek in 1999 and, recognizing a similar opportunity, founded Vonage.
Apart from his entrepreneurial activities, Mr. Citron is continually pursuing philanthropic initiatives. He currently serves on the board of the Montclair Art Museum and through his family foundation routinely funds medical research, supports the Arts and dedicates his time and resources to children’s charities.
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For more information, contact:
Ruder Finn
212.715.1694
woodsa@ruderfinn.com
Jennifer Vertetis
Charles Lafitte Foundation
Contact Jennifer here