BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
EDISON — An Evening of Giving held at Menlo Park Mall raised money for more than 65 charities recently.
"We’re still collecting the money," Suzette Lichter, marketing manager for the mall, said of the Nov. 23 event.
Last year the event brought in about $80,000 for local charities and the Simon Youth Foundation, she said.
Menlo Park Mall is owned by Simon Property Group Inc., based out of Indianapolis, Ind., and owns properties in 36 states.
The event, which was held after mall hours from 6:30-9:30 p.m., featured free food sampling, entertainment, and specials throughout the mall stores for anyone who purchased an $8 ticket, she said.
Charities such as AIDS Resource Foundation for Children, Area 5 Special Olympics, Carrier Clinic, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and local school, sports and YMCA organizations sold tickets and received much of the proceeds with the balance going to the Simon Youth Foundation.
The charities sell the tickets for the event and then give $2 from each ticket sale back to the mall for the Simon Youth Foundation, Lichter explained.
The Simon Youth Foundation, an organization based in Indianapolis, began in August 1998 to have a positive impact on the lives of youths through education and scholarships.
In the past three years the foundation has awarded $1.6 million in one-time scholarships to high school students continuing their education at either an accredited college, university, or vocational/technical school.
The event held last week at Menlo Park Mall was a success and raised money for all organizations involved, Lichter said.