Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala

The Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala is held at the Cipriani in New York City. Sesame Workshop hosts the evening as a fundraising event, and to honor outstanding individuals around the world who have contributed to education.

2003, 35th Anniversary

 * Date - June 4, 2003
 * Host - Katie Couric
 * Honored - Kofi Annan and his wife Nane Annan
 * Attendees - Elmo, Tony Bennett, Zeliboba, Pino, Abelardo Montoya, Kami, Big Bird, Mike Renzi, John Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney, Glenn Close, Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado, Sonia Manzano, Loretta Long, Roscoe Orman, Fran Brill as Zoe, John Tartaglia as Ernie, Carmen Osbahr as Rosita and Paul McGinnis as Grover and Oscar the Grouch.

2004

 * Date - Jun 02, 2004
 * Host - Diane Sawyer
 * Honored - Desmond Tutu
 * Attendees - Oprah Winfrey, Kami, Zuzu, Zikwe, Matt Lauer and Annette Lauer, Tina Brown and Harry Evans, George Stephanopoulos and talk show host Ali Wentworth, Cynthia McFadden and Deborah Roberts, Martha Stewart, Maria Bartiromo, Lesley Stahl and author Aaron Latham, actress Carol Kane, Heather Headley, artist Peter Max, Bob Kerrey (New School President and head of 9/11 Commission), publisher Mort Zuckerman and Judge Kimba Wood.
 * Links - sesameworkshop.org

2005

 * Date - June 1, 2005
 * Host - Barbara Walters
 * Honored - Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and Stan O’Neal (Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc.) "for creating educational opportunities around the globe."
 * Attendees - Vanessa Williams, Tonton, and New York Post gossip journalist Liz Smith.
 * Links - Sesame Workshop Press Release

2006
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 * Date - May 31, 2006
 * Host - Matt Lauer
 * Honored - Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, for her commitment to reducing poverty, malnutrition and disease, and protecting children from abuse and violence, and Alan C. “Ace” Greenberg, Chairman of the Executive Committee of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., for his work in helping children better cope with trauma and uncertainty.
 * Attendees - Lillias White, Hoots the Owl, Oscar the Grouch (Caroll Spinney), Zoe (Fran Brill), Cookie Monster, Elmo (Kevin Clash), Ernie and Bert, Grover (Eric Jacobson), Rosita (Carmen Osbahr), and Kami, Michael Bloomberg, Joan Ganz Cooney, Gary Knell.
 * Links - Sesame Workshop Press Release

2007

 * Date - May 30, 2007
 * Host - Matt Lauer
 * Honored - Laura Bush and James E. Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., "for PNC's 10-year, $100 million investment to improve access and quality of early childhood education to benefit children and communities."
 * Attendees - Jenna Bush and Barbara Bush, Brian Stokes Mitchell
 * Links - Press Pre-Release, Sesame Workshop Press Release

2008

 * Date - May 28, 2008
 * Host - Anderson Cooper
 * Honored - Richard Parsons (Chairman, Time Warner Inc.) with a Corporate Leadership Award, for his funding of Galli Galli Sim Sim, and Susan and Michael Dell with a Global Leadership Award.
 * Attendees - Nitya Vidyasagar, Grover, Chamki, Soledad O'Brien, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Gary E. Knell.
 * Links - sesameworkshop.org

2009, 40th Anniversary

 * Date - May 27, 2009
 * Host - Brian Williams
 * Honored - NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
 * Attendees - President Barack Obama (via pre-recorded video), Sheryl Crow, Al Roker and Deborah Roberts, Bianna Golodryga, Joel Schumacher, Kate Snow, Joan Cooney, Lloyd Morriset, Paula Zahn, Roscoe Orman
 * Links - Sesame Workshop announcement, Sesame Workshop coverage

2010
Snuffy attended the event for the first time.
 * Date - June 2, 2010
 * Host - Robin Roberts
 * Honored - Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden
 * Attendees - John Legend, Christine Teigen, Deborah Roberts, Bob Woodruff