25th Lilac Ball Tops $3.3 Million

The gala was a tribute to longtime Prep supporter James Dinan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of York Capital Management and to the 140 members of Prep’s high school Class of 2011. Prep Board President Scott Bok and Trustee Daniel S. Loeb served as Event Chairs.

After accepting the Lilac Ball award, Dinan urged the assembled high school seniors, “You all have accomplished so much already.  Don’t stop here. You have a whole world to change for the better.”  Prep’s longstanding Chairman John Vogelstein was also honored with a surprise award for his 28 years of service to the organization.  A record 127 Prep alumni supporters were on hand to celebrate.

 

Nia Froome (XXVII/Poly Prep ’11, Yale) served as Senior Speaker telling the guests of the highly successful vegan cookie company, Mama Nia's Vegan Bakery, she started under the auspices of Prep’s Institute for Entrepreneurship two years ago.  She then surprised the guests by revealing that she had made the delicious dessert they were eating during her speech.

Over 92% of this year’s Prep high school class was admitted to colleges characterized as "Most Competitive" or “Highly Competitive,” according to Barron’s 2011 Profiles of American Colleges. Yale is the number one college choice, with ten students attending from this year’s class.

 

Since 1986, the Lilac Ball has served as Prep’s keystone event. It not only honors a corporate leader with a commitment to education and young people, but also celebrates the hard work and the achievements of our high school seniors.  Proceeds from the event support Prep’s mission of creating a more diverse national leadership pool by providing New York’s most promising students of color access to a superior education and life-changing opportunities.

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