Come rock out and have fun on Thursday, October 27, at the quintessential Hard Rock Café in New York City.
Courtesy of Rocktoberfests in New York City, Chicago and other locations more than 15, 000 children have been treated.
ALTSO (A Leg To Stand On) a non-profit providing free prosthetic limbs, corrective surgery and rehabilitation to children in the developing world, is the organizer and sponsor of the 13th Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest.
Hedge Funds?
Yes, the Hedgies have shed their banker’s ties for kids in need.
“Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest unites 1, 400 professionals from the hedge fund financial services industry for a night of rock and roll and acoustic music performed by industry leaders, ” Gabriella Mueller the Executive Director of ALTSO told Orthopedics This Week.
And who says Wall Street’s Hedgies can’t party?
History
C. Mead Welles with Octagon Asset Management and Dr. Dinesh Patel the Chief of Arthroscopic Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School founded ALTSO in 2002.
Last year this unique event raised close to $500, 000 thanks to about 1, 400 people who turned out from the finance and business community. Among the 25 corporate sponsors were NASDAQ, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse, as well as over 30 media, beverage, and merchandise sponsors.
“When I first started working at ALTSO about ten years ago, we were treating about 150 children per year through three programs in three countries—India, Colombia, and Haiti, ” Executive Director Mueller said. Humble beginnings indeed….
ALTSO has grown tremendously.
Last year 1, 512 children were treated. Today this non-profit operates 11 programs in 9 developing countries.
ALTSO’s goal is to provide high quality, free, continuous orthopedic care to those children and families in the developing world that cannot afford treatment.
According to ALTSO their typical client family earns just $3.00 a day and lives in remote rural areas. Transportation to schools or medical services is usually not available. If a family member can’t walk, they can’t go to school. If they can’t go to school, they can’t get a job. No job means no support for themselves or their families.
Enter Rocktoberfest. And you!
Rocktoberfest 2016- NYC
Every year, lions of capitalism shed their coats and ties, loosen up their wallets and truck on down to the Hard Rock Café to support the astonishing work of ALTSO.
According to ALTSO Mueller: “Our musicians, sponsors, volunteers and attendees have contributed so much to the success of ALTSO. Through their support, we have been able to dramatically increase the number of children treated. It’s a beautiful thing to see these kid’s lives being touched in so many ways.”
Now for the musical lineup:
The Autopilots
A self-proclaimed group of musical misfits with a never-say-die soul, they are an eclectic group who loves to rock. And they let it be known that they are really looking forward to “entertaining the financial wonks of the world.”
The Cause @thecauserocks
This is a “high energy classic and alternative rock” group who love to give a little back to charities they support. The group consists of Greg Dabal, Chris Caruso, Bruce Torley, Anthony Liccese, Bettina Levy, Larry Scheinberg and Bill Maher (aka Bongo Billy).
JAM Partners
This rock and roll band consists of Sy Jacobs of Jacobs Asset Management, Renzo Anfossi of Citi, Michael Corasaniti of Tourmalet Advisors, Dexter Remy of Glenwood Management Fitness, Tim Seymour of Triogem Asset Management & CNBC Fast Money, and Mark Greenberg of Tigress Financial Partners.
New York Rock Exchange (NYRE-Formerly Flash Crash)
These guys and gals have played at some of the most prestigious rock and roll venues in NYC and consist of current and former employees of ICE and Apple. They play music by Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, The Ramones and many more. Members include Larry Scheinberg, ICE (keyboards), Joey Albert, ICE (guitar), Russ Joiner, Stacey Haskel (vocals), Mark Greenberg (drums), Ray McKenzie (bass and vocals), Sophie McMinn (vocals).
Six Floors Under @sixfloorsunder
This group of 15 musicians came together to escape the constant stress of the financial market. They play classic rock legends from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and ZZ top to Lenny Kravitz.
Warriors From Mars @warriorsfrommars
Come on… now that’s a cool name!
Justin Lepone the lead singer and rhythm guitarist has been with Greenlight Capital since 2002 and is the Director of Partner Relations. John Ivanac is the lead guitarist and a member of BlackRock’s Global Consultant Relations Group and is responsible for managing relationships with investment consultants. Ryan Carter is the bass guitarist and works at ToddStreet. Lauren Fijol, vocalist, Kenny Hildebrandt on keyboards and the drummer Greg Olsten round out Warriors From Mars.
Why You MUST Come
Gabriella Mueller had this to say about Rocktoberfest NYC 2016: “You gotta be there to really appreciate it! It’s been credited as the most unique and highly anticipated event within the philanthropic and financial communities for a reason.”
Man, I want to go, and I’m from Chicago!
Mueller: “Each of the bands and acoustic acts is awesome, and 100% of the event proceeds benefit ALTSO’s programs, which provide free orthopedic treatment to children suffering from traumatic or congenital limb disabilities. In fact, the price of a ticket in our New York event is $275, and $200 in Chicago; the average cost for ALTSO to provide a below-knee prosthetic leg is $250, so each ticket purchased effectively covers the cost of our average device.”
Wow, your ticket could provide for a disabled child to walk and be productive in life!
I asked Gabriella to give me a sneak peek into what actually goes on behind the scenes to pull off an event of this size.
“ALTSO is run by three (3) employees—the Executive Director, the Director of Programs, and the Director of Development. We have a dedicated volunteer committee made up primarily of industry professionals, who are instrumental in the Rocktoberfest planning process and work diligently with us for several months preparing for the event.”
I bet that’s a lot of people!
“To maximize our net proceeds to benefit more children, we do not hire a production company to run the event, but instead work with a team of incredible volunteers who manage everything from setup, to registration, to on-site activations.”
Let’s Hear It for the Musicians
Mueller continued: “Every single musician who performs at Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest—from our ‘Main Stage’ bands, to our Acoustic acts—is a hero in our eyes and the eyes of our children. In addition to putting on a phenomenal performance, the Rocktoberfest bands are uber talented, put on a great concert, and are generous supporters of the event in every single way; the success of Rocktoberfest—and its impact—would not be possible without our musicians. We are fortunate to have a solid roster of incredible corporate sponsors who share ALTSO’s commitment to leveling the playing field for children with limb disabilities in the developing world.”
Save the date, Thursday, October 27 at 7:00 pm at the Hard Rock in NYC.
Come on out and experience this one of a kind event.
The kids will be glad you did!
