Flowers, Fuchsia and Emma Heming Willis’s New Philanthropic Fund: Inside AFTD’s 2026 Hope Rising Benefit

The Ziegfeld Ballroom has seen its share of grand evenings, but the 10th annual Hope Rising Benefit, hosted by the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, certainly stood out among them. Candlelit tables topped with towering floral arrangements overwhelmed the space in the best way possible, the chandeliers casting a warm glow over a sea of pink and red to create the kind of atmosphere that makes workaday midtown Manhattan briefly feel like somewhere else entirely.

The benefit chair was, as always, billionaire businessman and philanthropist Donald Newhouse, who in 2021 made a record-breaking $20 million donation to the organization—the single largest gift in its 20-year history. AFTD supports caregivers, education and scientific research on frontotemporal dementia, and Newhouse dedicated the donation to his late wife and his brother Si Newhouse, both of whom he lost to the disease. Though he was unable to attend, his daughter, Kathy Newhouse Mele, serving as vice chair for the evening, honored his legacy from the dais: “I know that many of you miss my father as much as he misses you. This event represents the fulfillment of a promise he made to himself. He wanted to do everything in his power to help other affected families.”

In the early part of the evening, well-heeled guests sipped rosewater cocktails and olive martinis as canapés circulated through a landscape of staid suits, gorgeous gowns and glittering jewelry. The fuchsia-draped step-and-repeat buzzed with activity as the assembled VIPs jostled for opportunities to chat with model, actress, author and advocate Emma Heming Willis, wife of actor Bruce Willis, who lives with frontotemporal dementia and was the evening’s honoree alongside his wife.

In all, $2.1 million was raised to support research into the disease. When Heming Willis accepted the Susan Newhouse & Si Newhouse Award of Hope on behalf of both herself and her husband, who was officially diagnosed with FTD in 2023, she announced the launch of the Emma & Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support. “You might be honoring Bruce and me tonight, but the gratitude goes to you,” she added. “You saw us. You surrounded us with community. You gave us hope.”

Observer spotted Tony Award winner Alex Newell sliding into a seat opposite biotech founder Zandy Forbes—great-granddaughter of the late New York tycoon Allen B. Forbes—who cut a striking silhouette in a red velvet cape. Nearby, Senator Michelle Hinchley traded laughs with Steven Newhouse, son of Donald, across the aisle from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. And the ebullient filmmaker Katie Prentiss was all smiles as she moved through the crowd.

After the evening’s speeches, Newell took to the stage and gave an energetic and heartfelt performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and Once on This Island’s “The Human Heart.” When the dinner bell rang out, media mogul Anna Wintour and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, both co-chairs for the evening, found their places amid the maze of guests to a soundtrack of jovial jazz. Wintour shimmered in an embellished beaded gown, her signature bob perfectly coiffed and entirely in step with the evening’s tightly curated atmosphere.

“Just 10 years ago, this event was simply an idea,” announced 10-time Emmy award-winning newscaster and documentarian Paula Zahn to a wave of applause, as plates of citrus carrot salad were placed atop the bright white tablecloths. Moments later, black velvet curtains were drawn closed by bustling staff, and the AFTD gala, suddenly secluded and enveloped in a warm pink light, felt worlds away from the sleeting mania of midtown.

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