Gathering influencers for a charitable cause

Dubai - The event, which had tickets priced at Dh1,450 per person, was specifically aimed at fulfilling the wishes of two children

Some of the UAE's most notable social media influencers converged at Dubai's Novikov restaurant on Saturday night for the GATFLUENCE event, aimed at raising money for the UAE branch of the Make-a-Wish foundation.
The Make-a-Wish foundation is a charity dedicated to granting the wishes of children between the ages of three and 18 who have been diagnosed with life threatening medical conditions. GATFLUENCE - which stands for 'Gathering Influence' is the charity's first affiliation in the UAE.
"I'm very passionate about what they (Make-a-Wish) do, and I'm very passionate about their cause," Annalies Collins, one of GATFLUENCE's founders, told Khaleej Times at the event on Saturday. "We noticed there weren't a lot of (events) where people can actually have a good time and raise money for charity and do a good thing."
The event - which was priced at Dh1,450 per person - featured décor designed by high-in-demand interior decorators Ceebo Shah and Khalid Sharan of the Dubai-based Creative Clinic, as well as live music from DJ M.O.S., a longtime fixture of the New York and Los Angeles nightlife scenes who had previously played shows for the likes of Barack and Michelle Obama, Lebron James and Kanye West.
Saturday's event was specifically aimed at fulfilling the wishes of two children: seven-year-old Abdul Moti, who suffers from diplegia (paralysis on corresponding parts of both sides of the body) and delayed development, who wishes to go to Disneyland Paris, and eight-year old Mohamed, who suffers from diplegic cerebral palsy, who wishes to tour an automobile manufacturing plant in Japan.
"We wanted to create a concept that is also fun and where people can relate to charity as something they have to do," added Rania El Sadek, another GATFLUENCE founder. "It's a very organic, fun night, with a charitable cause. We wanted to make it a little more light for people, but also have them participate in charity." El Sadek added that Saturday's event is only the first GATFLUENCE event.
"There will be more in Dubai, and then we're also looking at London and New York," she said. "There are (charity events) in Dubai, but it's mainly the traditional way of doing charity events."
While the theme on Saturday was 'love and light', GATFLUENCE has other themes in mind for future events designed to help Make-a-Wish. "The second one we will do is 'cozy kindness' and the third is called 'extraordinary life'," Collins said.
In the future, GATFLUENCE plans to capitalise on the support of celebrities, many of whom - such as Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, George Clooney and Adam Sandler - have already offered participated in Make-a-Wish events in other countries. "We want to have a few celebrity hosts who will explain the life that they've had and what they've given back to children. We really want to tie everything together."
According to El Sadek, however, the event's success stems from people's desire to make a difference, rather than be exposed to the rich and famous. "Make-a-Wish is generally very driven as a charity and a foundation with that (celebrity support), and I think in Dubai celebrities do have quite an impact," she said. "But in all honesty, we see that it's mainly with press that it becomes impactful. The guests are coming to support us and the cause. The celebrity thing is just an extra."
bernd@khaleejtimes.com