The 2016 H.U.G. Awards Annual Fundraising Gala

The Help Us Give Awards (H.U.G.) has been giving for 61 years and in recent years alone has raised over $3 million in support of Rusk Rehabilitation at the NYU Langone Medical Center and Tisch Hospital programs. Earlier this year, the New York Based charity changed its name from The Intimate Apparel Square Club to Project Help Us Give in order to underline its growth in membership, which now stretches out from the intimate apparel industry to include companies and individuals from a diverse range of sectors. President Clelia Parisi announced that she was "thrilled" to celebrate the first gala since the name change and was "very proud that more people can be included in supporting children's rehabilitation." 

This year the H.U.G. awards honored industry giants PVH and Target with Les Hall, the President of Core Intimates, accepting on behalf of the PVH Corp. and Karlyn Mattson, Vice President and General Merchandise Manager accepting on behalf of Target. The evening began with a reception and was followed by a dinner and awards presentation, all accompanied by breath taking views of the city. Dr. Steven R. Flanagan was in attendance representing Rusk and NYU Langone. He spoke movingly on the life-changing impact of Project H.U.G.'s ongoing efforts to support children rehabilitating from challenging illnesses and accidents, calling their ongoing support "priceless."