May 3, 2017 — Gift for Life, the gift and home industries’ sole charitable organization, has announced the Beekman Boys will be honored with the Gift for Life 2017 Industry Achievement Award during Gifts and Decorative Accessories’ 66th Annual Retailer Excellence Awards, taking place on Sunday, August 20, 2017, in New York City. The award, which recognizes overall excellence and contribution to the gift and home industry, will be presented to The Beekman Boys – Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, founders of lifestyle brand Beekman 1802.
The Beekman 1802 brand includes signature beauty, home and food products available at leading retailers including Henri Bendel, Anthropologie, Williams-Sonoma and other partners. Their hit television show, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, was followed by popular The Beekman 1802 cookbooks, and their memoir of farm life, The Bucolic Plague, was a national best seller.
“Our company was founded as a reflection of the strong spirit of community that surrounds us all,” said founders Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge. “Gift for Life’s supports for DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS is very special to us. We are proud to accept this award because of our shared values.”
“We honor The Beekman Boys not merely for their brand’s influence and success,” said George Kacic, chair of the Gift for Life board. “Their mission of good design, function, generosity and care is a reminder to us all about what matters most for our businesses and our lives. Their story is compelling because it has heart and it’s an example of creating products with purpose.”
The Gift for Life Industry Achievement Award will be presented to The Beekman Boys at the 66th Annual Retailer Excellence Awards (REAs), on Sunday, August 20, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York. Hosted by Gifts and Decorative Accessories, the Retailer Excellence Awards recognize excellence in retailing and individual achievement. During this festive industry gathering, 2016 finalists will be recognized, retail category winners will be announced and special recognition awards will be presented. Tickets, which are $185 each including cocktails and dinner, are available through www.giftsanddec.com.
Each year, Gift for Life hosts events throughout the U.S. benefitting DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The primary mission of Gift for Life and DIFFA is to eradicate the AIDS pandemic in the U.S. Working together, Gift for Life and DIFFA will continue to raise funds for HIV/AIDS service and education programs. For additional information please visit www.giftforlife.org. Follow Gift for Life’s efforts via its free e-newsletter, available at http://www.giftforlife.org/about_gfl/press-releases-and-newsletters/.
ABOUT GIFT FOR LIFE and DIFFA
Gift for Life unites the gift and home industries against AIDS with more than $5 million raised since its inception in 1992. In 2008, Gift for Life selected DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S., as its main charity partner. Since its founding in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the immense resources of the design communities to provide more than $40 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide. More information is available at www.giftforlife.org and at www.diffa.org.
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