Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough Host S.L.E. Lupus Foundation 40th Anniversary Gala at Lincoln Center

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 11/24/10 -- On Monday, November 22nd, the New York-based S.L.E. Lupus Foundation marked its 40th Anniversary with a glittering "Life Without Lupus" gala at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough emceed the benefit, which raised $2 million for lupus research and awareness.

Earlier that day, Tony winner and two time Emmy nominee Jane Krakowski pulled the lever to shine the Empire State Building lights orange -- the color of lupus awareness -- throughout the night in honor of the Foundation's anniversary. At Lincoln Center, Jane and her 30 Rock co-star Cheyenne Jackson feted the gala's 600 attendees with a festive performance of Broadway show tunes and pop hits.

The Gala honored Susan Golick and her father Morrie Golick who began the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation in Susan's Manhattan living room 40 years ago, shortly after she was diagnosed with the disease. The Foundation is now the nation's leading lupus organization funding groundbreaking novel research and implementing model support programs in partnership with its West Coast division, Lupus LA.

The Foundation also honored companies Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline for their collaboration on the first potential new treatment for lupus in more than 50 years.

With Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey on hand to honor the Foundation's service to New York City and the nation's lupus community, opera star Jessye Norman opened the evening with Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Climb Every Mountain" and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to founder Morrie Golick, who turned 100 in October.

The "Life Without Lupus" gala is the nation's largest annual benefit for lupus -- providing vital funds for innovative research to find the cause and cure, as well as critical social services for those living with the potentially life-threatening disease.

About the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation
The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, headquartered in New York City with a West Coast division in Los Angeles, is the country's preeminent nonprofit organization providing direct patient services, education, public awareness and funding for novel lupus research on the national level. Learn more at http://LupusNY.org.

About Lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (S.L.E.), commonly called lupus, is a chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disorder and one of the nation's least recognized major diseases. In lupus, the body's immune system forms antibodies that can attack virtually any healthy organ or tissue, from the kidneys to the brain, heart, lungs, skin, joints and blood. Lupus is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and stroke in young women. No major new treatments for lupus have been approved in 50 years.

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