T.J. Martell Foundation Held Its 39th Annual Honors Red Carpet Gala At Cipriani In New York

Last night, (October 21) the T.J. Martell Foundation held its highly anticipated 39th Annual Honors Gala at Cipriani in New York. The annual New York Honors Gala brings together hundreds of music and entertainment leaders, top business executives and celebrities. The T.J. Martell Foundation is the music industry's largest foundation that funds innovative medical research focused on finding cures for leukemia, cancer and AIDS. The Foundation sources and supports early-stage research projects aimed at developing more effective clinical treatments for patients which otherwise might not be funded.

The star-studded event began with a red carpet entrance, followed by an awards ceremony. Guests were seated for fine dining during the ceremony, which featured presenters like Yoko Ono, singer-songwriter Ben Harper, and Latin pop star Chayanne. Among the honorees were Will Botwin, who received the Visionary Leadership Award and Afo Verde, who received the Lifetime Music Industry Achievement Award. The Band Perry and Argentine pop singer, Vicentico, were among the live performers of the night.

After the dinner, Robin Treadway led a live auction, where attendees could bid on items such as trips to the Caribbean and unique experiences like having Food Network celebrity chefs cook at your own home. How awesome is that!

Tony Martell, Founder and Chairman of the T.J. Martell Foundation, spoke about his passion for finding a cure and dedicating his life to help save those suffering from leukemia, cancer and AIDS. In 1975, his son, T.J. Martell, died of leukemia, at the age of 19. His dying wish was to have his father raise a million dollars for cancer research so that no one else would have to experience what he went through.

Since then hundreds of volunteers have worked passionately with the foundation to raise more than $260 million for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research which has been successfully leveraged into several billion dollars in additional funding from larger funding sources.

"There is a cure somewhere. We just haven't found it yet, but we will," said Martell.

Check out our Fashion Editor's photos below!

 So dreamy #cipriani #nyc

A photo posted by Elena Lopez (@elena1680) on Oct 10, 2014 at 5:33pm PDT

Dinner @ Cipriani was amazing! A photo posted by Elena Lopez (@elena1680) on Oct 10, 2014 at 5:30pm PDT