By Mary Ann Bourbeau
RED BANK – It may have been a cooler than average summer, but temperatures are going to be rising Saturday, Sept. 6, when Disco Fever comes to Red Bank.
Legends from the ‘70s, Gloria Gaynor (“I Will Survive”) and The Village People (“Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man”), will headline a benefit concert at The Count Basie Theatre to help The Michael Fux Foundation create a family center at a Monmouth County hospital. Two hospitals have expressed interest and Fux, a philanthropist who built a similar facility at Miami Children’s Hospital, will announce his choice at the show.
“I know where I’m leaning,” Fux said.
The Michael Fux Foundation was established in 2006 with the mission of helping sick and underprivileged children and their families. Fux, an entrepreneur with 42 years in the home furnishing industry, is currently CEO of Comfort Revolution. A native of Cuba, he divides his time between Miami and Monmouth County, where his New Jersey office is located.
The foundation got its beginnings when Fux hosted Christmas parties at Miami Children’s Hospital.
“I asked the social workers to pick out the poorest families and ask the kids what they wanted for Christmas,” he said. “Then I would give them what they asked for.”
One of the women working at the hospital said it was her dream to build a children’s center where the families could relax and the kids could have some fun.
“It started to make more and more sense,” he said.
Fux, who grew up very poor in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of 15, said he just wanted to help other children in a similar situation. He put up $1 million to get the Miami project off the ground. The Michael Fux Family Center in Miami has a wide range of services for patients and families, including a library, kitchen, dining room and lounge, activity and game room, cardio gym, laundry room, reading room, business center, Internet café, hairstyling and massage room, showers and a quiet room.
“We get 5,000 visitors a month there,” Fux said. “It’s an important thing, like a home within the hospital. We have volunteers giving massages and haircuts. People can leave their laundry and get it back clean and folded. It’s become quite a place at Miami Children’s Hospital and we want to do it here. We’re creating Red Bank’s hottest night of music for a great cause.”
The Monmouth facility is expected to be 6,000 to 7,000 square feet and cost about $3.5 million, with Fux donating $1 million and hoping the hospital will put up $1 million as well. The rest will be acquired through fundraising efforts, including the concert.
“Gloria Gaynor has entertained the kids at the Christmas parties in Miami,” Fux said. “They all dance to ‘I Will Survive.’ It’s the cutest thing.”
Gaynor, who gives her time to many charitable causes, was happy to help Fux with his New Jersey family center.
“We should all do whatever we can,” she said. “Michael’s facility in Florida is great. The people that work there are all so caring.”
Gaynor is pleased that her signature song has become an anthem for so many people in challenging situations.
“I consider it a gift from God that I got to share with the world,” she said. “The lyrics are so inspiring and empowering to people who are going through circumstances that seem insurmountable. Seeing the children sing at my shows is awesome. They are always so excited and happy.”
Gaynor is no stranger to those challenges, having lost her mother, several nieces and nephews and five of her six siblings, and also dealing with the end of her long-term marriage.
“All of these situations have called on the song to remind me that I will survive,” she said.
Ticket prices for the 7 p.m. show are $29 to $59.There are a limited number of $500 VIP tickets and sponsorship opportunities available, including an Industry Magazine/R3 Ventures post-show party and meet-and-greet with Gaynor, with open bar, food and music from That 70s Band.
“It’s going to be a really fun night,” Fux said. “The Village People and Gloria Gaynor can really move a crowd.”
Additional information and tickets are available by calling 732-842-9000 or visiting www.countbasietheatre.org.
***ITALVibe writer Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com.***END
