Beyond the white ties and guests of honor of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner are women and children in need, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other speakers emphasized during a press event at Elizabeth Seton Children’s in Yonkers on Monday, October 24. 

“The dinner is a means to an end, and you’re at one of the ends today. You couldn’t find a more radiant example of the loving, tender embrace of care for children in need than here at the Elizabeth Seton Children’s center,” Cardinal Dolan said. 

The 79th edition of the dinner, which will be held on October 17, 2024, is sold out. 

“What I’m excited about is that we’ve already raised close to $9 million that helps the many organizations that benefit from the Al Smith foundation,” Jim Gaffigan, comedian and master of ceremonies for this year’s dinner, said in a video message. “After my cut, that’s like $100,000,” he joked. Elizabeth Seton Children’s is a beneficiary of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation.

“We’re talking about two classic New Yorkers, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, known here in New York for caring especially for children in need, and Governor Alfred E. Smith, the four-term governor of the State of New York, who in 1928 was the Democratic nominee for president, the first Catholic ever to be so,” Cardinal Dolan said. “He was particularly known in his four terms as governor for doing anything that would help women and children.” 

Cardinal Dolan explained that his predecessor, Cardinal Francis Spellman, established the foundation and dinner that bear the governor’s name as a way of carrying on his legacy and work. 

Opened in Yonkers in 1988 by the Sisters of Charity of New York – the religious order founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – Elizabeth Seton Children’s is a specialized pediatric care facility that is the long-term home of 169 medically complex children. It operates a separate outpatient facility in White Plains.

“Most of our children have been here pretty much from birth,” said Pat Tursi, CEO of Elizabeth Seton Children’s, who has worked at the center for more than 23 years. “It really is a very special place, and I think it goes back to the charism of the Sisters of Charity, which is about humility, simplicity, and love, and I think there is an abundance of love here, and faith, and people who care very deeply about making sure that every child has joy,” she said.

Tursi said that the center is looking forward to opening a separate facility for young adults, expected to break ground at the end of this year, and accepting its first patients in 2026.

In a moving testimonial, Christine Vargas described her experience as the mother of an Elizabeth Seton Children’s resident, her daughter Sha’de Lane. “Watching the staff’s loving care for the children allowed me to trust. The people who were once strangers to me became our family. Elizabeth Seton is not just a facility, it is a home, Sha’de’s home.” Vargas thanked both the center and the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. “Because of your help, my faith in God, and the expertise and love of the staff here at Seton, Sha’de is given the opportunity to thrive and have a beautiful life.”

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation is a charitable organization based in New York City. It was established in 1946 to honor the memory of Alfred Emanuel Smith, known as “The Happy Warrior,” a four-term governor of New York and the first Catholic nominee for president of the United States. The foundation’s primary mission is to carry on the charitable works of Governor Smith, focusing on supporting causes related to the needs of children and women.