The 20th Annual UNICEF Gala Featured a Performance by Leon Bridges

Sofia Carson and Amanda GormanPhoto by: Noam Galai/Getty Images

Despite the brisk air and puddled streets on Tuesday evening, guests still dialed up the glamour to enter through the grand arches of Cipriani 25 Broadway for UNICEF’s annual gala. Hosted, fittingly, on Giving Tuesday and implementing the theme It Is Possible, the organization’s milestone event celebrated 20 years of advocacy for children’s rights, education, and health.

“We want people to remember is that it still is possible to make a difference,” UNICEF USA CEO and president, Michael J. Nyenhuis, said, elaborating on the evening’s mantra. “Despite the crises, despite the headwinds that are going on all over the place, we make a real difference every day.”

As seats begin to fill, the mural-adorned ceilings became the backdrop for video projections. A recording of the late Audrey Hepburn—a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—ushered in the program, with the actress leaving the crowd with her poignant words: “Children are the true beacons of hope.”

Multi-hyphenate Sofia Carson is someone who has been particularly moved by Hepburn’s work with the global charity. Now a UNICEF US Ambassador herself, she was back this year to host the gala for the third time. “I was always drawn towards young women. I knew if I was every lucky enough to have a platform, I wanted to dedicate my voice to them and to be a voice for the hundreds of millions of girls around the world who are voiceless and often stripped of their rights,” she told Vogue. (Having worked closely with the United Nations since 2020, Carson was presented with the Global Advocate of the Year Award in 2023 for her dedication to youth activism and the empowerment of young girls.)

Newly announced as a UNICEF USA Ambassador, Presidential Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman immediately embraced Carson with excitement once she arrived at the event. “Serious poet face,” she joked, as she composed herself. During the program, Gorman shared a poem written especially for the evening titled With This Bright Voice, leaving the crowd in awe as she reiterated the words, “it is possible” in the last line.

“I m excited about the program Poems for Peace,” Gorman told Vogue. “We work with young people in conflict zones and try to give them opportunities to write creatively. I would love to find a way to use poetry to help give a platform to voiceless children enduring war or conflict.”

The night also saw a performance by Leon Bridges, who delivered a set of his Grammy Award-winning songs. Afterwards, those who fancied staying for a late night fete hit the dance floor to the sounds of Questlove. The celebrating was warranted, as the gala contributed to an impressive $7.4 million raised for youth aid and development assistance for children around the world.