Gift for Life’s Russ Jones Up for ARTS Honor

Gift for Life, the gift and home industries’ sole national charitable organization, is holding a special fundraising campaign celebrating the nomination of GFL board member Russ Jones for his 2024 ARTS Award nomination in the Sales Representative East/Atlantic category. Donations, which benefit GFL beneficiary World Central Kitchen, are accepted at www.giftforlife.org/donate. 

ARTS Award winners will be announced at a gala event on Friday, Jan. 12, during the Dallas Total Home and Gift Market. Tickets can be purchased at  https://dallasmarketcenter.com/ArtsAwards/reservations/. 

“This nomination is a testament to Russ’ ingenuity and passion for the industry he serves,” said Ari Lowenstein, Chair of Gift for Life. “We are so fortunate that he is a part of the GFL board and uses his many talents to benefit World Central Kitchen’s crisis-related hunger relief efforts and to raise funds for GMHC as a member of our Gift for Life AIDS Walk team. We wish him the best of luck in January!”

Russ joined Gift for Life in 2017 and in 2022 spearheaded the launch of Home vs Hunger, the first independently organized partnership between Gift for Life and leading members of the home industry. Since that time, this new home industry charitable initiative has raised nearly $40,000 for World Central Kitchen through events at High Point Market and ad hoc online fundraising. 

“Being nominated for the 2024 ARTS Award is a profound honor. This nomination fuels my passion to continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need. I am truly touched by the recognition and excited for what the future holds,” said Jones. “Serving on the Gift For Life Board has been immensely fulfilling, especially in championing the Home vs Hunger initiative, which strives to combat crisis-related hunger through our collective efforts. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to World Central Kitchen’s vital mission and to support GMHC through Gift for Life’s AIDS Walk team.”

For the past 18 years, Jones has worked with Ivystone as a luxe home and hospitality sales representative, working with key accounts and retail stores along with hundreds of New York City design and architectural firms. Prior to Ivystone, Jones had a successful career in showbiz as a singer/dancer on Broadway and ran a gift store called Flights of Fancy for 10 years on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. 

The ARTS Awards is a peer-nominated program developed by the non-profit ART (Accessories Resource Team) and produced by Dallas Market Center. Submissions are independently reviewed and scored based on criteria established by the ARTS Awards committee, and hundreds of nominations are evaluated to determine the list of finalists. 

Founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen is a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines providing fresh meals in response to crises, while working to build resilient food systems with locally led solutions. Applying a model of quick action, leveraging local resources and adapting in real time, WCK has served more than 300 million nourishing meals around the world. When disaster strikes, WCK’s Relief Team mobilizes with the urgency of now to start cooking and serving meals to people in need.

By partnering with organizations on the ground and activating a network of local restaurants, food trucks, or emergency kitchens, WCK serves comforting meals to survivors of disasters quickly and effectively. To support regional economies, WCK prioritizes purchasing local ingredients to cook with or distribute directly to families in need. WCK knows that good food provides not only nourishment, but also comfort and hope, especially in times of crisis.

Gift for Life was founded by Peter Schauben in 1992 in response to the tragic loss of industry lives to AIDS. The organization’s first meeting at the National Stationery Show brought together a cross-section of the industry’s leading publishers, market centers, sales reps, manufacturers, and retailers – all willing to convene and work together towards a common goal.

Since that time, Gift for Life has raised nearly $6 million for AIDS research, education, treatment and care through nationwide at-market events, cause marketing programs and direct donations. In 2021, Gift for Life pivoted towards online digital events with a specific emphasis on COVID-related hunger relief and has funded provision of nearly 100,000 hot, nutritious meals to communities impacted by crisis and conflict worldwide. The all-volunteer organization continues to support year-round programs that address hunger relief, as well as annual support for GMHC’s HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and advocacy programs.

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