Mercy Center was thrilled and honored this year to participate in Charity Day 2008, hosted by Wall Street firm BGC Partners. BGC Charity Day is held every year on September 11th to commemorate those lost in the World Trade Center tragedy. BGC donates all its proceeds from the day to local charities, who are represented by celebrity "Traders for a Day". Mercy Center was enthusiastically represented by TV personality Regis Philbin and America's Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez.

Both Regis and Jaslene created much excitement on the trading floor at BGC Partners. The every-day brokers were thrilled to welcome Regis and Jaslene to the floor to join their ranks, and invited them to help execute their trades. Mercy Center joined about a dozen other charities and over 40 celebrities on the BGC Partners trading floor to commemorate the day that Cantor Fitzgerald, the parent company of BGC Partners, lost 658 employees in the country's largest terrorist attack. BGC is proud to give back to their community on this difficult day, and were honored to support community organizations like ours. “We’re honored to support Mercy Center at BGC’s 4^th annual Charity Day," said Daniel LaVecchia, Executive Managing Director for the Americas at BGC. "Based less than 10 miles from Wall Street, Mercy Center supports some of the poorest families in the US who live right on our doorstep. The comprehensive services offered by Mercy Center go a long way toward helping not only the families but the broader community in which they live, New York City.”

Click here (then click on Host Chat Archive...September 15th Host Chat) to watch Regis' summary of his day with us and BGC, as he reported on his nationally-syndicated talk show, Live with Regis and Kelly!

Many, many thanks to BGC Partners, Regis Philbin, and Jaslene Gonzalez for supporting Mercy Center and the women and families of the South Bronx!