On Monday August 22nd, The Save Saint Sava Benefit had over 300 guests in attendance to support the rebuilding effort of the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral which raised over $100,000.
Tennis stars Jovana Jaksic, Dusan Lajovic, and Frank Dancevic joined other professional athletes, international dignitaries and media personalities to help support the “Save Saint Sava Benefit” at theNew York Athletic Club in Midtown. A generous group of sponsors which included Air Serbia, Breads Bakery, Waterpik, Guinness and Mamont Vodka, offered guests unique opportunities to support the church’s renewal efforts through live and silent auctions and to enjoy Serbian music through performances by violinist Ana Milosavljevic, jazz pianist Vladan Mijatovic and accordion player Petar Maric.
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 22: (L-R) Frank Dancevic, Nikolina Bojic Dancevic, Mirjana Sladic, and Dusan Lajovic attend the Save Saint Sava Benefit at the New York Athletic Club on August 22, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava)
The event was hosted by a Fundraising Committee that was led by Gordon Bijelonic- a Hollywood producer;Mark Jovanovic-New York based Real Estate broker at Compass; Mirjana Sladic-Team Leader USA of the Novak Djokovic Fan Club;Dusan Vemic-coach of the 2016 Serbian Men’s Olympic Tennis Team and Media Personality Tijana Ibrahimovic.
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 22: Jovana Jaksic (R) attends the Save Saint Sava Benefit at the New York Athletic Club on August 22, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava)
Tijana opened up with a moving speech describing the devastating events that took place on the evening of the disaster followed by emotional words from Mirjana, Gordon and Mark. Michael Gala from the NYFD on call the day of the devastating fire shared their experience along with their support for the efforts to restore this historic landmark. Bijelonic, Jovanovic, Sladic,Vemic and Ibrahimovic were inspired to host the “Save Saint Sava Benefit” to preserve the pillar of their community- The Saint Sava Cathedral.