Jessica Seinfeld and Net-a-Porter’s Alison Loehnis Cohost Good+ Foundation’s Annual Summer Dinner in the Hamptons

Net-a-Porter Cohosts the Good+ Foundation’s Annual Summer Dinner in the Hamptons

The weather was touch-and-go on the southern end of Long Island all day on Saturday, but the clouds parted just in time for guests to arrive at Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld’s house for the second annual Hamptons dinner benefiting the Good+ Foundation, sponsored by Net-a-Porter.

The Good+ Foundation idea came to Jessica right after she gave birth to her first child, Sascha. In the hours following delivery, it became abundantly clear to her how much equipment was needed in order to take care of a child. She thought about how she could support mothers who didn’t have the same financial or emotional support she had, and in that moment, the now-17-year-old nonprofit was born. Back then it was known as Baby Buggy. In 2016, the organization was renamed the Good+ Foundation to better communicate its model: pairing donations of essential children’s and family items with transformational programs. This combination of goods and services is the idea behind Good+ Foundation, and it strategically distributes more than $6 million worth of goods each year.

And so on this balmy summer night, Gwyneth Paltrow, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Stella McCartney, Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow, Tory Burch, Nacho Figueras, Delfina Blaquier, Tabitha Simmons, Indré Rockefeller, Wes Gordon, Amy Astley, and more gathered under a Sperry tent situated on the lawn next to a beautifully appointed guesthouse and a picturesque little barn to toast the nonprofit and raise some money.

Once everyone sat for dinner, Jerry Seinfeld kicked things off. “My job is to just kind of start the evening. My daughter is here, and she told me she wants to do some comedy now for some reason. I’m just kidding . . . I just wanted to see the look on her face!” he said, eliciting lots of laughs.

He then handed things over to Alison Loehnis, president of Net-a-Porter, who joked, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think Jerry Seinfeld would be my opener!” She went on to explain how Jessica had reached out to her, and after 15 seconds of conversation, she knew their partnership made a lot of sense. “The collaboration has extended throughout the year—not just with fundraising but with our donation drives, facilitated by our Net-a-Porter vans across the tristate area,” Loehnis explained. (A large component of the partnership includes the annual donation drive led by Net-a-Porter, which allows its premier same-day delivery customers in the greater New York area to donate new or gently used children’s clothing to Good+ Foundation from the comfort of their home. This year, Net-a-Porter strategically timed the drive to align with not only a key spring-cleaning season in May, but also with Mother’s Day.) “As a business, we sell beautiful pieces to men and women around the world, and I like to think that on most occasions we put a smiling face on our customers. And while that’s very rewarding, to me what’s equally and, arguably, more rewarding is giving back to the broader community, so I’m really proud of the work that we’re doing with Good+.”

Finally, Jessica took the mic. “Our almost-18-year-old daughter, Sascha, is the reason why we’re here tonight,” she said. “There’s so much attention being bestowed on you tonight, Sascha! When she was born, I could not believe how expensive it was to equip yourself to have a child, and if you live in New York City, the obstacles you have to face as somebody who lives in poverty. Imagine having a child and having to stress out about bringing diapers home. On the day she was born, I knew I had to do something about all of this good fortune and information that I had [as the daughter of a social worker], growing up with parents who instilled that with me always. I started this as a weekend drive, collecting things for families in need.”

Now Good+ Foundation is focusing on fatherhood and giving men who grew up in poverty a support system to help them find a way out. Through this work, Good+ teaches low-income dads the tools they need to be active coparents to their children while also working to reach goals like finding employment and opening a savings account.

After dinner, the barn doors were pulled back to reveal Harley Viera-Newton perched at the turntables, and music played throughout the grounds, drawing people inside. Shots of 1492 tequila had been passed on trays since the start of the evening, so guests were more than ready to stay late and dance the night away for a good cause.