A crowd of more than 700 turned out for the 10th annual New Yorkers for Children fall gala at Cipriani 42 on Tuesday night. And as notable guests including Mary J. Blige, Anderson Cooper, and Julianna Margulies posed for pictures in front of the step-and-repeat, they noticed that the backdrop—and much of the decor—were built entirely from Post-It notes.

For the third year in a row, the organization tapped David Stark Design and Production to design the environment for the event, and his prime directive was the theme, "Make It Happen." Part assurance of the foundation's efforts and part motivation for guests to give more, the night's catchphrase found its way into the decor through Post-It notes. Stark built installations such as a giant tree out of the square pieces of paper, had New Yorkers for Children participants write personal messages on some placed on dining tables and the entryway, and covered the room's focal point, a large step-and-repeat, with branded black and yellow Post-Its spelling out "Make it Happen."

All of the messaging seemed to work on the guests. Between the cost of the tickets and the live auction conducted by Sotheby's vice chariman Jamie Niven, this year's fall gala raised more than $1.5 million over the course of the night.