42nd Anniversary Good Neighbor Gala Raises More Than $1,000,000!

17 MAY 2016

42nd Anniversary Good Neighbor Gala Raises More Than $1,000,000!

By Steve Coe - (former) CEO

Our 42nd Anniversary Good Neighbor Gala at 583 Park Avenue was a truly special and memorable occasion – and the most successful fundraiser in Community Access’ history. In fact: our first $1,000,000 Gala!

"Changing the landscape of mental health and housing" was our big theme – and it's a big challenge. In addressing this theme, however, we wanted our Gala to share human-scale stories: individual journeys out of homelessness; battles against injustice, incarceration, and stigma; the courage of overcoming trauma. I trust, in doing so, we demonstrated the importance and impact of Community Access’ work.

And I hope we also shined a light on how we do this work: the thousands of New Yorkers we serve every year don’t simply access our services – they help us to shape and improve these services.

Our Gala welcomed more than 400 guests, and highlights included:

Two exceptional and deserving honorees:

Francis Greenburger
President Founder, Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice

Sandy Lowe
Community Relations Manager, Community Access
A heartfelt speech from our special guest – actor, director, screenwriter and New Yorker, John Turturro
An extraordinary and moving speech by Winnie Freeman, a former guest at our Respite Center and graduate of our Howie the Harp job training program
The debut of our new short film (see below), featuring the stories of four CA participants

I’m glad we introduced Community Access to many new friends and supporters, and we enjoyed sharing the evening with many longstanding friends, as well.

I continue to be very thankful for the hundreds of special people who make our work possible, including our board of directors, sponsors, donors, and staff.