Gala 2009

Press contact:
Cynthia Canham
(617) 732-0245
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

MAB Hosts Annual Gala April 1

Brookline -- March 20, 2009 -- MAB Community Services will hold its Annual Gala April 1, 2009 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.  375 are expected to attend the event, which will honor the 50th anniversary of MAB’s volunteer program.  MAB will present honorees David and Sydney Feldman with the Al Gayzagian Lifetime Achievement award to celebrate their 38 years of support and dedication to MAB.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of MAB’s volunteer program and to honor the hundreds of people who help blind and visually impaired individuals read their mail, pay their bills, shop and more,” MAB CEO Barbara Salisbury said.

Former MAB CEO Joe Collins will present the award to the Feldmans, supplemented by a testimonial video honoring the couple.  In honor of the Feldmans’ legacy of volunteerism, MAB has launched an endowment campaign to fund volunteer recruitment and training.  The Feldmans generously donated $50,000 to the campaign, which is now underway.

“The Feldmans have dedicated 38 years of their lives to helping people with disabilities live full lives in the community,” Salisbury said.  “At times like this it feels particularly important to be recognizing the incredible legacy of giving back and helping others that our 300 volunteers represent.”

The program includes musical numbers performed by The Made Up Musical, a New York musical theater troupe, which will celebrate MAB, the volunteer program, and the Feldmans.  Additionally, the play “Beyond Blindness” tells the real-life stories of blind individuals and their volunteers, illuminating their personal experiences.  Actors Brooke Adams (Monk, Law & Order SVU,) Broadway actor Jeremy Geidt, and Lynne Adams (Guiding Light) will perform leading roles.

“The fact that actors like Brooke Adams and Jeremy Geidt will come to read the stories of five of the blind people, told in their own words, will make the night very special,” Salisbury said.

The Gala is expected to raise $250,000 for MAB’s programs and services.

ABOUT MAB:

MAB Community Services is dedicated to working with individuals with disabilities to eliminate barriers and create opportunities.  Founded in 1903 as the Massachusetts Association for the Blind, MAB Community Services is the oldest social service agency in the country dedicated to serving blind and visually impaired individuals.  MAB has diversified to include programs for adults with developmental disabilities and a residential treatment program for adolescents with brain injuries.