Strong community ties provide moving moments as Perkins Raises Over $1.5 Million at Eighth Annual Gala
On Thursday, May 2, 2013, Perkins held its eighth annual Perkins Possibilities Gala. The Secondary Chorus – in 1960s hippy garb – kicked off the festive night with a rollicking medley of psychedelic hits from the musical Hair. Later on student and alumni musicians joined the band Orleans on stage, inviting the nearly 600 attendees to "Dance With Me." And dance they did to a music-filled program produced by Emmy-winning "Friends" producer, Emerson College professor and gala co-chair Kevin Bright, with a host of rotating student emcees. As the evening came to a close, comedian Lenny Clarke urged attendees to bid and bid often in a live auction that netted more than $150,000, putting the evening's fundraising over the $1.5 million mark.
In her role as gala co-chair, Perkins parent, trustee and chair of Perkins Trust, Corinne Grousbeck made an impassioned request for guests to continue to support technology on the Perkins School for the Blind campus. The annual "Tech Challenge" brought in over $80,000 to keep Perkins students and educators on the cutting edge of today's learning and leisure activities. Well before the computer age, keynote speaker and world-champion blind sailor Matt Chao of Newton assured all that a Perkins education offers "one hell of a bang for the buck," and describes himself – an instructor at the Bay State Correctional Center – as "a taxpayer, not a tax burden, a regular guy who contributes to society, but who happens to have a visual problem."
In an emotional high point, two students presented giant thank you cards signed by hundreds of students and staff to Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau and Fire Chief Mario Orangio. "We knew our friends Chief Deveau and Chief Orangio were looking out for us and had this place surrounded," student presenter Jade said, and her co-presenter Monique added, "We were never afraid and never felt we had something to worry about."
Perkins president, Steven Rothstein, pointed out that this year’s gala brings Perkins ever-so-close to completing a seven-year, $130 million capital campaign. And yet, even after 184 years in existence, Perkins is all about new beginnings. “For the child who is blind born tonight in Watertown, Washington, D.C. or West Africa, we are just getting started. For the educators and parents looking for online resources we are just getting started. For the new technology yet to be invented, we are just getting started. For the student about to graduate and in need of job opportunities, we are just getting started,” Rothstein said, concluding, "We look forward to all we can do together because we are just getting started."
Save the Date for our Ninth Annual Perkins Possibilities Gala - May 1, 2014!
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