By Robert Russo
On the evening of Friday, May 2nd, friends and supporters of the Theresa Foundation gathered once again at the beautiful Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park, New York for the annual Theresa Awards Dinner. However, this year’s event was no ordinary night! Together, we marked the 20th Annual Theresa Awards and celebrated the extraordinary impact that your support has made in lives of children with special needs and their families over the past 22 years since the Foundation’s inception.
Guests entered the ballroom to the drumming of 2008 Theresa Awardee Sidiki Conde, and enjoyed live music by The Touch throughout evening. 2014 Theresa Awardees Michael Amoruso, Esq., of Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP, and John LaSpina, of Maple Family Bowling Centers, joined 43 predecessors – 13 of whom attended – in being honored for their community service and leadership on behalf of children with special needs.
On hand to provide remarks commemorating the special anniversary, and to remember Theresa’s life, was the very first Theresa Awardee, Ira Wiesener, Esq. All told, the 20th Annual Theresa Awards were the most successful to date, with the largest attendance and greatest amount of funds raised since the event began in 1995. Thanks to the generosity of our ever-expanding Theresa community, the Foundation has given nearly 170 grants to charities or direct support to individuals for programs in art, dance, music, and recreation, totaling over $860 thousand dollars of supporter-donated funds since 1992. And that, above all else, is truly worth celebrating.