Every year, ADAPT Community Network holds the ADAPT Leadership Awards Gala to celebrate the progress we have made and honor notable community members who have made a significant impact on the disabled community. This year’s gala took place on Wednesday, March 13th, 2024, at Cipriani 42nd Street in Midtown. We are proud to share that we raised $650,000 for our programs and so we can continue to build a more inclusive and equitable world for thousands of children and adults with disabilities!
We are thrilled to reflect on the accomplishments of our Leadership Award Honorees—Jon Ledecky, and Craig Melvin and Lindsay Czarniak—and the impact they have made on people with disabilities and for inspiring others through their professional and charitable endeavors. In addition, we honored Michael Dowling with the Hausman Humanitarian Award for improving the healthcare of all New Yorkers and beyond through his work and leadership. Congratulations to all the honorees!
Thank you to all our sponsors, organizers, and attendees for making this event a great success. We wish to extend our sincerest appreciation to our Event Co-Chairs Liz Cohen Hausman and James Hausman, host Abigail Hawk, and our presenters Mike Woods, Teresa Priolo, Willie Geist, Susan Lucci and John D. Kemp, Esq.
This year, our theme was “Leading the Way.” ADAPT has made leaders out of both our staff and the people we support by offering leadership and advancement opportunities, giving our preschoolers a head start into their futures, encouraging self-advocacy, and more. Please view our video highlighting our agency here: https://youtu.be/PsTRZBFBsBA
Another one of the focuses of this year’s gala was our technology fund. For many of the people we support, technology plays a huge role in improving the quality of their everyday lives. They can not only navigate the world more freely with assistive technology, but they can also live more independently with the support of smart speakers, smart thermostats, camera doorbells, and more. With a portion of the funds we raised during the gala, we hope to bring assistive technology to even more residences around the city.
Gala attendees also had the pleasure of enjoying a performance by the Stars of Tomorrow Project. Thank you for the stunning music!
Thank you as well to our donors and sponsors, whose generous support allows us to continue empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, one person at a time. If you missed the event but would still like to support our work, you can still support our mission by donating. Thank you for your generosity!
