NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Blue Card, a national non-profit organization dedicated to aiding Holocaust survivors, will host its annual benefit gala on Monday, November 16, 2015 at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at The New York Public Library. The benefit gala will be co-hosted by Bill Ritter, the Emmy Award-winning WABC-TV anchor and “20/20” correspondent and Rita Cosby, the Emmy Award-winning television and radio host.
The benefit gala will include the presentation of awards to individuals dedicated to supporting the needs of Holocaust survivors and advancing human rights worldwide. This year, The Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Social Justice will be given to Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel by Academy Award winner Michael Douglas and author and journalist Kati Marton.
The Blue Card will also present the Max L. Heine Humanitarian Award to Henry Schein, which will be accepted by Henry Schein Chairman and CEO Stanley Bergman and The Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity, which will be accepted by Bedford HealthCare Solutions CEO Dr. Allen Finkelstein, for their work spearheading The Alpha Omega – Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program, which provides pro-bono dental care for Holocaust survivors.
Additional honorees include philanthropist Sara Wolfensohn of The Wolfensohn Family Foundation, who will be presented with the inaugural Irene Hizme Tikkun Olam Award. The award is named after Holocaust survivor Irene Hizme, who was a Mengele twin along with her brother Rene.
Lucy DeVito will present AmeriCorps VISTA Community Liaison Rachel Rosenberg with The Blue Card Young Leadership Award.
“70 years after liberation, one third of Holocaust survivors living in the United States live at or below the poverty level,” said Masha Pearl, Executive Director of The Blue Card. “The Blue Card works tirelessly to provide financial assistance to this group of people who have already suffered so much. The Blue Card is proud to recognize Professor Elie Wiesel, Sara Wolfensohn, Rachel Rosenberg, and The Alpha Omega-Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program for their commitment to raising awareness and funds for the needs of Holocaust survivors.”
The evening will feature a cocktail reception, seated dinner and silent auction. There will also be a special presentation sharing the inspiring story of the town of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, a community in France that rescued Jewish children escaping Nazi persecution.
The cocktail hour will begin at 6:30pm and the dinner will begin at 7:30pm. During the program, guests will have the opportunity to support The Blue Card by bidding on a collection of exclusive silent auction lots. Individual tickets start at $400 and tables at $4,000.
The Blue Card’s 2014 Benefit Gala was hosted by five-time Tony Award nominee Danny Burstein. Past attendees and honorees have included Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow, Ambassador Emeritus Thomas Pickering, philanthropists Zach Lonstein and Shoshanna Lonstein, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, musician Regina Spektor, journalist Jonathan Alter, and actors Danny Aiello, Cynthia Nixon and David Hyde Pierce.
Tickets can be purchased by calling Milana Baazov at The Blue Card at (212) 239-2251 or by visiting: http://bluecardfund.org/
About The Blue Card
Founded in Germany in 1934, and reestablished in the United States in 1939, The Blue Card's sole mission is to provide direct financial assistance to needy Holocaust survivors in the United States. One third live at or near the federal poverty level. The Blue Card has distributed nearly $30 million to date, with 100 percent of individual donations going directly to survivors.
Today, The Blue Card remains the only organization whose sole mission is to help needy Holocaust survivors, by way of medical, dental, stipendiary, emergency response system and many other programs.
The Blue Card is Better Business Bureau (BBB) certified, and was named as one of the best Jewish charities in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by Federal Times.
