The Blue Card, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding Holocaust survivors, will host its 83rd benefit gala on Monday, April 8, 2019, at Center415..
The event will be hosted by Andy Cohen, the Emmy Award-winning television producer and author best known as the host and executive producer of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”
The evening will include the presentation of awards to individuals and groups dedicated to supporting the needs of Holocaust survivors and advancing human rights worldwide. The honorees include: Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States; Stanley Bergman and Dr. Marion Bergman of Henry Schein, Inc. and the Henry Schein Cares Foundation; David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary; New York Foundation for Eldercare; and past participants in The Blue Card’s Bnei Mitzvah Project, a program where Bar and Bat Mitzvah students engage with and perform acts of service for survivors.
This year will feature special guest Elisha Wiesel, the son of Elie and Marion Wiesel, representing The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. Also, author, journalist and human rights advocate, Kati Marton, will present The Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Social Justice.
The mission of The Blue Card is to provide direct financial assistance to needy Holocaust survivors living across the United States to help them live their remaining years in dignity and with respect. This mission is incredibly time-sensitive as at least 50 percent of Holocaust survivors alive today are expected to pass away within the next 10 to 20 years.
The theme of this year’s benefit, “A Celebration of Community Partnership,” will honor the many in the corporate, private and public sectors, and the philanthropic organizations and individuals, whose partnership and support has made the work of The Blue Card possible.
“The Blue Card is proud to recognize Vice President Biden, Stanley and Dr. Marion Bergman, David Miliband, the New York Foundation for Eldercare and alumni of our Bnei Mitzvah Project for their dedication to raising awareness and taking action to support the current plight of Holocaust survivors in the United States who are so critically in need of financial assistance,” said Masha Pearl, Executive Director of The Blue Card. “Thousands of Holocaust survivors from your neighbors to people you pass on the street lived through the unthinkable. The hard truth is for many of them survival still remains a struggle. Those individuals living at or below the poverty line must make difficult choices – whether to pay rent, buy food or get desperately needed medicine. The Blue Card’s goal is to raise funds for current programs which deepen our connection with survivors in communities currently being underserved. We greatly appreciate the work of this year’s honorees, and are looking to the larger community to help spread awareness about those still in need.”
The event will begin at 6:00pm with a cocktail reception, followed by an awards presentation and seated dinner. For more information about tickets and donations visit: www.bluecardfund.org.
The Blue Card’s 2015 Annual Benefit Gala honored Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist and Holocaust survivor the late Elie Wiesel, and was presented by Academy Award winner Michael Douglas and author and journalist Kati Marton. Past event attendees and honorees have included Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow, Ambassador Emeritus Thomas Pickering, philanthropists Zach Lonstein and Shoshanna Lonstein, Senator Charles Schumer, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, musician Regina Spektor, journalist Jonathan Alter and actors Cynthia Nixon, Jason Biggs, Tony Shalhoub, David Hyde Pierce and Danny Aiello.
