50th Anniversary Gala Raises $250,0000 For Ability Beyond Disability

BROOKFIELD — Who says turning 50 is so bad? Ability Beyond Disability (formerly known as Datahr Rehabilitation Institute) does not. Ability Beyond Disability ushered in its 50th anniversary recently surrounded by more than 550 family and friends at the Amber Room Colonnade in Danbury. The anniversary black-tie gala raised a record-setting $250,000, which will be used for programs and services for the people that Ability Beyond Disability serves.

Thomas Fanning, president and CEO of Ability Beyond Disability, who has served the organization for nearly 39 years, said future efforts will focus on “affordable housing and community integration for all of the people that Ability Beyond Disability serves.”

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Ernie Anastos, WCBS-TV news anchor, told of the humble Ability Beyond Disability beginnings. A single ad in 1951 by a Danbury couple who had a child with mental retardation, looking for other couples in the same situation, grew into an organization that now reaches from Hartford County to Westchester County and from the Long Island Sound to the borders of Massachusetts. Mr Anastos introduced Mary Walsh, the mother who placed the ad because she wanted to better the world for children with disabilities. Mrs Walsh received a standing ovation.

Mrs Walsh was not the only celebrity in attendance. The guest list included Erkskine Bowles, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton; Tony Guida, TV and radio newscaster; Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton; Kevin Cox, senior vice president, human resources for the Pepsi Bottling Group in Somers, N.Y.; and numerous local dignitaries.

Corporate underwriting for the event was provided by Springs Industries, PBG, GE Capital, Con Ed Solutions, Duracell, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Union Savings Bank, and First Union.

A special award was given to the Marcus Family of Danbury, owners of Marcus Dairy, for their many years of service and devotion to their community. In accepting the award on behalf of his family, Neil Marcus told the audience that his family’s belief has always been “to give back to your community.”

Giving to the community is what a lot of the attendees did. Peter Scotese of Manhattan, who helped raise more than $80,000 for the gala, introduced his friend Buck Close. Mr Close, a resident of North Salem, N.Y., and the founder of Sandlapper Fabrics, and a family member of the Board of Springs Industries, received the coveted Robert S. Young Humanitarian Award for his extraordinary dedication, commitment, and involvement with Ability Beyond Disability and numerous charitable causes.

The close of the event revealed the organizations’ name change. Roy Young, a member of the organization’s board of directors for nearly 20 years, explained to the guests why the old name, Datahr Rehabilitation Institute, was no longer relevant and what the new name stood for. Now to be known as Ability Beyond Disability, the organization is readying itself for the next 50-plus years of service.