The Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education held their 27th annual gala benefit on Saturday, October 27th at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, and was chaired by Helen & Dan Fitzpatrick and Vilma & Dick Matteis. The annual gala is the largest fundraiser of the year for The Inner-City Foundation, a non-profit that serves the neediest children, families and individuals of Fairfield County.
The Inner-City Foundation was founded more than a quarter century ago in 1992, and since then has granted $30 million to at least 200 programs and organizations in Fairfield County that are helping the neediest among us. The Inner-City Foundation is focused on the educational and basic human needs of children, adults and families, with support to programs providing educational opportunities, food, shelter, help for addiction and recovery, safety from domestic violence, and more.
The evening’s honorees were State Senator Scott Frantz & Icy Frantz of Greenwich, and Terry O’Connor of the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport. All honorees spoke, and thanked The Inner-City Foundation for the work they do keeping these local charitable programs running. State Senator Scott Frantz pointed out that many of these programs simply cannot exist without help from places like The Inner-City Foundation since the State cannot cover all the need that is out there today. The evening’s program included presenting The Tim Russert Making A Difference Award to Sarah Mastrone, the junior and senior counselor at Kolbe Cathedral, affectionately called the school’s “MVP” by its students as she is one of the main reasons that 100% of the seniors at Kolbe go on to college.
Guests danced to the rocking music of The Sultans, who began the evening with jazz music, then Frank Sinatra classics, then hits from the 90s through today! The dance floor was packed until almost midnight with the gala’s more than 300 guests. The wines for the evening were generously provided by Horseneck Wines & Spiritis of Greenwich and the event’s production was partially underwritten by Sebass Events.
