Child Mind Institute Raises $5.3 Million for Children
By Harold Koplewicz, M.D.
Recently, we shared an extraordinary evening with several hundred friends and supporters who came together to raise $5.3 million to keep building the Child Mind Institute. The second annual Child Advocacy Award Dinner was an amazing vote of confidence for our young organization. And as if being in the room with so many people committed to helping kids wasn’t already enough to make you feel wonderful, Jimmy Buffett played “Song for the Little Children” and “Volcano” and brought the house down.
Co-founder of the Child Mind Institute Brooke Neidich and I are immeasurably grateful to all of you who believe in our mission and show your support so generously. And we are delighted that we were able to honor Jane and Jimmy with the Child Advocacy Award. Not only are they long-term supporters of getting help to kids who are struggling, they were the first to raise their hands to help the Child Mind Institute move from dream to reality.
We screened a fantastic new video of some of our parents and children, directed by Academy Award-winner Ross Kauffman and Raeshem Nijhon of Imagine Health. It was a moving reminder of how care can change the lives of kids and their families, and, of course, why we must do this work.
We gave the 2012 Child Mind Institute Distinguished Scientist Award to Dr. Eric Kandel, whose pioneering work in the biological, chemical, and physiological bases of brain functions like learning and memory were recognized with the Nobel Prize in 2000. Dr. Kandel will return in the fall to have a conversation as a part of On the Shoulders of Giants. #
Harold S. Koplewicz is the president of the Child Mind Institute.
