Gala to end all galas: Nov. 10 charity party helps vets, kids

People in Andover and beyond can join a patriotic bash to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day, and at the same time help our current veterans and others. Ironstone Farm’s Spirit of Giving Gala on Saturday, Nov. 10. is the farm's major fundraiser of the year, supporting the nonprofit programs in Andover that provide therapy and educational programs for children with special needs, veterans and others.

This year’s Great Gala honors beloved WBZ-TV journalist, pastor and activist Liz Walker and Home Base veterans program Executive Director Jack Hammond for their spirit of giving and tremendous contributions in the community at large and to Ironstone Farm’s nonprofit programs specifically. For tickets,visit www.ironstonefarm.org/gala, or its ticket website http://mktix.com/chu/.

Known for its willingness to reinvent itself each year, Ironstone Farm’s gala annually delivers something unexpected. This year’s patriotic, USO-extravaganza-style event will allow for unique entertainment and theme. The party begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

Billy Costa will serve as master of ceremonies. Live music will entertain the crowd. Dinner, live and silent auctions for once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and a raffle for stunning jewelry are among the activities. Formal gala attire, including black-tie, is encouraged. Or people may wear their military uniforms or sport red, white and blue dress and accessories.

All the money raised supports Ironstone Farm’s nonprofit programs. Ironstone Farm, on Route 133 in Andover, provides therapy for children and adults with special needs, people diagnosed with cancer, veterans who have experienced trauma, families and teens at risk from violence, elders with memory issues and people recovering from addiction – using the healing connection of horses and the farm environment. This year, Ironstone is turning its original farmhouse into a Veterans Center to allow veterans and their families to stay at the farm for weekend retreats.

TICKETS: For tickets,visit www.ironstonefarm.org/gala, or its ticket website http://mktix.com/chu/. You may also call the farm at 978-475-4056 or visit its welcome center at 450 Lowell St. (Route 133), Andover, MA.

ABOUT SPIRIT OF GIVING HONOREE LIZ WALKER

Liz Walker is a minister, communications specialist and an activist who has traveled the world to promote cross-cultural healing and interfaith dialogue.

After a 21-year career as an award-winning television news anchor on WBZ-TV in Boston, Reverend Walker spent more than a decade traveling to East Africa where she helped build a girls’ school in South Sudan. She has led interfaith dialogues in Europe and the Middle East.

The pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church, she now leads the Cory Johnson Program for Post Traumatic Healing, an innovative initiative addressing the epidemic of community trauma in a low-income African-American neighborhood too often overrun by violence. Partnering with Boston Medical Center, it works to increase awareness of PTSD, improve access to mental health services, and empower people to develop coping skills. Reverend Walker is co-chairwoman of the MLK Boston Project to create a proposed world-class memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta Scott King. She serves a special consultant to the Boston Red Sox. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, she also has received many honorary degrees to New England institutions of higher learning.

She coordinates with the Andover nonprofit Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm to allow teens affected by street violence to experience retreats at Ironstone Farm.

ABOUT HONOREE JACK HAMMOND

Brigadier Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hammond is the executive director of Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program healing the invisible wounds of veterans and families.

During his distinguished, 30-year military career in the United States Army, he commanded troops at home, and in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In July 2011, he became the first Massachusetts officer to achieve the rank of general in a combat theater since World War II. He has received numerous military awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster, French Medal of National Defense, and Bulgarian Medal of Mission Support.

As the leader of Home Base, Jack oversees America’s largest private sector clinic treating, at no cost, post-September-11 veterans and their families affected by post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, and family member’s deployment-related stress. Veterans and spouses from Home Base attend supportive, equine-facilitated learning retreats at Ironstone Farm.

MORE ABOUT IRONSTONE FARM

Photo above by Andrea Waxler

Ironstone Farm is home to the nonprofit organizations Challenge Unlimited and Ironstone Therapy. Its programs combine several powerful therapies into one effective program for children and adults with special needs. Clients are referred to Ironstone Therapy by top doctors and institutions. Ironstone uses the dynamic motion of a horse, which mimics the walking motion of a person and works multiple muscle groups at once. The inviting atmosphere of a farm improves social interactions and makes therapy a “want to” event rather than a “have to” session.

Additional programs at Ironstone Farm benefit people living with cancer, returning veterans who have experienced trauma, elders with memory issues, teens at risk and others. Clients come to Ironstone Farm from more than 90 communities in the Merrimack Valley, Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire areas. More than 200 people each week volunteer their time because they know their donated work changes lives.